The Quotation of the Week (January 31 - February 6, 2010)

A vehicle tyre mark on snow

Photo (Toronto: Dec. 10, 2009) © Jerome D'Costa

The Photo Meditation of the Month (January, 2010): ALMSGIVING

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Even on a snowy day, a panhandler is seeking alms
on the Bay Street of Toronto
Photo (January 5, 2010) © Jerome D'Costa

Almsgiving

In the third world countries as well as in the downtown areas of the developed nations, we come across persons of both sexes seeking people's generosity in the form of alms. Alms is any material gift (money, food or other types of material items) given to a person out of charity.

Some of these people are really physically sick or indigent. Some others, apparently look young and healthy, but are mentally challenged to hold on to any job. Then there are certain others who are cheats -- too lazy to work or move their bodies. All these types of people will always be there in any society.

All religions speak favourably of almsgiving. They speak of neighbourly love for the poor, sick and downtrodden. Millions of people's lives are dependent on the generosity and alms of their neighbours.

Those, who have, are morally bound to come to the aid of the have-nots. Let us not hesitate to participate in almsgivng in cases of the really needy.

The Poem of the Month (January, 2010): EARTHQUAKE

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"Haiti Earthquake 2010 -- An Abstract"

Graphic design (Toronto: January 29, 2010) © Joachim Romeo D'Costa

Earthquake

By Jerome D'Costa

Life was running its normal course.

All of a sudden everything shakes and jerks,

Everything heaves and wobbles.

Then boom! The hell breaks loose.

Buildings collapse, roads crumble,

Humans get trapped underneath rubble.

Trees are uprooted,

Many active lives fall silent forever.

Those still living, moan, cry and shriek.

The air turns heavy with dust and smoke.

There's a string of loss everywhere.

Numerous children become instant orphans,

Many parents are reduced to childlessness.

The burden of loss sits heavy on everyone's heart.

Again the living ones get up, retrieve whatever they can,

Their belongings, movable properties.

After much grief and bereavement,

Their life goes on anew, hope and confidence propel them forward.

Bangladesh Justice Takes 35 Years To Punish the Killers of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman

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Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the leader of
Bangladesh independence movement
Photo courtesy: Press and Information Department (PID),
Govt. of Bangladesh, 1972

After long 35 years, the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, daughter of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, hangs five of 12 convicted killers of the Bangabandhu (friend of Bengal) on January 28, 2010 early morning, reports The Daily Star of Dhaka.

Heavy security measures were taken both inside and around Dhaka Central Jail, where these convicted persons have been hanged: Lt. Col. Syed Farooq Rahman, Lt. Col. Sultan Shahriar Rashid Khan, Lt. Col. Mohiuddin Ahmed, Major Bazlul Huda, and army lancer A.K.M. Mohiuddin Ahmed. The Bangladesh Supreme Court on January 27 rejected the appeals of these men against their conviction.

On November 19, 2009, the Supreme Court had awarded death sentence to 12 living convicts -- of whom, these five men were already in Dhaka Central Jail, and six others (Lt. Col. Khandakar Abdur Rashid, Lt. Col. Shariful Huq Dalim, Lt. Col. A.M. Rashed Chowdhury, Lt. Col. Noor Chowdhury, Captain Abdul Mazed and Risaldar Moslemuddin) have been absconding from Bangladesh and living in different countries -- USA, Canada, Libya, and some European countries). One othe convicted person died in Zimbabwe, Africa.

Background

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman gave the lead to Bangladesh independence movement in 1971. After independence, he gave leadership to the new country. Those who were pro-Pakistan and against the independence were looking for ways to undo the new country. They, along with some foreign countries, influenced and supported a group of young army officers to revolt and stage a coup against the elected government of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

These army officers, on August 15, 1975, attacked the house of President Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and brutally shot and killed him, his wife, two sons and their wives, and one young son and many others who worked in his house. A total of 20 people were killed in the house that night. Sheikh Hasina and her sister Sheikh Rehana, two daughters of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, escaped the massacre because they were in Europe at that time.

When Sheikh Hasina came to power for the first time in 1996, she started the trial of these army officers by removing the "Indemnity Act" which was enacted by the killers with the help of Khondokar Mustaque Ahmed as the president of the new military government. This infamous Act barred anyone from taking action against the killers of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and members of his family. Previously, Khondokar Mustaque Ahmed was important Awami League member and a minister of Bangladesh under Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

In 1998, fifteen persons were found guilty and sentenced to death. In 2001, the High Court acquitted three. As Sheikh Hasina lost power as the Prime Minister in 2001, the new government of Khaleda Zia, her bitter rival, did not pursue the case any further.

After winning landslide victory in 2008, Sheikh Hasina restarted the case which came to conclusion with the execution of the five killers.

Bangali Taxi Drivers in New York Demonstrate Honesty and Integrity

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(L-R) Mohammad Asaduzzaman Mukul and Osman Chowdhury
Photo courtesy (left: www.notundesh.com/ and right: www.dailymail.co.uk/)

When some highly-paid corporate CEOs and honchos have been raiding their companies bankrupt in New York, there are examples of poorly-paid persons winning over their greed and covetousness with plain honesty and integrity.

The stories of Mohammad Asaduzzaman Mukul, 28, and Osman Chowdhury,43, -- both from Bangladesh and working as taxi drivers in New York city -- are such examples.

Mohammad Asaduzzaman Mukul

It was Christmas Eve, December 24, 2009. Felicia Lettieri, 72, an Italian grandmother and six others hailed two taxis to go from midtown Manhattan to Penn Railway Station -- both in New York city. One of the taxis was Asaduzzaman Mukul's.

Mr. Mukul, a Bangladeshi medical student-cum-part-time taxi driver, later finds Ms. Lettieri's purse on the back seat of his taxi. When he opened it to look for any address, he found bundles of euros, some expensive jewelry, and a few passports with an address of Patchogue, Long Island, 60 miles away. Without even counting the money, his only thought at the time was to return the purse to the owner with its contents.

He then deposited his taxi to his company and called a Bangladeshi friend with a car and requested him to drive him to Patchgue following the address. When they reached the address, there was none available there. Yet, Mr. Mukul left a note on the door of the house. In the note he gave his cellphone number and asked the owner of the purse to call him so that he could return the purse.

Later the expected call came and Mr. Mukul again went there again to return the purse. The owner was Ms. Lettieri from Pompeii, Italy and she was extremely happy to get her purse back. There was US $ 21,000 worth euros in it. She wanted to give some money as a reward but Mr. Mukul declined it by saying that he was a devout Muslim and, therefore, he could not accept the reward.

Mr. Mukul went 240 miles (386 kilometres) in total spending his own money for vehicle gas but proved his honesty sacrificing any compensation.

Police and others had advised Ms. Lettieri that there was little chance of recovering the lost money and goods.

Francesca Lettieri, 79, the sister of Felicia Lettieri, told the Newsday that the honest taxi driver had saved her family's vacation. "We really love what he did," she said.

Mr. Mukul, a full-time student at a city college near his apartment in Jamaica, Queens, started to drive taxi a few days a week when his work hours were reduced at a factory job.

To a question of why he was so honest with the money, he replied: "My mother is my inspiration. She always told me to be honest and work hard."

He also said: "I'm needy, but I'm not greedy. It's better to be honest."

Osman Chowdhury

It was a day in February, 2007. A woman from Dallas, Texas, rode Osman Chowdhury's taxi to go from the Hilton Hotel in midtown Manhattan to an apartment about 15 blocks away in New York city.

Some hours later, when Mr. Chowdhury opened his taxi's trunk to keep luggages of three other passengers, he realized that the woman from the hotel got down from the taxi without taking her luggage.

He then drove to the apartment, as since he did not know the apartment number of the woman, he took the suitcase to the headquarters of the New York Taxi Workers' Alliance where he is also a member.

When opened, the Alliance president and Mr. Chowdhury found two display cases with 31 diamond rings inside. After finding a luggage tag inside with a Dallas phone number, they called and reached the woman's mother and told her about the find.

Later in midnight, the owner of the suitcase went to the Alliance office and retrieved her luggage.
When the woman offered Mr. Chowdhury a cheque for US $ 100, he first declined it but later accepted it on insistence to cover the fares he lost while trying to locate her.

Osman Chowdhury was a contractor in Bangladesh before coming to the USA 17 years ago. He drove taxi in New York by renting one.

"I'm not going to take someone else's money or property to make me rich. I don't want it that way," he said. "All my life, I tried to be honest. Today is no different," he said.

Bangladesh School Textbooks Should Include These Stories

These stories of real-life honesty in face of temptations and competitions should get a place in Bangladesh School Textbooks. The next generations of Bangali students will find them inspiring.

What Do We Learn From These Stories?

Some strangers, some foreigners in our midst may be bad, but all strangers and all foreigners are not evil-charactered. Some Muslims may be terrorists, but all Muslims are not so.

We may recall the parable (story) where Jesus Christ mentioned of the "Good Samaritan," who was neither a Jew nor a Christian, but a pagan! (See the Bible: Luke 10: 25-37)

The Quotation of the Week (January 24 - 30, 2010)

A sandy bank at Char Jhaukanda in the Padma River, Faridpur District,
Bangladesh. A char is a silted island in a river. This special grainy effect
on black-and-white film resulted from the humidity-caused fungus!

Photo (1985) © Jerome D'Costa

NOTUN DESH: A Publication of Toronto

Notun Desh -- an online bi-lingual (Bengali and English) weekly --from Toronto

  
Notun Desh (new country), edited by Serene Ferdous, is the online Bangla (Bengali) weekly that debuted in Toronto last year. It is updated every Wednesday. It is perhaps the first regular online newspaper in Bangla in Canada. There are, of course, several other Bangla print newspapers that are being published from Toronto.

This weekly deals with news, articles and opinions on events and issues of both Canada,  Bangladesh and world featuring politics, economy, entertainment, environment, literature, sports, and more. It also has a small English section.

Email contact: contact@notundesh.com

It's available online at: Notun Desh

If you can't read it, you may download "Solaimanlipi" Bangla font from: http://www.notundesh.com/Bangladakha.html/

(Updated on June 5, 2916)