Today is Sheikh Mujibur’s birthday. He is the “Father of the nation of Bangladesh” and founder of Bangladesh. He along with all of his family were murdered in 1975 with the exception of two of his daughters who were studying in Germany at the time. One of his daughters is the Prime Minister of Bangladesh today.
Dhaka is in a sombre mood as this public holiday takes place, getting around today was such a breeze and it all happened so quickly, with very little traffic on the road there was no stress to get to my destinations. The rickshawallahs didn’t have to fight for space with cars and all other manner of transportation who all bully each other on the road most days causing horrific traffic jams for miles.
I am feeling a bit sad though, on my way back from my language lesson I saw something which I didn’t expect, just as I was near home. I first noticed RAB-1 in there white pickup truck. (Rapid Action Battalion are a special branch of police who are meant to be uncorrupt and are there to protect the people. They were trained by the British government. There have being many deaths in “cross-fire” by RAB which have brought there use of force under question.)
RAB dressed in there usual menacing attire of all black outfits and a black mask covering there face with only a little of there eyes on show all holding there big guns. They were parked just near the lake which backs on to our house.
I then looked onto the pavement a few feet a way from the parked pick up truck.
Lying on the pavement was a young boy, probably early teens. His wet body and posture indicated the unexpected. I suspect, he had recently drowned in the pond nearby. I recognised the old lady who stooped at his feet. She is a very fragile looking lady who treats her cows better than she does her self because selling there milk is her source of income.
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| The spolit cows.Eating chopped up vegetables |
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| The old lady's residence. Open plan living I guess! |
The other four people who stood and stooped near him I did not recognise.
It is common here for people to sleep where ever. Literally where ever! Whether it is the middle of the road, on the pavement, on a river bank, on there rickshaws, you name it, if they are tired, they sleep
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| rickshawwallah grab an afternoon nap |
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| girl asleep in the rubbish |
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| fisherman on the way to market |
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| shopkeeper take a nap on the counter |
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I took another look at his life less body, hoping I was just imaging again, especially as there are two previous occasions where I had thought someone was dead and they were just asleep, in the most unusual of places of course. And the floating body I witnessed in the water, turned out to be a shop manikin that was thrown into the lake. I was very relieved at this finding.
The difference is this time. It was no imagination or mistaken plastic identity. I was looking at the life less body of a young boy who had probably drowned. His eyes were rolled back in his head, he laid without movement on his back, in his soaking wet loongi and t-shirt, with his arms still by his side, his head propped up with two bricks from the near-by pile, and the people who looked stark at him, had faces which displayed emotions of sadness. How I wish I could understand there lost?
I imagine many thoughts were going through there mind as they grieve there loss, reminiscing on the life he has lived and wishful thoughts about his life ahead of him and maybe also a few thoughts of what economically his departure would mean for there family. Men are expected to be the breadwinners, his departure probably means they will have even less taka (money) to feed them selves. Boys that age in such poor families would have joined the work force by that age helping to support there families. The sadness of someone dying tends to be a sour taste in the mouth; I pray there sour taste has aspects of sweetness as they can see a light at the end of the tunnel.
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| Boy sifting through rubbish to find things to sell |
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| Child at work in the brick industry |
These people are part of the most vulnerable in society, the really poor who until recently lived in sheds by the lake but now find them self sleeping in the open air at night since the “government clean-up” began 2 months ago in preparation for Bangladesh to host the cricket world cup. They sent the army and the police to break down the sheds in the name of beautification to impress there guests and create a false sense of prosperity. They instructed these people to move on. But where do you go when the shed is all you have and your daily living is dependant on the mercy of “Allah”.
But I guess such disparity and disastrous and chaotic lives are reaped by the poor in a third world country where corruption rules and the poor are trampled further and further on.
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