Second Generation Bangladeshis holding vigil for Rajon in Brooklyn, New York.

Second Generation Bangladeshi

It was a small but important event. There were only 30-35 people – some second-generation Bangladeshi young, some first-generation adults, some men, some women – all living in New York City. They get together to remember a boy not known to them, even a few weeks ago. The boy, 13-year-old  Samiul Alam Rajon, was brutally killed by a group of men in Bangladesh on July 8, 2015.

The second generation of Bangladeshis – some are as young as Rajon- met in Brooklyn to hold a vigil, demanded justice, and asked to stop the nonsensical deaths of so many innocent kids in Bangladesh and across the world.

They said what others had already said. But what was new was their presence as a second-generation Bangladeshi community. They positioned themselves as the community’s voice. They did not make a huge banner or buy newspaper and TV ads, but the effort was a good and right step.

Violence in Bangladesh is common. As mythical as it may sound, as a tolerant country, Bangladesh also condones a tremendous amount of violence. Mixed with despair and disability, fate and faith, history and heritage, police and politics, the lives of Bangladeshi people just go on with a variety of violence. On the other hand, people routinely protest against violence, demand justice, the government makes a task force, sometimes takes action, few are punished, but most of them are forgotten from the public mind, as this routine never changes.

The first generation of Bangladeshi immigrants abroad is well-acquainted with this pattern. They witness the killing of Rajons, the staging of protests, the making of promises, and the taking of steps, whether right or wrong. Time passes, and life continues. While some second-generation Bangladeshis are aware of this trend, most are not. Some can comprehend it, while most cannot. Some understand it, while most do not. However, no one wants to be a part of their prior generation’s repetitive and monotonous mindset that seems to go on forever, like an endless nightmare.

It’s not bad, but they organized a ‘Vigil for Rajon’ in Brooklyn as part of a bold dream.

Again, what they did was more important than what they said. They created an event on Facebook, invited others, communicated with their peers, asked non-Bangladeshi friends to join in, and brought a few first-generation Bangladeshis who cared. Not much was said, indeed. Everyone decently took their turn to say something – short, sharp and to the point – a rarity among Bangladeshi society.

They circled the Church-McDonald Avenue crossing—where many Bangladeshis meet, mingle, gossip, chit-chat, live, and work in Brooklyn—with vigil and slogan. They were not just there to say that they gathered only for Rajon’s in Bangladesh; indeed, they were there to tell that they care for the community they belong to and the country their parents came from, and want to act with resilience and responsibility.

This second-generation Bangladeshi initiative seemed isolated, as there was less enthusiasm among the local Bangladeshi people. They reacted with cautious curiosity and passed by as evasive onlookers. From a nearby mosque, more Bangladeshi Muslims came out after prayer, none stopped by to ask about the event or to attend the Vigil for Rajon!

In a sense, first- and second-generation Bangladeshis have a cultural gap outside of Bangladesh. They are connected but understand each other less. How come when Rajon’s are dying in Bangladesh, first generation Bangladeshis gave wordy statements, but none came out to support the event of young Bangladeshis! On the contrary, any establishment from Bangladesh got a kind of ‘mini-humongous’ reception at airports, hotels, houses, restaurants, streets, and even at picnics. For the first generation, the first event has a clear goal, and the second has a specific ‘aim’.

Again, it is what it is. Child violence happens, people protest, leaders give statements, committees are formed, investigations are ordered, recommendations are submitted, and the outcome remains obscure! Violence happens, people protest, leaders…the cycle goes on and on until it does not end. This is what most Bangladeshis living abroad saw and take for granted. These are part of the payment for being a Bangladeshi. It is still that reality for the first generation of Bangladeshis abroad.

They can show that a better alternative is possible.

What can the second-generation Bangladeshis do? Nothing much or minimal, perhaps. They can show that a better alternative is possible: less talk, more work; less division, more unity; less shouting, more thinking; less newspapers, more books; less drama, more diversity; less popularity, more responsibility. To do this little, the second generation of Bangladeshis does not need confrontation or conversation with the prior generation. Remember Nike?

Bangladesh will not get back Rajon and many others. Still, suppose the sad demise of Rajon can give birth to some spark among the new generation of Bangladeshis to be deeply dedicated, highly motivated, and create a new breed of Bangladeshis in distant lands. In that case, the nation might not have to ask for endless forgiveness from the Rajons who are facing violence and being killed every day.

I hope those tiny lights of the vigil were meant to remember Rajon and welcome a new generation of young Bangladeshi activists living abroad.

International Bangla Festival & Book Fair, NYC

Bangla Festival & Book Fair in NYC

Bangla Utshob and Boimela
Bangla Utshob & Boimela

Muktadhara Foundation organized a 3-day-long International Bangla Festival & Book Fair at the William Cullen Bryant High School of Long Island City from June 13 to 15, 2014. According to the organizer, it was their 23rd Bangla Book Fair. The fair was attended by many people, mostly of Bangladeshi origin. Some attendees were from West Bengal, a state in India, and others from Europe. Hence, it was international in nature.  The objectives of the fair 2014 were “to project the cultural heritage of Bengali to expatriate Bangladesh and West Bengal and other communities living in North America. And to build a sustainable link between the expatriate Bengalis and the land where they or their ancestors were born in the field of information exchange, literature, culture & business.”

The Bangla Festival & Book Fair brought together a diverse group of Bangla writers, readers, poets, artists, reciters, musicians, book publishers, and spectators. The event was filled with various programs, including general discussions, literary discussions, a QA session with writers, a song, dance, drama, recitation, a children’s essay competition, a youth forum, photo exhibitions, a writer’s corner, a short film, and more. Different programs were held in various parts of the venue, with some event spaces given names such as the Ali Anowar Room, Salman Khan Room, and Aminul Haque Room. There were also book stalls, clothing and jewelry stalls, food stalls, NGO stalls, and various other types of stalls. A nice souvenir was available, and a program leaflet was always on hand to pick up.

It was a festive, hectic, and inspiring event. I went there for the last two days to enjoy and observe the festival. The list of guests and programs indicates that it was a significant event. Organizing such an event successfully was undoubtedly not an easy job! A big congratulations to organizers, sponsors, attendees, participants, and all interested parties. It was better than a great festival.

Some discussion on technology, sports, and more spotlight on the youth forum could have been given!

I ventured to different parts of the Book Fair and enjoyed them. I, however, also expected a bit more futuristic flavor from the festival. Felt that the festival was past-oriented. Here are my two main observations (and suggestions):

  1. The festival was full of programs, but there was no science or technology-related discussion of any form. Why not? Who knows! Today, our life, ‘liberty’, literature, language, and likings are inundated by so many technological innovations (Facebook, Twitter, sms, apps, robotics, VR, etc). When we are gradually moving from writing to typing, typing to touching, touching to gesturing, and gesturing to ‘thinking’ – hundreds of topics can be thought of to discuss related to science and technology. Let’s do a quick, fun exercise about possible topics: (Again, this is just for fun)
    • ‘The Face of Bangla e-books’,
    • ‘Internet and Bangla Language: Today’,
    • ‘Possibility of a Bangla Bing/Google’
    • ‘One and Unified Bangla Typewriter’,
    • ‘Publishing Top-notch Online Bangla Newspaper’,
    • Bangla Language: Year 2100′,
    • ‘Self-publishing Technology and Bangla Book Publishing’,
    • Moimonshingho Gitika and the Psychology of Bengali’,
    • ‘The Science of Charchapod‘,
    • ‘Neurology of Language: Bangladesh Perspective‘. 
  2. Out of all the programs, I enjoyed the youth forum the most. Okay, I wouldn’t say it’s extraordinarily fancy and fantastic, but it was very dynamic, hopeful, and energetic, and it was in English. This 2-day youth program was “designed, coordinated, conducted, and presented by second-generation Bengalis“. Young Bangladeshi-Americans presented and discussed various topics about entrepreneurship, politics, the importance of volunteering, the first-generation immigrant experience, the history of Bangladesh, making films in the USA, community connection through photography, responses to domestic violence, etc. Even with a poor audio system, and hard to show their slides (due to bright light in the room), the youth presenters tried their best to make it interesting, informative, and engaging. The discussion was entirely in English, which was natural and the right thing to do. While adults debated whether the new generation of Bangladeshi-Americans should learn Bangla to be considered Bengali, in the next room, the young were busy presenting their ideas in full swing in English. Unfortunately, not enough first-generation audiences were there to listen to them! A meaningful dialogue/conversation between the first and the second generation immigrants about how to represent Bengali could have been arranged! What the new generation of Bangladeshi Americans thinks of Bengali culture remains unknown.

Other observations of the Bangla Book Fair, where things can be done differently:

  • The photo exhibition of the Bangladesh Liberation War 1971 on the 2nd floor was an excellent inclusion. This should have been given more highlights. I almost missed it! The photo exhibition by Pavel Rahman was also interesting and perhaps a bit nostalgic for adult-enough Bangladeshis. It could have been displayed in a corner by creating a more appropriate atmosphere.
  • Organizers can utilize the internet to provide more information. A few simple spelling mistakes on the home page could be avoided where ‘New York’ became ‘Ney York’, ‘Bengali’ became ‘Benglai‘, etc. (Now, I am concerned about my mistakes!)
  • The event is over now. If someone needs information about this festival (such as writings, pictures, or videos) in the coming years, how will they obtain it? Archiving the event program is an important task that can be accomplished.
  • Next time, maybe a big prominent display at the venue entrance with clear directions of the room, programs, time etc. can be displayed; audio system can be improved, etc.

Lastly, looking beyond the limit is like loving the limitless – this occasion was a good practice of that. Thanks again, for organizing such a fantastic event.

Doodle 4 Google winner Audrey Zhang

From Google Doodle to clean water in Bangladesh

From Google Doodle to clean water in Bangladesh? Well, yes, sometimes it is unexpected but not impossible in today’s so much connected world – as long as someone is thinking and dreaming big to do just that!

11-year old Audrey Zhang of New York is the winner of 2014 Doodle 4 Google competition. She won out of more than 100,000 submissions, 250 state finalists, 50 state winners, and 5 national age group winners. This year’s theme was “draw one thing to make the world a better place.” Audrey Zhang’s submission was based on her idea of transformative water purifier. Her piece, titled “Back to Mother Nature,” depicts an elaborate water-cleaning machine. She created a whole world around the device – one populated by humans, a whale in a top hat and dragons.

She wrote: “To make the world a better place, I invented a transformative water purifier. It takes in dirty and polluted water from rivers, lakes, and even oceans, then massively transforms the water into clean, safe and sanitary water, when humans and animals drink this water, they will live a healthier life.”

Later, Zhang worked with a team of artists at Google to animate her drawing. It is on the Google home page from June 9th.

Audrey Zhang’s win translate into $30,000 college scholarship money for herself, $50,000 Google for Education technology grant for her school and a google.org donation of $20,000 in her name to charity:water toward providing clean water to schools in Bangladesh.

Her win is good news for Bangladesh as some schools there will get clean and safe water!

It’s amazing to think sometimes that a simple dream of solving a problem on a piece of paper can provide life saving essentials to someone who lives other side of the world! Indirectly but inevitably, Audrey Zhang have touched the life of some Bangladeshi school children. Congratulations to Audrey Zhang!

Hope charity:water will tell the story of Audrey Zhang, her Google Doodle, her dream of making a transformative water purifier to Bangladeshi kids who will be beneficial from this donation. May be one day those Bangladeshi kids will be transformed to dream wild, think big, and change the life of others too!

Photographs from Bangladesh

Bangladesh: Nine Photographers

It was a very cold and windy night when Eyes on Bangladesh started their opening reception of photo exhibition of Bangladeshi Photographers yesterday in New York City. But that all felt nice and warm once I was in front of those photographs! Sometime people’s life, day-to-day events, ordinary places, mundane time do not make sense unless someone sees through the lenses and set them in frames. Taken mostly by young photographers of Bangladesh, these photographs tell the story they feel important, should be told and talked about. The Photographers took these pictures from an activist point of view. They covered issues like social justice, human rights, women empowerment, environmental concern, effects of globalization, slum dwelling, etc. This exhibition is a window of opportunity to see what young Bangladeshis are mostly concern about.

The photographers are all of Bangladeshi origin, mostly young, nine total, seven men and two women, some are already awarded for their talent and work. They are:

Jannatul Mawa’sClose Distance‘ is a series of nine pictures about housemaids and their respective housewives. Housemaids in Bangladesh live very closely with their master’s family under the same roof but have distant parallel relationship. They are dependent on each other but not equal. I liked the simple portrait kind of placement of the subjects. It is interesting to see their body languages, facial expressions, position of their hands and legs, some with bare foot, some are not. Can a picture tell the story of their relationship? Apart from the economic reality, I was mostly interested in seeing who seems to be the happiest of nine!! The pictures have power of drawing you into a mind game.

In Love Story, Shamsul Alam Helal has presented 12 studio pictures of his subjects. They are wild, funny, and colorful. These photos are about dream.  Dreams of ‘we the people of Bangladesh’. Dreams seen through the lenses and printed on paper. Dreams can be daring, delightful, smokey, ephemeral, out of reach, hilarious, even unscrupulous but they are dear to the people who want to scape from reality. Who likes reality wholeheartedly! Do you?

Sarker Protick’s series ‘Of Rivers and Lost Lands‘ is a collection of eight pictures – reminder of a grey apocalypse in progress! With destroyed houses, drowned trees, disappearing villages people are becoming refugees in their own land. They have nowhere to go but live there. Lives are slowly disappearing into the white fogs of point of no return. In Protick’s word: ‘Places I have photographed do not exist anymore. River erosion still continues with dire consequences for this land and community.’

Munem Wasif’s Belonging is a series of photographs of old part of Dhaka city. He tried to capture the chaotic beauty of everyday life of residents there. He wanted to find harmony, connection, and symbolic meaning of what seems like a hi-volume, high pitch, broken electronic sound recorder of life as usual! All his 20 photographs are in black and white.

Saikat Mojumder’s 12 color photographs of slum life is depiction of struggle of arrival of a new life. Life, in abstract sense, do not care whether you are happy or not – it just wants you to bear the sensation of being the container of it.

Taslima Akhter’s photographs are about a disastrous building collapse near Dhaka. More than thousand people died. She took some heart-rending photos of the event. Pure madness to keep a higher living standard in one part of the world is taking life away from other parts of the world.

Rasel Chowdhury photographed the rapidly changing landscapes of Bangladesh and its environmental impact. Green – the color Bangladesh proudly love has been replaced by grayish ruthless presence of bricks, buildings, tires, and pollution. Dusty, dry and grey tone of the photographs fit with the mood of what he wanted convey.

Six photographs of  Rashid Talukder was on display. He is probably most known to many Bangladeshis and aboard. His pictures were about 1971 and perfectly in line with the mood of March 26, the Independence Day of Bangladesh. Some of the photographs I saw before but they never failed to haunt me. 1971 was an absurdly painful, madly destructive time for a nation at birth.

Shumon Ahmed is a visual artist and he works with photo, video, text, sound and compilation of these forms. His installation was also an interesting piece!

Why do it?
The organizers – Eyes on Bangladesh – take all the pain and pleasure to make this exhibition to start a new kind of conversation with other Bangladeshis (and I assume, non-Bangladeshis too). Their questions – Is a potential dialog possible with the parents on wide-ranging issues? Who are the role models in Bangladesh community? Why divide more? Do they have to find and walk the path alone? It seems like they wanted to turn to a more dynamic, more creative, more challenging, more unifying, more critical path than their first generation ‘ancestors’.  They want to understand the root of their ethnicity, be a proud and productive member of a community that are still very small, very new, very vibrant, full of possibilities in the United States. Hope this is an excellent effort towards building a bright future for generations to come.

Are there any connections among these photographers? Well, I think a connection can be made. These pictures speak  about a system of injustice and inhuman reality where the victims are less powerful, very helpless, truly neglected. A sense of imprisonment is there. Rashid Talukder’s photographs spoke about a massive injustice towards a nation. Likewise, others voiced their concern about captivated freedom of housemaids, about ruthless urban development regardless of environment, about ever powerful jaws of abject poverty, about callous side of globalization, about inescapable climate change, about unattainable basic requirements.

On the other hand, there are powerful messages in these photographs. By being in front of curious cameras – these injustices are getting documented, meeting audiences, begging for options, shaking our consciences. One day these injustices may hear songs of freedom!

No wonder, cameras are mightier than pens!

And this last paragraph is a well-wished and good faith observation. I missed the photographer’s work related bio. There was no descriptions about their work in the distributed flyer. Photographer’s bio on the wall was too small to read and was placed lower than the natural eye level. Placement of many pictures were too high to get into. Pictures are a piece of frozen time. Unless we can see them good, they cannot ‘speak’ to us effectively as intended. Position, placement, height, light, size, print quality all counts in an exhibition. Hope this will improve in other events. For now, many thanks to organizers.

The event runs from March 26 to March 30, 2014.

Bangladeshis on Mount Everest

Bangladesh and the Mt. Everest

Mountaineers from Bangladesh
Mountaineers from Bangladesh

So there I have been watching all those mountaineering docs for years now – the first one I saw is still one of the best and most fav – Touching the Void – a true story of mountaineering event happened in Peruvian Andes in 1985. Since then I try not to miss any mountaineering related docs. Fast forward, last week when I was watching K2 – The Killer Summit, I wondered, was there any Bangladeshi ever climbed K2 or the Mt. Everest? A quick google search gave me name of Musa Ibrahim – first Bangladeshi to climb Mt. Everest. He reached the summit on May 23, 2010 and hoisted flag of Bangladesh there. With that Bangladesh became the 67th Mount Everest conquering country.

Few more searches gave me the following names:

  1. Musa Ibrahim (1st man) May 23, 2010
  2. M. A. Muhit (2nd man), May 21, 2011 (climbed twice!)
  3. Nishat Mazumder (1st woman) May 19, 2012
  4. Wasfia Nazreen (2nd woman) May 26, 2012 (youngest Everest conqueror from Bangladesh, at 29)
  5. Mohammed Khaled Hossain (aka Sajal Khaled) May 21, 2013 (died while descending from Mount Everest the same day)

I was curious about what these guys do at their daily lives? What are their professions? Musa Ibrahim is a journalist, Muhit is a marketing executive of an NGO, Nishsat is an accountant, Wasfia is a social worker, and Khaled was a film director. They are all ordinary guys with one exception – they all have a big extra-ordinary vision for them and for their country!

I don’t know if any other Bangladeshis who have reached the top of world. I will add them if I know their names!