SUCH A LARGE FIELD On a certain day Sheikh Hasina arrived at her ancestral village, Tungibari, in a Nissan Patrol. In the following morning the teachers of the local primary school invited her to visit the school. She accepted the invitation. A dirt road led to the school. After walking for about a mile, the school could be seen from a distance. It consisted of three large iron sheet structures, with a large field in the middle. Two of the structures were in a state of dilapidation. One, probably built in more recent years, was in better condition. It was clear that there was none to look after the maintenance of the school. A large number of boys of different age groups, their number varying between five and seven hundred, had assembled in rows and were shouting: ‘victory to Sheikh Hasina, victory to Bangabandhu’. Virtually none of them had shirts to cover their bodies. Some even did not have pants and stood naked. The sight of her ancestral village was depressing — the dilapidated school, seven hundred boys and children with little clothes on. How will they sustain themselves when they grow older? These were disturbing thoughts that crossed my mind. I was waiting to hear what Sheikh Hasina had to say. There was an old table, a chair, and a microphone in one corner of the field. Slowly she moved towards the table and straightway began to speak over the microphone. She did not talk about the school and its state of disrepair, about the naked children and about their future. She expressed her amazement at the large size of the field. “School children in the urban areas cannot think of such a large field.” she said. She urged the audience to plant trees in the field. A member of her entourage offered the suggestion of planting guava trees. Sheikh Hasina promptly took the suggestion: ‘Yes, plant guava trees. The children can eat the fruits’. On one side of the political scenario was Ershad, the military dictator and Sheikh Hasina, the leader of the opposition in the rubber stamp parliament. On the other side. Khaleda Zia, a housewife, assuming an uncompromising stand, was organizing, single handed, a movement (for the fall of the autocratic regime) and for this purpose, she was building her party, BNP, on a strong footing. Amar Fashi Chai Freedom Fighter Motiur Rahman Rentu
Posted on: Fri, 07 Jun 2013 21:32:19 +0000
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015