I cry for you, Bangladesh

Something is rotten in the state of Denmark,” said Marcellus, a palace guard, in Shakespeare's Hamlet. Marcellus was referring to the decay and corruptionz that prevailed in the kingdom. One could rephrase the quote (with apologies to the bard) to say, “Something is rotten in the state” of everything in Bangladesh. A country that is being pushed toward anarchy and chaos by the partisan squabbles and mutual recriminations of shortsighted politicians.

Recently, when a member of the main opposition party (BNP) was shot and injured in a busy Dhaka street, the ruling Awami League and the BNP both embarked on a propaganda blame game. Preposterous theories floated around,creating the impression that the discernable facts were just the tip of an iceberg, masking murkier secrets. Everyone apparently knew how the attack occurred and who was covering up what --everyone, except the police. To date, the offenders have not been apprehended, and probably the truth will never surface.

What is distressing is that the pattern of unresolved criminality is incessantly repeated --whether it's the Sagar-Runi murders or the brutal killings of seven people in Narayanganj. The public is subjected to the standard routine: a resolute statement by the government that the perpetrators of the crime will be tracked down and brought to justice followed by a protracted police investigation. The case is then shelved into oblivion. The government's tall promises of protecting the rights of the people are forgotten until the next crime occurs … and it's déjà vu. Meanwhile, the rumour mills and the opposition work overtime weaving conspiracy theories and injecting a sense of hopelessness and cynicism amongst ordinary folks.

Regrettably, matters have come to a state when crimes committed in full public view have become part of a citizen's daily diet. Innocent men, women and children are burnt, hacked, and bombed in the presence of hundreds of witnesses and no one is held accountable. The BNP activists and supporters continue to execute their scorched-earth strategy of destroying public and private assets and endangering innocent lives to paralyse the country -- all in the pursuit of democracy (or so they claim). In response the ruling Awami League seems to have opted for a path of revenge and violence -- outside the aegis of the law. Sadly, both sides summarily dismiss the numerous deaths of innocent citizens as “collateral damage.” It's therefore not surprising that the common man has lost faith in a system where falsehood has acquired the gravitas of truth!

One expects the ruling party to address the ongoing mayhem since it is primarily responsible for protecting the rights and lives of citizens. However, by fighting back on the streets the government has undermined its moral authority to enforce the law. Further, the negative politics of “an eye for an eye” has hurled the ordinary masses into an orbit of scary uncertainty. The nation seems to be in a cul-de-sac, with no possibility of a peaceful compromise, since the Awami League and the BNP cannot find common ground even to start a dialogue.

But why? Why can't the adversaries unite in the pain of the blind mother who lost her only son to street violence? Or the two-year-old boy suffering burn wounds resulting from an arson attack on a bus? Why can't the leader of the BNP reflect on the suffering caused by her misguided politics? Why can't our prime minister understand that there is more to be gained in building a strong nation than in building a strong party? And, more importantly, that the disempowerment of the common people may ultimately lead to the rise of anarchy.

Some of you may question my right to be critical about a country that I no longer reside in permanently. However, I derive my right from what Bangladesh gave me in my formative years -- the dreams I dreamt after the Liberation War, the eventful and illuminating years of my youth and the freedom I enjoyed as an adult. In many ways I also feel responsible, humbly recognising the fact that I gave so little in return for all that the country has given me.

Today, as I try to absorb and assimilate the culture of a new country, I constantly struggle with a bipolar identity. I may beseparated from Bangladesh by an ocean and a continent, but it is embedded in my psyche and will always be my home. Since home is more a feeling rather than a material thing it's there with you at all times -- it's permanent and non-negotiable. As Robert Frost aptly noted: “Home is where when you go there, they have to take you in.”

So how can I not bleed when Bangladesh bleeds?

The writer is a renowned Rabindra Sangeet exponent and a former employee of the World Bank.

E-mail: shiftingimages@gmail.com