‘Hope our mother tongue survives’
Says Ching Ra Mro, one of the last Rengmitchya-speaking men, as the community celebrates International Mother Language Day
A small group of people, who speak Rengmitchya -- an endangered language -- living in the deep forests of Bandarban, celebrated International Mother Language Day today.
This is no news at first glance as every part of the country is celebrating the day. However, if someone visits them and understands why they are so sincere in observing the day that promotes the importance of one's mother language, one can realise the uphill battle they are against.
In Bandarban's Alikadam, the last remaining people who speak "Rengmitchya" live in a remote village called Krangchi Para on the Tain Khal (Twain Khal), a tributary of the Matamuhuri. A total of 28 families live here.
Among them, only 35 people from seven families know Rengmitcha. And more alarmingly, apart from the four elders, the new generation barely can speak it except uttering a few words.
The para doesn't have a school, let alone a Shaheed Minar. However, every year the people of this para don't forget to celebrate the day.
This year, young people built a makeshift Shaheed Minar using bamboo in the para to remember the martyrs of the Language Movement and paid floral tribute to them.
"We took this initiative to teach the new generation to respect and remember those who gave their lives for their mother language," said Ching Ra Mro, a teacher who is on a mission to save his mother tongue -- Rengmitchya.
According to the International Mother Language Institute, out of these 50 recognised ethnic minorities, 41 ethnic groups have their own language. However, "Rengmitchya", being spoken by only a handful in the remote hilly Alikadam, is not listed by the government.
According to Ching Ra Mro, today only seven people, including the elders, are alive who can speak or express themselves in this language.
Once these seven die, one more language will disappear forever from the face of the earth, he said, adding that he is trying to teach it to the younger generation, but without government support, it will be a hard task.
"Hope our mother tongue Rengmitchya survives like every other language in the world," he added.