Bangladesh: I condemn all violence

Fareez (author’s son), Bangladesh National Parliament Building, December 30, 2012. Photo: Zakir Kibria

I condemn ALL violence.

I condemn the violence carried out by West Pakistanis over Bengalis who were fighting to establish their right to speak their language.

I condemn the massacres and mass rapes carried out by West Pakistanis and their Bengali collaborators that killed hundreds of thousands of people fighting for their rights to live in an independent Bangladesh.

I condemn the fact that those who killed so many people have been living with freedom and luxury for the last 42 years.

I condemn the political parties, both BNP and Awami League, for letting them live with impunity for so many years.

I condemn the killing of blogger Thaba-baba.

I condemn the killing of more than 50 people in the last few days, some by Jamaat and some by police.

I condemn all killings and violence by Jamaat-Shibir.

I condemn the killings, corruption and rape by Chhattra League.

I condemn the Chhattra League cadre for bragging about carrying out a ‘century’ in rape and getting away with it.

I condemn BNP for collaborating with known war criminals and not condemning the attacks they are now carrying out in the name of religion.

I condemn the violence carried out by the BDR over the army officers in 2009.

I condemn the extra-judicial killings of the BDR men inside the prisons by the state.

I condemn the massacres and mass rapes carried out by the Bangladesh military on the people of the Chittagong Hill Tracts.

I condemn the abduction of Kalpana Chakma by military officers.

I condemn the attacks on Ahmadi Muslims by those who believe themselves to be gate-keepers of the ‘real’ Islam.

I condemn the killing and rape of Hindus and followers of other religion by BNP activists at different times in history in order to exterminate opposition supporters and gain electoral advantage.

I condemn the deaths of garment workers inside the very factories they work at while the owners get away.

I condemn the killing of Sagar-Runi and the audacity of the Home Minister for trying to cover up the killers by raising moral questions about their lifestyle.

I condemn the extra-judicial killings carried out by RAB in the name of ‘cross-fire’.

I condemn the corrupt political system of our country which has made us lose all faith and we know that the war criminals if put in jail will get away.

I’m proud of my mother who at 17 carried guns inside her borkha for muktijoddhas in 1971, in broad daylight while Pakistani soldiers patrolled the area. That was the first story I heard about the muktijuddho from my mother when I was growing up and I remember my seven-year-old self fill up with admiration and awe at this act of bravery.

I condemn the 42 years of impunity.

But I will not let my son say ‘fashi chai’ like that five-year-old girl I saw on TV the other day, while her parents cheered on.

I know that if I shout ‘fashi chai’ today it dehumanizes me. If today I ask my son to shout ‘fashi chai’, 10 years from now if he does anything violent, I will be responsible for it. I will be responsible for planting the seed of violence into his mind.

Violence whether physical violence, or violence in words and thoughts is like a snowball going downhill. It never brings any good to any individual, any group or any society.