জন্মভূমি ও শরণার্থী

Rohingya refugee in a camp in Bangladesh. (Photo: UNOPS)

বাড়ি সবসময় আমাদের হৃদয়ের কাছাকাছি একটি জায়গা, শুধুমাত্র এই কারণেই নয় যে আমরা সেখানে জন্মগ্রহণ করেছি, বড় হয়েছি এবং সেখানেই বাস করি। প্রকৃতপক্ষে বাড়ি বলতে ইট, পাথর, টিন, কাঠ বা বাঁশের কোন কাঠামো বোঝায় না। বাড়ি হলো সেই জায়গা যা ভালবাসা, মায়া এবং যত্নে লালিত।

আমাদের মাতৃভূমি বাড়িরই একটি বর্ধিত সংস্করণ, যা আমাদের দেশপ্রেমকে জাগ্রত করে। 

কোভিড-১৯ মহামারী এবং দীর্ঘ লকডাউনের কারণে আমরা ভালোবাসা এবং যত্নের বাইরেও মূলত জীবন বাঁচানোর জন্য বাড়িতেই দীর্ঘ বন্দিত্ব বরণ করতে বাধ্য হয়েছিলাম। এ সময় হাজার হাজার অভ্যন্তরীণ এবং বিদেশী অভিবাসী শ্রমিক চাকুরি ও আয় রোজগারের পথ হারিয়ে নিঃস্ব এবং হতাশ হয়ে বাড়ি ফিরেছিল।

এহেন অবস্থা সত্ত্বেও শান্তি ও ভরসার বিষয় ছিলো যে বিশ্বের কোটি কোটি ঘর-বাড়িহীন ও দেশহীন মানুষের চেয়ে আমরা ভাগ্যবান। কারণ আর যাই হোক আমাদের ঘর-বাড়ি ও জন্মভূমি আছে, যা তাদের নেই। 

জাতিসংঘের শরণার্থী সংস্থা ইউএনএইচসিআর-র তথ্য অনুসারে বিশ্বে প্রায় জোরপূর্বক বাস্তুচ্যুত মানুষের সংখ্যা প্রায় ৭ কোটি ৮০ লাখের মতো।

মানুষ প্রাকৃতিক দুর্যোগ এবং সংঘাতের কারণে বাস্তুচ্যুত হয়, এবং তাদের অনেক নামে ডাকা হয় - উদ্বাস্তু, রাষ্ট্রহীন, অভ্যন্তরীণভাবে বাস্তুচ্যুত ব্যক্তি, আশ্রয়প্রার্থী, শরণার্থী ইত্যাদি। তারা সবাই তাদের প্রিয় স্থান - বাড়ি এবং স্বদেশ থেকে বঞ্চিত।

ক‌রোনা মহামারী ও আমাদের পরিবেশগত পাপসমুহ

ইনানী বিচ, কক্সবাজার, বাংলাদেশ (ছবিঃ এএফপি)

২০২০ সালের এপ্রিল মাসের মাঝামাঝি সময়। সারা বিশ্ব তখন করোনা মহামারীর প্রবল প্রতাপে বিপর্যন্ত। ইতালীয় একজন প্রাণীবিদ একটি মনোমুগ্ধকর দৃশ্যের ভিডিও ধারণ করেন যেখানে একটি জেলিফিশকে ভেনিস শহরের হ্রদের নির্মল জলে বিশাল অট্টালিকার প্রতিবিম্বের সাথে খেলা করতে দেখা যায়। করোনা মহামারীর কারণে শূন্য হয়ে পড়ার পূর্বে ভেনিস ছিল বিশ্বের সবচেয়ে জনপ্রিয় পর্যটন স্থানগুলোর মধ্যে অন্যতম।

সে বছরের মার্চ মাসের ৯ তারিখে কঠোর লকডাউন শুরু হলে ভেনিস শহর পর্যটকশূন্য হয়ে পড়ে। জেলিফিশের ভিডিওটি সামাজিক মাধ্যমে ভাইরাল হয় এবং অনেকে বলতে শুরু করে, “প্রকৃতি আবার ভেনিস শহরকে ফেরৎ নিয়ে নিচ্ছে।”

ভেনিস তার অসামান্য পরিবেশগত সৌন্দর্য, নান্দনিক স্থাপত্যশৈলী এবং সাংস্কৃতিক ঐতিহ্যের কারণে একাধারে ইউনেস্কো স্বীকৃত বিশ্ব ঐতিহ্য এবং ইউরোপের অন্যতম রোমান্টিক নগরী হিসেবে নন্দিত। কিন্তু ভেনিসের ঐতিহ্য ও সৌন্দর্য তার বোঝাস্বরুপ, কারণ প্রতি বছর গড়ে প্রায় ৩০ লক্ষ পর্যটক এ নগরীতে ঘুরতে আসেন।        

সচরাচর দ্রুতগামী ইঞ্জিনচালিত নৌকা ও প্রমোদতরীর অন্তহীন চলাচলে ভেনিসের খাল ও হ্রদের জল বিরতিহীনভাবে আন্দোলিত হতে থাকে। তাতে ভেনিস যেন অসহায়ভাবে হাঁপিয়ে ওঠে। পর্যটনের এ দূষণ ছাড়াও নিকটবর্তী পোর্তো মার্ঘেরা শিল্প এলাকা থেকে রাসায়নিক বর্জ্য নি:সরণ ভেনিসের পরিবেশের জন্য হুমকিস্বরুপ। আর তাই করোনাকালে জনজীবনে স্থবিরতা ভেনিসের পরিবেশের জন্য শাপে বর হিসেবে আবির্ভূত হয়।

হাজারো মাইল দূরে বাংলাদেশের সাগরদুহিতা পর্যটন নগরী কক্সবাজারে করোনা মহামারীকালে এক প্রাকৃতিক পুনর্জাগর লক্ষ্য করা গেছে। এর সূচনা হয় ২০২০ সালের ২৬ মার্চে দেশব্যাপী লকডাউনের পর।

এপ্রিল মাসে বহু বছর পর বঙ্গোপসাগরে ডলফিনকে খেলা করতে দেখা গেছে। সাগরতটের প্রতিবেশের গুরুত্বপূর্ণ অঙ্গ সাগরলতা (Beach Morning Glory) আবার নতুন করে জেগে উঠতে শুরু করে। এ লতাগুল্মটি রেলরোড ভাইন নামেও পরিচিত। কক্সবাজারের সমুদ্র সৈকতে পর্যটকদের অন্তহীন চলাচল, নির্বিচার দূষণ এবং অপরিকল্পিতভাবে স্থাপনা নির্মাণের কারণে এ গুরুত্বপূর্ণ গুল্মটি বিলুপ্ত হয়ে গেছে বলে পরিবেশবিদগণ মনে করতেন।

যদিও কক্সবাজার ভেনিসের মতো বিশ্বব্যাপী জনপ্রিয় পর্যটনকেন্দ্র নয়, তবুও জনবহুল বাংলাদেশের এ নগরীতে প্রতি বছর সবচেয়ে বেশি পর্যটক বেড়াতে আসে। কিন্তু দু:খজনক হলো এ বিপুলসংখ্যক পর্যটকের সিংহভাগ পৃথিবীর এ দীর্ঘতম সমুদ্র সৈকতের পরিবেশ নিয়ে মোটেও মাথা ঘামান না এবং যত্রতত্র ময়লা ও আবর্জনা ফেলে পরিবেশকে নোংরা করেন।

যদিও করোনা মহামারী গোটা বি‌শ্বের জন্য এক মহাবিপর্যয় হিসেবে আবির্ভূত হয়েছিল, কিন্তু ভেনিস ও কক্সবাজারে প্রকৃতির নবজাগরণ ছিল এ মহাসংকটের কতিপয় ইতিবাচক দিকের মধ্যে অন্যতম। 

Covid-19 deals mortal blow to freedom of speech

A guard of honor pays tribute to late Awami League leader and former health minister Mohammed Nasim as officials and activists attend his burial at the Banani graveyard in Dhaka on June 14. (Photo: AFP)

Sirajum Munira, 28, a lecturer at Begum Royeka University in northern Bangladesh, was arrested under the country's controversial Digital Security Act (DSA) on June 14. Her arrest was soon followed by dismissal from her job.

Her crime was a one-line Facebook post that mocked Mohammed Nasim, the former home and health minister who died of Covid-19 on June 13. She later apologized and deleted the post, yet she became one of a string of arrests and abuses over social media posts related to the pandemic.

Munira’s derogatory remarks against Nasim, an influential politician from the ruling Awami League party elected to parliament six times, were inappropriate, but the reason for them is well known. Nasim’s 2014-19 tenure at the health and family welfare ministry was mired in massive corruption, which probably cost him a cabinet post in the current government. His legacy in the health sector continues.

Bangladesh has drawn strong criticism at home and abroad for its inability to stem Covid-19. From its first three reported cases on March 8, the country had recorded 115,786 cases and 1,502 deaths as of June 22.

Much of the blame lies with poor state health services — lack of resources and coordination, poor services, mismanagement and discrimination — that have become more exposed in the time of a pandemic. Even Nasim’s family couldn’t trust the state health services he once led and he was treated in a private facility, but he didn’t survive.

The top brass of the health sector have not only failed to adopt effective policies and courses of action to curb the spread of the virus but have also put the lives of medics in grave danger by not providing high-quality personal protective equipment in time. Media reports busted a syndicate that provided substandard N95 masks for doctors, putting their lives at risk.

Some 3,301 health workers including 1,041 doctors, 901 nurses and 1,360 medical staff have been infected with the coronavirus. About 50 doctors, most of them specialists, have died from Covid-19, according to the Bangladesh Medical Association.

On the other hand, dozens of ruling party leaders and local government officials have been accused of stealing food aid intended for the poor under the government’s relief schemes.

Yet criticizing has become more dangerous than ever as the state and non-state actors are quick to vent anger on whistleblowers to wash their hands.

Remembering a shepherd who smelled the sheep

A nun greets Archbishop Moses Montu Costa, CSC on his 22nd Episcopal Ordination anniversary in 2018 (Photo: Chittagong Catholic Archdiocese)

About three weeks after Holy Cross Archbishop Moses Montu Costa’s sudden and shocking demise, Bangladeshi Catholics at home and abroad continue to remember him online and offline every day by posting his photos, prayers for eternal rest and sharing memories.

After apparently recovering from Covid-19, he died from a brain hemorrhage caused by multiples strokes on July 13 at the age of 70.

Head of Chittagong Archdiocese, the cradle of Catholicism in Bangladesh, from 2011 until his death, Archbishop Costa earlier served as the bishop of predominantly indigenous Dinajpur Diocese from 1996 to 2011.

As secretary-general of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Bangladesh (CBCB) for more than a decade, he also served as chairman of the episcopal commissions for liturgy and prayer, youth, seminary and healthcare.

The prelate was a strong candidate for the post of archbishop of Dhaka in the nation’s capital to succeed Archbishop Cardinal Patrick D’Rozario, who is set to retire in October.

His death is indeed an irreparable loss, not only for Chittagong but also for the whole Bangladesh Church.     

It is common for minority Christians in South Asian countries to revere their bishops and archbishops as demigods.

Archbishop Costa won the hearts of many thanks to his extraordinary life and work in the services of the people of God for about four decades (including 24 years as a bishop) in various roles — a pastor in parishes, a director of future priests and teaching psychology and pastoral theology in the major seminary, and then as the head of Dinajpur and Chittagong dioceses.

He was able to overcome his human follies with great love for people as a model of a good pastor and church leader, very much in line with Pope Francis’ version of “a shepherd who smells the sheep.”

Corruption plagues battle against pandemic

Frauds by Mohammad Shahed and Dr. Sabrina are just a tip of iceberg of corruption during Covid-19 pandemic in Bangladesh (Photo: tbsnews.net)

With more than 14.7 million infections and 610,000 deaths in over seven months, COVID-19 could well be a catalyst for social, political and economic changes for good in the world.

Sadly, it has done little to nothing to trigger any positive outcome by eliminating social evils like corruption, both individual and institutional, in the national and global orders heavily dominated by extreme globalization and crony-capitalism.

Corruption costs a staggering US$3.6 trillion each year, United Nations chief Antonio Guterres said in 2018. Corruption in global health sectors is estimated at $455 billion annually, the highest, according to Berlin-based Transparency International.

During the COVID-19 outbreak, corruption has emerged in diverse and innovative forms at the expense of human lives.

Somalia, currently the world's most corrupt country, has seen medical equipment being stolen from hospitals and sold in markets openly.

Zimbabwe sacked its health minister for the purchase of low-quality testing kits. Greek police are investigating a hospital for releasing elderly patients before they had recovered from COVID-19 so that it could admit new patients for more income.

In March, police in London arrested a man for selling counterfeit testing kits. Recently, a hospital in Amritsar, India, has been accused of issuing fake COVID-19 positive certificates to healthy people to earn big money.

However, Bangladesh has moved extra miles in innovative and massive corruption. From buying substandard medical equipment to the distribution of food and cash aid to poor people, corruption has engulfed the entire COVID-19 response system in this South Asian country.

South Asia's ticking Covid-19 time bomb

Funeral workers in Bangladeshi capital Dhaka bury a person who died from Coronavirus (Photo by Stephan Uttom/UCA News)

The Covid-19 pandemic might have hit South Asia a little late, but the damage has already been done.

More than three months after the ordeal began, the region’s 1.7 billion people, one fifth of the world’s population, are passing their days and nights in fear of a grave human tragedy.

Major South Asian countries have seen a jump in daily infections from a month ago. In early May, Bangladesh was recording 400-500 infections; now it averages 2,500 a day. India has been registering about 10,000 new cases daily, up from about 2,500 in May.

Infections and deaths continue to surge in the region every day, yet India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal have eased nationwide lockdowns that somewhat managed to tame the deadly virus but failed to stop it effectively. 

Current trends in most South Asian nations indicate that the easing of the restrictions and heath emergency rules are most likely to fuel the spread of the pandemic that has rocked even the richest and most developed countries in the West.

South Asia’s massive population, extreme poverty, weak human resources and poor healthcare systems provide perfect conditions for a looming humanitarian disaster.

The pandemic and our ecological sins

People gather at a beach of Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh (Photo: AFP)

In mid-April, a biologist filmed a heartwarming video of a jellyfish gliding through clean waterways with reflections of the grand places of Venice, the Italian city that used to be one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world before the Covid-19 pandemic struck.

Venice has been deserted since pandemic-stricken Italy went into lockdown on March 9. The jellyfish video went viral on social media and some were elated that nature was taking back the city.

Venice, a world heritage site, is fondly called one of the most romantic cities in Europe thanks to its environmental, architectural and cultural attractions. Its heritage has also become a burden given that an estimated 30 million tourists visit every year.

Venice gasped as the water in its canals became turbid through the endless movement of speeding boats and cruise ships. In addition to pollution by tourism, petrochemical discharges from nearby Porto Marghera industrial zone were also blamed for damaging its ecology.

Thousands of miles away, Bangladesh’s beach city of Cox’s Bazar has also experienced a natural revival since the country went into a nationwide Covid-19 shutdown on March 26.

After many years, dolphins were spotted playing in the Bay of Bengal near empty beaches in April. Sagorlota (beach morning glory), a key component of beach ecology, returned and flourished. The herb, also known as railroad vine, was thought to be have become extinct in Cox’s Bazar due to unrestrained movement of tourists, pollution and the construction of buildings along the beaches.

While Cox’s Bazar does not attract many foreign tourists, it is the most popular destination for Bangladeshi tourists, who care too little for the world’s longest unbroken stretch of sandy beaches and leave them covered in litter.

The natural reset in Venice, Cox’s Bazar and other parts of the world might be one of the few positive aspects in this time of great difficulties for the world.

The dreadful influence of religious fundamentalism

More than 100,000 followers defy a ban on public gatherings to attend the funeral of Islamic preacher Maulana Zubayer Ahmad Ansari in his home village in Bangladesh on April 18. (Photo Supplied)

"Speak no ill of the dead" is an old saying, so it is inappropriate to ask Maulana Zubayer Ahmad Ansari, a prominent Islamic preacher and politician in Bangladesh, why he had to die in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ansari, 56, was a firebrand preacher and leader of Khelafat Majlish, an Islamic political party, who had a large in his home district of Brahmanbaria and in other parts of the country.

More than 100,000 of his diehard followers defied a ban on public gatherings amid an ongoing nationwide shutdown to attend his funeral at his home village on April 18. It made national and international headlines and triggered fear about speedy community transmission of the coronavirus.

Social media sites were flooded with criticism and memes, and many grabbed the chance to hit out at the people of Brahmanbaria, a district known for religious fundamentalism and whose villagers are infamous for deadly violence over trivial matters such as quarreling about food quality at wedding ceremonies, cutting branches and so on.

The government was upset and vented anger by transferring some local officials, although they said they didn't permit the gathering but were helpless to stop it.

In fact, no local administration can stop such large crowds from honoring Islamic leaders, whether dead or alive.

Why do people take such risks to honor Islamic preachers and leaders? And why does the government remain toothless in stopping such gatherings?

A local journalist asked an Ansari follower what made him defy restrictions on movement. The man said he knew about the risks but he was "carried away by emotions."

Corona Diary 02: Life or death--Choice is yours

Coronavirus (Photo: BBC News)

Yes, there is no doubt our government was sloppy in responding to Corornavirus outbreak, and now, it seems out of place to decide what to do to tackle a crisis that is slowly getting out of their control. Ours is an underdeveloped, overpopulated and poorly educated nation, and we hardly make good decisions and take right actions in the time of a crisis. The government has made mistakes in underestimating the gravity of a global crisis and many people are likely to pay huge price for it, and in the process image of the government will ultimately get tarnished.
But, please look at what many ordinary people are doing, except for some great people including doctors, healthcare workers and generous donors across the country. They simply don't care about what the government is telling--stay home, stay safe. No, they don't really care, because we are among the least law-abiding nations in the world. We are born in droves and we die in droves, often we kill ourselves by taking stupid and unnecessary risks. I suspect lots of people will die from Covid-19 simply because of this self-killing tendency and it has probably started. Even if I die from Covid-19 now, it will be likely because I have been stupid too. Apart from staying home, we also need to do something positive and creative, so our time during the lockdown is worthwhile and well-spent. Let us read books, watch movies, dramas etc and help in household activities.
Also, please stop flooding social media with real or fake news or videos one after another everyday. We are already connected globally by Internet, and we already have enough information about the pandemic. So, please don't make people more upset about spreading more bad news. There are well placed sources to get updates on global and national figures of Covid-19 infections and deaths. So, you don't need to post it like a scorer of a cricket match hourly or daily basis. You cannot treat figures of people getting sick or dying like scorecard if you are really sorry about their suffering.
Real people make right decisions in the time of a crisis. Maybe our government has failed, but it is up to us if we would like to fail too. We may not be alive to see what happened at the end!