As a Bangladeshi, congratulations to all the people of the world for the 50th independence anniversary of Bangladesh.

Supporting the independence of Bangladesh, the leader of the independence, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the fighters who participated in the independence war, the 3 million people who have been the victims of the war and many women who have been victimized by sexual violence, I would like to send my deepest gratitude and respect to all the people all over the world for their support.

At that time, my uncle was also participating in the Independence War. Although I was just a child, I was familiar with the difficulty and misery of the war. I will never forget that Bangladesh was founded at the cost of such a great revolutionary war.

Today, Bangladesh, with the efforts of everyone, has made considerable economic development compared to the independence period. We would also like to thank the Japanese government and Shapla Neer for supporting Bangladesh immediately after our independence. I hope that the friendly relationship between Bangladesh and Japan will continue forever.

Photo Credit : Jewel Ahsan Qumrul

On the 50th anniversary of Bangladesh’s independence

I was assigned a role at the Embassy of Japan in Bangladesh for the first time in 1994, and have worked in Dhaka 4 times for a total of 17 years. My wife and I became members of Shapla Neer the year after my first assignment in 1995. Since then we have been members for 26 years now. The history of Shapla Neer is also the history of the emergence of this country, and I have learnt a lot from what the people of Shapla Neer have told me: how Bangladesh has become independent as one of the poorest countries, and how Shapla Neer has supported the country while it faced various difficulties such as natural disasters, poverty, and political conflicts. Bangladesh has made remarkable progress, compared to the times of my first assignment in 1994.

In the future, Bangladesh will graduate from LDC (Least Developed Country) and aims to become a developed country by 2041. However, I will be returning to Japan next month after receiving orders on 1 March. I have been very fortunate as Embassy Counsellor to have been able to witness the milestone year of Bangladesh’s 50th anniversary of independence.

I hope that the relationship between Japan and Bangladesh will develop from that of a donor country and a poor country to an important partnership in Asia.

Photo Credit: Yasuharu Shinto

“Joy Bangla!” that still remains in my ears

“Joy Bangla” (Hurray Bangla). Wherever we went, we were delighted and welcomed by everyone. The war with the Pakistani army began after Bangladesh’s declaration of independence in the spring of 1971, causing severe poverty, hunger and creating many refugees. At that time, I was an art university student, and it was a time when university conflicts were raging all over Japan. Although the university was closed, there had been many days of heated debate with friends at university on “what can design do?”. After graduation, I started as a design apprentice, but was not satisfied with the work I did. One morning on a crowded commuter train, I came across a newspaper article titled “Bangladesh Agricultural Service for Reconstruction” and decided “Ok, I’m going to Bangladesh”. The lights in the dark train carriage shone at once. In the spring in rural Bangladesh, my duty from morning till night on a small tractor was to cultivate the desolate land so that it bore fruit in the fall, but I have also seen many problems in rural areas. What can young people do …?

Many friends are gathering for this activity now. Some people are making amazing progress. We see a glimmer of brilliance in the threads spun by the activists. It’s an experience, but the spirit of continuity gives us strength and changes our lives. I look forward to the next 50 years.

Photo credit: Ikufumi Fukuzawa

Bangladesh has marked its 50th anniversary since independence, and Shapla Neer has been active for 49 years. We are still developing, and are facing challenges.

In December 1973, I entered the country alone. Immediately after independence, the scars of the war were vivid. There was a slum in the center of the capital Dhaka, and there were no women in the town, giving off a strange atmosphere. Security was unstable due to daily power outages, frequent stay-at-home orders, and frequent robbery cases.

In 1974, the “Help Bangladesh Committee”* started its first activity in Poira Village.

A semi-feudal status system remained, and the majority of the villagers were landless and small farmers and day labourers were in a vicious cycle of poverty. Women and children were even more oppressed among the poor. Western NGOs were implementing symptomatic projects, but thought that they should approach the essence rather than the phenomenon. The “Jute Handicrafts Cooperative for Women” project was launched. I later heard that it was the earliest activity in the country in this area. In the same year, in Japan, the word ‘fair trade’ was not yet coined, but activities with the same philosophy had started. It is positioned as the beginning of Japan’s fair trade.

At that time, women’s facial expressions had a hard and dark impression. From around the 90’s, bright and confident figures began to be seen in photographs of women. NGOs were involved in various places, and they played a part in economic activities, such as making and exporting handicrafts for daily living like jute products and nakshi kantha generating domestic demand. By doing so, they earned foreign currency and contributed to the country, and above all, they became financially independent. I think it helped improve the status of women in their families and society.

I am deeply grateful for the support of many people in Bangladesh and Japan. My Shapla Neer activity is shaped by a series of serendipities. To put it plainly, meeting people showed us the way to go and opened the door to what we should do. In the early days of Shapla Neer, we were able to take root in Bangladesh with the help of many people, including Bangladeshi friends, nuns, and staff of Western NGOs. So, I give thanks to all of them. In particular, I had a great encounter with Mr. Saidur Rahman, Mr. Ataul Rahman and Mr. Nurul Islam (later Shapla Neer’s Advisory Committee). Without their knowledge and advice, Shapla Neer wouldn’t be where it is today.

I will never forget the interaction with the people of GUP (Gono Unnoyon Prochesta: in Bengali).”Efforts for People’s Development”, a local NGO led by Mr. Ataul. The activity in Poira village was a series of walls. For getting some suggestions, I visited the village where GUP headquarters is located in northern west Dhaka. It took me a whole day on foot along with the launch (riverboat) to get there. I arrived there in the evening. After dinner, on the terrace of the office, the staff sang a Tagore song while playing Tabla and Harmonium, and I sang Japanese nursery rhymes. It was a beautiful night with the scent of Polianthes (Rajanigandha : a white flower with fragrance) and the climate and culture of Bangladesh.

Photo Credit : Shigeru Yoshimura

＞＞　Japanese website available – click here