& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Dhaka Day by Day

Eating Our Guests for Dinner

by Aasha Mehreen Amin
We arc known for our poverty, our floods and our unstable governments. But we are also known for our resilience — and our hospitality. Says an enthusiastic American I met the other J«y. "You guys sure know how to make people feel at home." Such praise no doubt makes any Bangladeshi proud. But what if 1 were to say that some of us arc so inhospitable that we go to the exlent of eating our own guests I Shocked, arc you not ? Cannibalism in this country ? Not quite, although for many nature lovers It is almost as heinous a crime. What I am talking about is birds. In particular, Siberian wild geese which arc on the way to disappear from Bangladesh's landscape because of indiscriminate hunting and killing.
As the extreme chill of*winter threatens to freeze the lakes and rivers of Siberia, these
birds leave their homes to start a long Journey in search of warmer habitats. Winter in Bangladesh with its mild coolness, offers the ideal climate for these birds. Some of them stay for a while and then leave to lay their eggs somewhere else. Others stay back and nest making a temporary home In this counUy. Flocks of Siberian wild geese can be seen In the swampy ar-
eas of Sylhet, Barlsal and Patuakhali. Smaller groups often pick opt their favourite trees, coming back every year lo the same trees. One of the most remarkable traits of these creatures Is their genetic memory. The offspring of these birds will choose only those trees that their parents had chosen the year before. Similarly they will instinctively avoid those trees situated in areas where their parvnls had been caught or threatened in any way. As February approaches and the traces of winter start, to disappear in Bangladesh, these birds leave'to find cooler places further south.
The sight of these black and while beauties as they fly In flocks over the lakes is truly breathtaking. But it is with great sadness and dismay that I Inform you of a fact that most of
you already know. These birds arc being hunted down everyday and slaughtered lo be served at the dinner tables of a few self-indulgent hedonists who arc more concerned with their palates rather than preserving a rare species of birds. If this goes on it does not take much de-ducUon to realize that soon our guests from Siberia will no longer pay their yearly visits and our lakes and streams will remain barren and sad at the loss of such attractive company. You can see. these birds being sold on the streets of Bailul Mukkarram, outside New Market, Elephant Road, Mohakhali etc.
Now one must ask the inevitable — who is lo blame ? Is it the hunters and sellers of these birds ? But can it not be argued that they are Just people struggling lo make a living ? Would they not be just as happy lo sell something else
ff the returns were the same ? Il is quite doubtful that any of these salesmen (If you call them that) sell these birds merely out of sadistic pleasure I
But what about those who get immense pleasure in eating these birds ? When asked why, they answer, "Why shouldn't we cat them if it's available in the market ?” Such glib replies can only come from
people who arc not only without a conscience bul who conveniently forget that they create the market. The prices they arc willing to pay makes this a very attractive business. As a consequence the sellers arc ready to hunt down these birds even al lhe risk of violating the law prohibiting the killing of such birds. It is quite obvious that these laws arc fairly redundant in accomplishing the objective they were made for preservation of a rare species of animals.
Wc can take measures lo enforce such laws. We can make the sellers pay Unes or go lo Jail. But will this slop the killing of the Siberian wild geese ? The answer is — not unless the buyers of these blrds(and in a sense their predators stop buying them.