WHEN we were slowly drowning in the pit of despair, Musa Ibrahim took us to the peak of hope. We travelled to the top of the world with him where the air is thin but pure, heavenly pure. I hope Musa will bring some of that pure air to drive away the contamination that blackens our souls. We want to breathe the fresh air to our lungs' content. Musa proved the hardest way that reaching the goal is not impossible if only one can remain steadfast in one's determination. It is the tough who do not stop but get going.
He proved, up in the mountain, that he was the true son of the soil. Undaunted by the cruel surroundin, Musa pushed on and on, like Odysseus, to reach his destination. It was his youthful vigour and stamina that ultimately took him to where he wanted to be. Where he wanted to stand tall as a proud Bangali from Bangladesh. He is a representative of the young generation, and as a nation we have rightly invested our hope in his
generation. They will guide the nation to the top one day. And we have faith that young people like him will not betray us, no matter how much suffering they will have to endure.
Musa's success did not come easy. He fought against and defied the multitude of adversities that came his way. Often despair and desolation tried to pull him down on his knees and yet he stood up, just as the people of this land always do after every cyclone, every flood and every drought.
This is the unique characteristic of the Bangali people of this land. We never drown. We never give up. We never accept defeat. And ultimately we reach our goal. This has been happening for centuries. This has been happening for decades. Bangalis are endowed with the faculties to do impossible things, and then laugh the last laugh.
When the British colonial rulers asked the farmers to cultivate neel (blue dye) they refused. The rulers cut their thumbs in anger so that they would not be able to cultivate paddy or any other crop. But the
people endured the pain and fought back to oust the colonial power.
It was some young and undaunted Bangalis like Musa who took up arms to fight the British. Titumir, Khudiram, Bagha Jatin, Masterda Surya Sen, Pritilata, Binod Behari, Netaji Shubhash Chandra and countless others fought like tigers facing overwhelming odds. They did not falter for a second in their mission. At the end they came out victorious. The colonial power was ousted for good.
In 1952, when the people of this land found themselves face to face with a hostile administration, the young generation came forward. They got together and violated the order of the rulers. They were shot and killed. But that did not daunt them a bit. Bangalis won their right to speak in their mother tongue. Today, all over the world, February 21 is observed as International Mother Language Day.
It is again the young generation that stopped bullets with their own bare chests and fired back on the Pakistani occupied forces in 1971. The valour, the gallantry, the patriotism, the determination, and the sacrifice remain unparalleled in the history of human civilisation. The young men and women made it impossible for the occupied forces to see their dream of occupying this land forever come true.
The courageous and incorrupt young generation is the best wealth that the nation can boast of. They are the dream
merchants. They make us see many sweet dreams at such difficult times when our hope dwindles and begins to plummet towards the ground. It is they who remind us of our legacy of resilience and defiance during the British rule, and during Pakistani rule in 1952 and 1971. It is they who took up the responsibility of turning our dreams into reality.
I implore, I plead, I beg, going on my knees, please do not corrupt the pure hearts of these young people, of these dream merchants, who are getting ready to take up the reins soon. Please do not allure them, do not entice them with your evil plans, do not give them arms, do not give them drugs, do not give them forged money, do not give them false hope. Please do whatever evil things you do in the darkness of night but leave the young men and women alone.
Imagine what will happen to this nation if the vast majority of the young people become corrupt to the core in the vicious environment of corrupt politics, corrupt business and corrupt administration. Who will make us see sweet dreams? Who will fight the evil? Who will bare their chests before the guns of the evil men? Who will take us to the peak of hope? Who will help us take deep breath in the pure air to cleanse our souls?
This nation is in desperate need of many more like Musa.
Shahnoor Wahid is a Senior Assistant Editor of The Daily Star. He can be contacted at shahnoorwahid @yahoo.co.uk.