On 14th July 2024, Hasina made the fateful ‘razakar’ comment that would change Bangladesh’s history.
Hasina’s comment was symbolic of a much larger issue: boiling frustration with an almost dysfunctional corrupt system that made people feel like they didn’t matter; their voices didn’t matter; their lives didn’t matter.
But it’s easy to blame Hasina for all our problems and then call it a day.
Indeed, our leaders have not set great examples.
As far back as I can remember, politics was just Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina. One constantly blamed the other for all the country’s problems, never taking accountability for their own mistakes, even till the very last day.
The ministers of our country have had the audacity to come on national television and threaten protesters with setting Chhatra League goons on them.
Can you really be surprised then that certain groups of people, much less educated than our ministers, have descended to looting, vandalization, and arson?
We have been conditioned to solve problems with violence and revenge. It has become a part of our culture.
As Nabila Idris recently pointed out, the looting and corruption and chadabaajes who seem to be spontaneously turning up are not new. They are a continuation of a broken, corrupt system that has existed in this country for several decades.
Maybe you didn’t know about a lot of it because previously when a chadabaaj asked for 5 lakh taka and threatened a man’s life, he quietly gave them the money instead of coming on national TV and talking about it.
Because if you went to the police, you’d have to pay the police officer, fear for your life, and eventually pay the chadabaaj too. Because that’s just the price you paid for existing in this country.
The fact that people have found the voice and courage to speak up and fight back against these people is an astounding feat of its own. It heralds a new dawn.
You see the trouble with blaming Sheikh Hasina for all our problems is that we unrealistically expect all our problems to go away just because Hasina is no longer here. It unburdens us of our own responsibility.
The broken system that we are all victims of? The truth is that you and I and every one of us have been complicit in creating this system.
In this country, you can’t trust bankers, doctors, lawyers, police, judges, teachers, your ward councilor, your next-door neighbor, truck drivers, motorcycle drivers, vegetable vendors, businessmen, your electrician, your security guard – nobody.
Sheikh Hasina and her government were just one component of the broken system. A very large component perhaps, but WE made up the rest of it.
It’s been two days since the rebirth of ‘Shonar Bangladesh’.
Sheikh Hasina’s incendiary razakar comment incited a revolution that led to her resignation and flight from the country in just three weeks. Nobody was prepared for this.
Not Sheikh Hasina. Not the army. Not even the protesters who started the quota movement.
This was never going to be a smooth and organized transition. It’s going to take a little time before our sense of normalcy is restored. And a LOT of work on our part.
We are all feeling vulnerable.
We’re entertaining the worst-case scenarios fueled by mass panic-inducing conspiracy theories spreading like wildfire.
It’s like you’ve been living with extremely abusive parents for 15 years, and you finally decide to move out. But suddenly, you’re all on your own. And it is terrifying.
And we resort to what feels comfortable: playing the blame game.
What we have achieved together is monumental. We achieved it because we were all united.
There is one slogan you will remember from the last few days: Fear is contagious, but so is courage.
Let’s spread more of the courage that helped us topple a dictator of 15 years. We need it now more than ever.
Maybe just for a while, let’s keep our conspiracy theories in check and try to foster an environment of optimism and positive action.
We have fought really hard for our freedom of speech. We now get to freely exercise our right to speak our minds. And it is great. But what we choose to do with those rights is up to us.
If your friend who suddenly became an expert on world politics last week thinks of some grand conspiracy theory of how aliens are going to invade Bangladesh, without any factual evidence, please ask yourself before you share it:
Is this information helpful?
Is it going to spread unnecessary negativity and panic?
Is it based on facts?
Are the facts from a reliable source?
Bangladesh is Abu Sayed and Mugdho. Bangladesh is Nahid Islam, Sarjis Alam, Manzur Al Matin and all the other people who make our hearts burst with pride and joy.
But the truth is Bangladesh is also the people who are vandalizing, looting, and setting things on fire, the parts of us we are shamed of.
We have to accept those parts and accept our responsibility to change it.
Bangladesh is both of those things. We cannot choose one and pretend the other doesn’t exist.
When you’re feeling uncertain and depressed about our future, tell me a few days ago, did you imagine you would see pictures of madrasa kids guarding Hindu temples? Did you think you would step out of the house to see a few kids, jharu in hand, picking up trash?
Just 4 weeks ago did you think you would be able to write a status on Facebook without fear of getting harassed or arrested?
The youth of this country have shown us what it means to be proactive, responsible citizens. What it means to take charge of our own fates.
While a lot of us were leaving angry comments on pictures of vandalized Gonobhobon and Shongshod Bhobon saying nothing good will ever come of this country, they took the initiative to clean it up. They decided they were going to do something about it.
If you’ve read the book Atomic Habits, you’ll be familiar with the 1% theory. What if each of us decided to be 1% better? It could be something as small as not cutting in line, not littering, putting your seatbelt on when driving, or volunteering for night watch duty in your area.
What if each of us thought about creating a more positive impact by just 1%? Could Bangladesh be 17 million percent better?
It’s okay to be scared. It’s okay to be wary of our country’s future.
But in addition to asking great questions like wtf is the army doing? Or why aren’t the Shomonnoyoks taking care of that? We also need to ask ourselves, what can I do to help? How do I clean up the trash from my own conditioning?
How can I hold myself accountable?
