Posted by I’ve been asking myself why I started going to BLM protests this time around. Mostly, #enoughisenough. But also, let me tell you a story about my father.
When he was a student at the University of Dhaka in the 1950s, the West Pak gov’t that controlled what was then East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) declared that urdu and only urdu would be the national language of the country. This move sparked massive protests, led in large part by students, to grant Bangla official status and give East Bengalis a greater say in their gov’t.
My father participated in those protests, which were brutally put down by the West Pak gov’t; people were beaten up, shot and killed. He was arrested and thrown in jail. He actually had to take his university exams from jail and my grandfather bailed him out. Civil Disobedience isn’t always civil.
I ain’t as brave as my father but when I now go to protests in support of other oppressed peoples, when I donate to these causes or call/write to congress, I always think of him running from the military, fighting for my people’s culture and right to be heard. Thanks for being such a role model. #FathersDay #JoyBangla #BLM #solidarity
