Captain Fazlur Rahman’s book launching ceremony in London
12 November 2018
Bangladesh: my dream was unveiled in London yesterday in presence of a few well-wishers in a restaurant located at 59 Burdett Road, London E3 4TN (Near Mile End tube station). You can see the attached program. Captain Fazlur Rahman is from the first batch of the Bangladesh Marine Academy who held several positions in the maritime field in Bangladesh and abroad.
Immediately after liberation of Bangladesh, Fazlur volunteered his services to the Chittagong Port Authority and engaged himself in emergency work to clear the channel for ships to navigate.
Fazlur obtained Class-1 Master Mariner from UK in 1976 and M.Sc. from World Maritime University, Malmo, Sweden in 1988. Apart from commanding the only passenger-pilgrim ship he also took delivery of the first newly built ship for BSC from Japan. He was Commandant of the Marine Academy for a short period in 1977. He later joined as the Chief Nautical Surveyor of the Department of Transport and for a short period was the Director-General of Shipping, Government of Bangladesh as well. He was also a Commander in Bangladesh Naval Reserve and saw some active service in the Navy including command of an auxiliary vessel.
In 1991, he joined the Marine Division of the Department of Transport, UK (later becoming Maritime & Coastguard Agency) as a Surveyor and Examiner. He worked with UK-MCA until the end of 1999 when he left as its Deputy Chief Examiner to join as Maritime Administrator in Gibraltar. After working in Gibraltar for four years he joined the Bahamas Maritime Authority as its Deputy Director. After another four years he joined the Kingdom of Bahrain as Maritime Advisor. His last assignment before retirement was a short period as Maritime Advisor on a World Bank Project in Tonga.
Forward / Message
It is with great pleasure that I write a few words about the book written by Captain Fazlur Rahman Chowdhury. I have known Captain Chowdhury for last few years. As a merchant navy officer he travelled extensively all over the world. He has not only seen different parts of the world but also studied their social and political life. He strongly believes that democracy is the best invention of the modern world. He often compares the situation in Bangladesh with that in other democratic countries.
This book is in fact a compilation of his articles published in recent days. They deal with matters relating to freedom of expression, human rights, human respect and dignity, equality and justice. He focuses on democratic values and the rule of law.
The younger generation could learn a lot from these articles. They not only analyse our social problems but also suggest possible solutions. The country is passing through a difficult time. We need changes and reforms. This book provides useful suggestions.
I congratulate Fazlur for such a thoughtful gift to the people. He should write more on various social issues and on the maritime sector to which he belongs.
Dr. Kamal Hossain
3 September 2018
You may like to read further on the website www.bangladeshmydream.com/
