“A coward dies a thousand times before his death…”
The Holey tragedy has shaken us to the soul, no doubt, and the wounds will take long to heal. But the moment we allow it to rule our lives, to restrict our routines, we have let ‘them’ win.
We cannot allow the evil to get the upper hand. We cannot die before our deaths. We cannot be cowards. We will not be cowards. In the aftermath of the carnage, we will gather more courage and strength than ever before, forging an indomitable force against all that is bad. We cannot spend our lives skulking around corners, waiting for the next act of evil. This is our country, this is our world.
When the militants stormed Holey Artisan restaurant that fateful night of 1 July and subsequently killed 22 persons including the hostages and policemen, the city-psyche changed in a matter of moments.
Dhaka, over the recent past, had just emerged as such a vibrant capital, with a booming economy, a happening nightlife, ubiquitous urbanity, busy, bustling and a city that never slept. But with the tragic deaths of that night, it seemed as if the lights went out in Dhaka, it had been gripped in the stranglehold of fear.
In the aftermath of the Holey tragedy, Dhaka and its denizens took on a sombre mood. Out of respect, honour and love for the departed, the people bowed their heads.
But we must not let the enemy mistake the bowed heads as a sign of submission or defeat. We bowed our heads for the fallen, but stand tall and defiant against the foe.
There is undeniably a sense of fear among a large section of the population, but that fear must not be allowed to override our lives. Faraaz knew no fear. Neither did Ishrat Akhond. We owe it to them and to all the others who laid down their lives that night to diminish any sense of fear.
Life must go on.
It was a two-level tragedy.
There was the personal tragedy and the families of the victims only know how hard it is to get to grips with reality. The wounds may heal with time, but the scars will always remain. Just as the families of the Paris and the Nice victims grieve for their loved ones, so do the families in Dhaka.
Thus, on another level, the tragedy was also a national and global one, where terrorism struck out against humanity. It was a challenge, one of the many challenges being faced the world over.
We have two choices before us – cringe in the shadows in fear, or go ahead with the business of life. The former is not a choice, the latter is actually the only option.
It is not naive to be courageous. This is courage with caution, where perhaps we have to be a bit more pragmatic than before. But this caution and pragmatism won’t keep us behind doors, day and night, it won’t stop us from sharing fun moments with friends and family, it won’t stop us from living life to the full.
What is to be done?
On a national, and indeed global scale, there is much to be done and indeed is being done. We will leave security, scrutiny and strategy to the experts. We have to accept that the world has been changed forever, but has it? Down the annals of history, there has been carnage and conspiracy galore. The pages of our history books are stained with blood and gore. Of course, that does not mean we will remain complacent. We can only hope the authorities, and this includes on a global scale, deal with the situation with an astuteness and perception that places far-reaching and sustainable solutions in place.
On an individual level, we all have responsibilities. There is talk of guardians taking on a more responsible role, of institutions playing their part and so on. But perhaps the most important lesson to be taken home is, keep living.
Living is more than just existing. Living in fear is not living at all. That does not mean one should be reckless and uncaring of the palpable dangers. But the militants must not wipe the smile off our faces. Our streets and homes must fill with laughter again.
Let us take a page from the life of Ishrat Akhond, who was brutally murdered that day. She would always begin her daily Facebook status with, “Today I am happy because…” She always found cause to be happy, no matter what. She found happiness in the chirping of the birds, in the hues of a painting, in the warmth of a friend, in the passing of a pleasant thought.
The face of Faraaz has become so familiar to us, almost iconic. It is tragic that he has left this world, but in doing so he has left behind an incredible impact. He is an inspiration. This one boy can inspire a million more youth than the militants. Who is more of a hero? The petty killers who killed the unarmed men and women with a brutality that belies description? Or the single young man, Faraaz, who stared them back in the face without flinching. While the militants tarnished the image of Islam, Faraaz upheld the true spirit of humanity and the Muslim faith. We salute them.
We salute all who died that day. Their deaths have given us a heightened sense of national unity. The tragedy has bound us together in both grief and determination.
We will not die before our death. We will not let them win.
Source: Prothom Alo
