Sundarbans in Grave Danger and Our Government’s inaction

By Kallol Mustafa from Joymoni, Sundarbans
Translated by Tibra Ali for AlalODulal.org

Since the oil spill disaster started in the Sundarbans on the night of the 9th of December many ebbs and flows of the tide have come and gone. The thick and poisonous spilled oil reaches wherever the water reaches during the high tide, via the Shela river (where the disaster originated), Pasur and Baleshwari rivers, and the innumerable canals. Continue reading “Sundarbans in Grave Danger and Our Government’s inaction”

Apsari Chakma: Life in the School Room

When I was very little my mother used to tell me all kinds of bedtime fairytale stories. I used to think that the fairy princesses from these stories were supremely happy and content. You could say, my life now is the exact opposite of their lives.

Life in the School Room

by Apsari Chakma, translated by Tibra Ali for AlalODulal.org Continue reading “Apsari Chakma: Life in the School Room”

Afsan Chowdhury: Do we really care about Felani?

Do we really care about Felani?

By Afsan Chowdhury for AlalODulal.org

Do you have to be shot by the Indian security forces and lie hanging on the border fence before anyone notices you?

There are millions of such desperately poor girls who live out a terrible life and die but nobody pays any attention. But we notice Felani’s because it’s violent, involves our so-called sovereignty and also India, whom we dislike for many reasons. Continue reading “Afsan Chowdhury: Do we really care about Felani?”

The Sundarbans and our guiltless sleep

The Sundarbans and our guiltless sleep

by Tibra Ali for AlalODulal.org

In the south-west of Bangladesh stand the Sundarbans, the largest mangrove forest in the world. The Sundarbans are home to countless unique species and varieties of animal and plant life, the most famous of which is the Royal Bengal Tiger that graces all the official emblems of Bangladesh. The Sundarbans are criss-crossed by rivers and tributaries, and because of their proximity to the Bay of Bengal, this is where the saline water of the Bay mingles with the fresh-water coming down from the Ganges. Continue reading “The Sundarbans and our guiltless sleep”

Omar Faruk Babu Remembered

Omar Faruk Babu Remembered (d. May 2013)

1. Tibra Ali for AlalODulal.org

The awful daring of a moment’s surrender
Which an age of prudence can never retract
By this, and this only, we have existed
Which is not to be found in our obituaries
— T.S. Eliot, The Waste Land

Louis Ferdinand Celine one said that the good ones should have some kind of marking to set them apart from the rest of humanity. One of those good ones was Babu. Continue reading “Omar Faruk Babu Remembered”

Rana Plaza built on land grabbed from Rabindranath Sarkar

“Journalist brother. You are a Hindu, I am a Hindu. Please don’t do any more harm to me. You know, how Hindus have to live in this country. Rana Plaza collapsed on top of my house and office. Four of my staff and three of my house help died. After the accident, goods were looted from my house. I can’t even go into my own house.” Continue reading “Rana Plaza built on land grabbed from Rabindranath Sarkar”

Shameema Binte Rahman: An existentialist photograph and the reality of non-existence

An existentialist photograph and the reality of non-existence
by Shameema Binte Rahman, Translated from Bengali for AlalODulal.org by Tibra Ali

A photograph. The whole body is buried under debris. Only one part is sticking out: an ID card with its lace wrapped around the wrist and the fingers. Continue reading “Shameema Binte Rahman: An existentialist photograph and the reality of non-existence”

Shahbagh: For fiery sisters

We easily forget the names of Kalpana Datta, Shanti Ghose, Shuniti Chowdhury, Beena Das, Leela Rai, Nanibala Devi, Du’Koribala Devi, Matangini Hajra and names of many other revolutionary women who played active roles in the fight for independence against the British. Even if the name of Ila Mitra, the legendary female leader of the Santal revolt at Nachol, comes up occasionally, we never recall the women of the then Muslim League who played active and important roles in the language movement of 1952.
Continue reading “Shahbagh: For fiery sisters”