It was 40 years ago today, Bangladesh became a sovereign state. That’s about as far as I can get to re-writing the lyrics to Sgt Pepper, and I probably shouldn’t have even gone that far.
I’m glad that Bangladesh came into existence, and I’m incredibly proud I was born in that youthful country. My wife sent me this excellent article by author Tahmima Anam. I was only four years old when Bangladesh was formed. I know that my mother and father, along with everyone else in the country found it an incredibly difficult time – it was a time of the indelible, the forever. The creation of an independent nation is tantamount to revolution. As Malcolm X said, “It’s about land. A revolutionary wants land to set up his own nation. An independent nation.’
I come from a revolutionary people. We all do. Today, there will be a March and a rally for the Alternative in London. If I was in London, perhaps I would go along and make my voice heard. Instead, I’m in Birmingham for the screening of Self Made – and that’s a different fight. The film appears to not be an easy sell to distributors. With so much life wrapped in it, it’s a pity that a dead-eyed film like the prequel’s sequel to Big Momma’s Big Fat Transvestite House or whatever can get an international release. Still, that gives us all the more reason to support smaller outputs of genuinely artistic expressions.
Struggle and conflict continually collide. Libya, Iraq, and Israel have all seen skirmishes recently while in Ivory Coast, there is a full-blown – and mostly unreported – civil war underway. In an age where information is so readily accessible, it’s disappointing and predictably woeful to see what remains unreported by the mainstream. Every day, we can read new ‘news’ about K***e P***e and her epic shagathons, but you’re unlikely to read about the war crimes trials in Bangladesh. There’s a piece about that here in The Economist.
Politics and art are inextricably linked. I want land for my nation. But where do I find it?
It’s here, there, and everywhere.