Deshantori – Unite for a better Bangladesh

Deshantori - Unite for a better Bangladesh
watches Deshantori, realises the frustrations that plague the youth and comes out believing that we must unite and stay in Bangladesh for a better country

Deshantori, meaning migration is a heart-wrenching documentary film depicting frustrations of today’s youth. The whole documentary is based on the viewpoints of the present day young generation, followed by commentaries and interviews of popular youth idols like Professor Mohammed Zafar Iqbal, eminent writer Anisul Haq and others. The film, written and directed by Sujan Mahmud and Mridul Chowdhury, was shown on August 5 at the University of Liberal Arts (ULAB) Film Club at the initiative of a citizen’s platform, Phiriye Ano Bangladesh (PAB), an organisation launched by expatriate Bangladeshis and the concerned youth of the country. The movie quite clearly passes the message about few of the most talked about issues in today’s socio-political Bangladesh – youth frustration due to lack of insufficient education, pervasive unemployment, dysfunction in society, bad politics, corruption and subjects leading to migration, brain drainage and the aftermath of illegal immigration. The soundtrack heavily relates to each of those phases with songs and biting dialogue. The movie opens with comments and thoughts of what the young generation aspires to do and how these dreams, often gone awry, take them to a place about which they had no clue. But, it soon turns out that, as the frustration of the youth mounts up due to unavailability of employment, the chief desire becomes going abroad for higher studies or settling in a foreign country to pursue a better life. For obvious reasons all this is fuelled by the line: Oparey te shorbo shukh amar bishhash (all the peace is on the other side). However, the reason for such behavior is nicely explained by Dr Zafar Iqbal, Anisul Haq and other interviewees; and, the gist is, we Bangladeshis are brainwashed from our childhood into thinking that everything domestic is inferior and everything good is from abroad – it seems that the tag, foreign or Bideshi is synonymous to something which is superior. But, the absence of a proper educational infrastructure, corruption in every aspect and joblessness are the key factors frustrating the young and motivating them to opt for migration. Media presentation of the west is done with so much glamour and razzmatazz that the scenes depicting life in first world nations seem to spell out only contentment and luxury. Bangladeshis do not get to know the harsh truth and reality that life in the West characterises; and, the truth is, life there is not built on infinite pleasure and limitless fun. In the film, as Maqsoodul Haque’s piece plays in the background symbolising political instability and disturbing trends in our socio-political environment, the following lines become only too meaningful: Pala bodol koreyi khomota dokhol aaj babsha Bangladesh e, doliokoron ar manush er moron choleche haat e haat rekhe…pochish bochor porey korunar drishti te bishho takiye ache…dusho ti bochor pichiyechi matro tatey bishher ki jai ashey (taking turns to come to power is the staple business in Bangladesh. Partisanship and killing are going hand in hand. And after 25 years of liberation, the world looks on us with pity. We’ve fallen behind by 200 years, what difference does it make to the world? The interviewees say that even working as a labour in foreign country is better as there is no form of security living in this country. The film then takes a turn and portrays the ordeal of 26 young Bangladeshis who set out on an illegal journey to Spain after giving a huge amount of money to unscrupulous middlemen. This true story of 26 desperate men moving through the Sahara Desert and the Mediterranean Sea in December 2004 is a harrowing tale of human endurance. At one point, those men were forced to resort to eating their own feces and, later, were forced to resort to cannibalism, just to stay alive. As the interviewees were asked to speak up, the words of Hyder Husyn’s song Ki dekhar kotha ki dekhchi…ki shonar kotha ki shunchi? Tirish bochor poreyo ami shadhinota takey khujchi encapsulated the spirit of the documentary. The film kept on repeating that there is no proper leadership in our country, no form of true patriotism exists and people do not want to take responsibilities. But, this is followed by a solution too - we need to fix our own problems and since we have a huge advantage to our side – the asset of human resources, we have to learn to utilise that resource to make a difference. At this point, Dr Zafar Iqbal says, ‘my mother may not be very pretty but that doesn’t mean I will start calling another beautiful woman my mother. Basically, we have to bring that sense of patriotism, which is very urgent right now.’ C R Abrar, professor of International Relations in Dhaka University said, ‘due to cutting edge information technology, mobility has increased. People are opting for migration to increase livelihood options and this is not only a phenomenon here but worldwide’. ‘There is a demand for unskilled and semi-skilled labours in first world countries and those countries should introduce proper channels. They should increase appreciation towards this need for migrant labour. This migration is taking place in the spirit of globalization’, Abrar added. Tahmina Khanam, one of the co-producers of the film said, ‘this film has been officially released and screened this year and it will be screened at various other universities including BRAC University on August 7, Independent University of Bangladesh (IUB) on August 30 and it will be screened at Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Dhaka University, World Bank office and other places. Moreover, the organisers, mainly the PAB members are looking for volunteers around the country who will help screen this documentary with a message.’ It was very evident from the comments of ULAB students that this should reach the masses. The movie ends in a high note. The concluding few minutes play lines of Maqsoodul Haque’s famous song which translates into – Inform everyone in the country, put graffiti on all walls that we have to go to war again. To a few of us, who felt the film’s theme, this means exhorting the youth of the nation to work together and pull down the monolith of dysfunction…once and for all.