So as we mentioned last time, Sam got a great chance to get out of Dhaka and go visit a rural village with the Liberation War Museum’s mobile museum program. She has been wanting to do an observation trip with the mobile museum’s human rights education program for a long time, and finally the timing worked out right. This trip was especially great because the program was going to be held at a little town in Khulna division where a former student activist of Dhaka University lives now, so Sam got a double-whammy on the research front: an interview for her dissertation and the chance to observe this program which she plans to write an article about.
So she got an excellent interview with an amazing character that has lived through, and been instrumental in shaping, some fascinating moments in the place’s past- some examples of things discussed – his multiple times in prison as a political prisoner, his time in a guerilla training camp, the nuances of leftist politics in the 1960s, and his armed (failed) attempt to overthrow the government in 1974 (and subsequent additional jail time…). He was such an interesting guy, and as one of the trustees of the museum (who Sam was travelling with and has known for a long time) put it “He never lost the fire.” It was great to get his input and an indescribable experience to listen to the stories he had to tell.
The other part of the trip was for Sam to observe the human rights education program that the mobile museum puts on in rural schools around the country. The museum is a mini-version of the Liberation War museum here in Dhaka, and the idea is that most of these kids out in the rural parts of the country will never be able to actually visit the real museum, so this gives them a chance to see some of it in person in their hometown. The museum contains artifacts and photo exhibits about the period leading up to the war, the war and genocide that occurred, and the aftermath.
Here is a picture of the mobile museum:
Since the 1971 war involved genocide, the museum has taken this tragic history as a way to open a discussion about the issue of Human Rights and crimes against humanity. They have created a program that combines teaching about the history of the genocide here, and teaching generally about human rights. They have an illustrated display of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, done by local artists in relatable imagery that describe the human rights. The students look at these, watch a film about the genocide that took place here, and view the mobile museum display. Sam accompanied the program to a little town called Chuknogar and went to a girls school to watch how it all works out. Here are some photos of the banners depicting human rights, kids watching the film and some girls looking at the human right’s banners – it was definitely exciting (for Sam) to watch a young Bangladeshi girl writing down and thinking about her basic human rights an what it all means for her personally.
The program was great and Sam got lots of great data for some work she is doing on the program itself. She also had a great time chatting with the girls and getting to know them. The other piece of the program that Sam is especially excited about is that after the students watch the film, see the mobile museum , see the human rights display and have a discussion tying it all together, they are encouraged to go home and interview someone they know who was alive during the war (1971). They then collect this story and write it down to give to their teacher who sends it to the museum. The museum gathers these oral histories, prints them in an annual volume and the student gets a certificate and their name in the book. What they really get though, and which is the most exciting part, is a moment in which they are recording the history of their nation as it was experienced through someone they know. They become particpants in their own conception of history and they learn that the only actors of history aren't politicians and generals.
So she got an excellent interview with an amazing character that has lived through, and been instrumental in shaping, some fascinating moments in the place’s past- some examples of things discussed – his multiple times in prison as a political prisoner, his time in a guerilla training camp, the nuances of leftist politics in the 1960s, and his armed (failed) attempt to overthrow the government in 1974 (and subsequent additional jail time…). He was such an interesting guy, and as one of the trustees of the museum (who Sam was travelling with and has known for a long time) put it “He never lost the fire.” It was great to get his input and an indescribable experience to listen to the stories he had to tell.
The other part of the trip was for Sam to observe the human rights education program that the mobile museum puts on in rural schools around the country. The museum is a mini-version of the Liberation War museum here in Dhaka, and the idea is that most of these kids out in the rural parts of the country will never be able to actually visit the real museum, so this gives them a chance to see some of it in person in their hometown. The museum contains artifacts and photo exhibits about the period leading up to the war, the war and genocide that occurred, and the aftermath.
Here is a picture of the mobile museum:
Since the 1971 war involved genocide, the museum has taken this tragic history as a way to open a discussion about the issue of Human Rights and crimes against humanity. They have created a program that combines teaching about the history of the genocide here, and teaching generally about human rights. They have an illustrated display of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, done by local artists in relatable imagery that describe the human rights. The students look at these, watch a film about the genocide that took place here, and view the mobile museum display. Sam accompanied the program to a little town called Chuknogar and went to a girls school to watch how it all works out. Here are some photos of the banners depicting human rights, kids watching the film and some girls looking at the human right’s banners – it was definitely exciting (for Sam) to watch a young Bangladeshi girl writing down and thinking about her basic human rights an what it all means for her personally.
The program was great and Sam got lots of great data for some work she is doing on the program itself. She also had a great time chatting with the girls and getting to know them. The other piece of the program that Sam is especially excited about is that after the students watch the film, see the mobile museum , see the human rights display and have a discussion tying it all together, they are encouraged to go home and interview someone they know who was alive during the war (1971). They then collect this story and write it down to give to their teacher who sends it to the museum. The museum gathers these oral histories, prints them in an annual volume and the student gets a certificate and their name in the book. What they really get though, and which is the most exciting part, is a moment in which they are recording the history of their nation as it was experienced through someone they know. They become particpants in their own conception of history and they learn that the only actors of history aren't politicians and generals.
The oral history archive that the museum has amassed is now as over 2000 stories, with tales ranging from the freedom fighter that fought in battle against the Pakistani army, to the family that hid them or hid refugees during attacks, to the woman who went without food for a week so she could feed the freedom fighters hiding in her field. It is an extremely thrilling project and (as you can tell) Sam is really really excited to be a part of it.
The other thing about the town of Chuknogar that is remarkable is that there is a killing field there that represents one of the worst known genocidal incidents in human history. On May 20, 1971 the war had been going on for about 2 months. Chuknogar is fairly close to the border with India and near a crossing point. There was a market there that turned into a sort of transit camp for the refugees fleeing violence elsewhere. The massive migration of refugees into India was in the millions – people fleeing for their lives after their villages had been literally burned to the ground and many already mourning the loss of most of their family members.
So on this night as a large number of people were gathered in Chuknogar to take rest the night before the last day in the journey across the border, the Pakistani Army unexpectedly arrived and opened fire. They killed indiscriminately and the body count was in the realm of 10,000 dead within 4-5 hours. There was nowhere for people flee in the large field and they were basically like fish in a barrel. The incident is the largest recorded single incident of mass murder in history.
The field has a memorial to the incident. It was particularly powerful to visit with one of museum trustees Sam was traveling with because he was himself a freedom fighter and lost most of his family in the war. It is a powerfully sad place no matter who you would be with, but his presence made it all the more real. Sam also met and talked to a vegetable farmer who worked the land by the killing field and he told her that his father was working in the same field when he saw the army roll up. He cried out a warning and then the army shot him dead. The man’s father was the first casualty of over 10,000 people murdered that night. It was incredibly poignant for Sam, who by sheer coincidence, was visiting the site on the anniversary of her own father's death eleven years ago that day. Here are some photos of the memorial.
So, the trip to Khulna was a success and a great opportunity. It was great to see this tragic history being turned into an opportunity to teach young people about human rights and tolerance and Sam got some excellent data for her dissertation. Trips like this are why we are in Bangladesh. It was also short enough that Jon and Atticus didn’t have time to get into much trouble while Sam was gone – or else it was long enough that they had time to cover it up.
The other thing about the town of Chuknogar that is remarkable is that there is a killing field there that represents one of the worst known genocidal incidents in human history. On May 20, 1971 the war had been going on for about 2 months. Chuknogar is fairly close to the border with India and near a crossing point. There was a market there that turned into a sort of transit camp for the refugees fleeing violence elsewhere. The massive migration of refugees into India was in the millions – people fleeing for their lives after their villages had been literally burned to the ground and many already mourning the loss of most of their family members.
So on this night as a large number of people were gathered in Chuknogar to take rest the night before the last day in the journey across the border, the Pakistani Army unexpectedly arrived and opened fire. They killed indiscriminately and the body count was in the realm of 10,000 dead within 4-5 hours. There was nowhere for people flee in the large field and they were basically like fish in a barrel. The incident is the largest recorded single incident of mass murder in history.
The field has a memorial to the incident. It was particularly powerful to visit with one of museum trustees Sam was traveling with because he was himself a freedom fighter and lost most of his family in the war. It is a powerfully sad place no matter who you would be with, but his presence made it all the more real. Sam also met and talked to a vegetable farmer who worked the land by the killing field and he told her that his father was working in the same field when he saw the army roll up. He cried out a warning and then the army shot him dead. The man’s father was the first casualty of over 10,000 people murdered that night. It was incredibly poignant for Sam, who by sheer coincidence, was visiting the site on the anniversary of her own father's death eleven years ago that day. Here are some photos of the memorial.
So, the trip to Khulna was a success and a great opportunity. It was great to see this tragic history being turned into an opportunity to teach young people about human rights and tolerance and Sam got some excellent data for her dissertation. Trips like this are why we are in Bangladesh. It was also short enough that Jon and Atticus didn’t have time to get into much trouble while Sam was gone – or else it was long enough that they had time to cover it up.
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