Abir Hasan Suzon:
Bangladesh has now become a country of strange seasons. The effects of winter come in different forms from time to time in different areas. The most affected by the winter are the neglected and deprived street children and the extremely poor people. They cannot afford to buy winter clothes. In our country there is a class of uneducated and poor people who give birth to children unplanned. Abandons them after a certain time, does not give maintenance. Those children are often referred to as Tokai or Pichchi. They roam the railway station, bus stand and alleys of the city barefoot, barefoot or in tattered clothes.
About 20 per cent of street children in the capital alone depend on dogs for warmth on winter nights. Again, many people try to survive the cold by wrapping plastic sheets collected from garbage. So much cold air comes through the leaks in those plastic sheets that it is the same thing not to wear it. Bangladesh is now known all over the world as a role model of development under the present government of Desaratna Sheikh Hasina, the worthy daughter of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the greatest Bengali of all time. . The bird called national growth is also growing rapidly. But all these achievements did not help the disadvantaged street children.
When the upper class of the society is sleeping soundly in the warmth of the blankets in the bed, then the street children have to go out in search of work to meet the burden of the stomach on the empty body. Fancy winter outfits do not suit them. Polythene, plastic bottles have to be found to meet the stomach obligation by working hard all day. Some go to work in the garage, some in the brick kiln, some in the workshop. Lacking a warm blanket, she spent the night embracing winter.
But in the dead of winter when we buy expensive mufflers, pick out colorful sheets, buy different types of coats, covering the body of a street child becomes the main thing. They don’t want color, they don’t want anything modern. They just want to avoid the cold. Those who live on sidewalks, along railway lines, or in slums may not have anything to enjoy this winter. There is only extreme suffering, small children or old people live with great helplessness.
In winter, small children get fever, cold, diarrhoca, pneumonia, and in adults, joint pain increases. In winter they are the victims of extreme suffering. Today we are buying more dresses to have a dress, more mufflers to have a muffler, if a sheet is used for one year then it is said to be old next year.
They are not street children, they are the flowers of the city. But I look at the government. We also have some responsibilities in the society. Can’t 1 million people out of 160 million people give twice as much rice to deprived children, give them warm clothes. To ensure accommodation, education, medical treatment. Of course I can, only if there is sincerity and love. The court of our mind is enough for this. And if we fail, then one day they will not be human in the heat of hunger, cold, storm-rain, sun, fire. On that day, they will hold knives around our necks, will be involved in extortion, murder, etc. Therefore, the common people, including the country’s rich, various NGOs, voluntary organizations should stand by to help the cold-stricken. If we all stand by them, they may be able to spend this winter in comfort. Smile will appear on the faces of ignorant children. We have a lot to do for these children, and the combined support of all of us can help alleviate the suffering of thousands of people.
Come on, let’s all go to the children who are waiting, maybe the Creator will send a servant to help them, wrap them in a blanket. I organise and the children of thousands of mothers beside me are suffering so much in winter. We have to think about that too.
With the cooperation, sincerity and love of the leaders of all parties, it would have been much easier to prevent street children and child labor from this country. Every year the winter disaster takes shape. Adequate distribution of winter clothing and relief items should be intensified on an emergency basis in the affected areas. From the humanitarian, social and religious point of view, besides the government-service initiatives to alleviate the lack of winter clothes of the needy people, the rich, students-teachers, journalists all need to come forward spontaneously. Countless cold-blooded souls can be saved by joint efforts.
(Abir Hasan Suzon is department of Land Management and Law Jagannath University Email- [email protected])
