German professional footballer Mesut Ozil, a Muslim, has donated US$120,770 (approximately Tk 97 lakh) to the Turkish Red Crescent for an aid campaign run during the holy month of Ramzan. He plays for English club Arsenal and the German national team. Ozil, one of the world’s wealthiest soccer players, also donated his entire prize money of $329,000 after winning the World Cup in 2014.
The Turkish Red Crescent Society on Saturday said, Ozil’s donation will be used to provide 2,800 food aid parcels to the needy in Turkey, 1,000 food parcels in Indonesia, and 750 parcels for Rohingya Muslims in refugee camps in Bangladesh. Besides, iftar meals will also be served to orphans in Syria’s Idlib, and the Somali capital Mogadishu, throughout the holy month. For years, Ozil has been contributing to bring smiles in the faces of thousands of children in many countries. In 2010 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2012, Ozil became the joint-highest assistance provider. Media reports say, he always recites from the holy Quran before he goes out (on the pitch). “This really helps me to keep me focused.”
Mesut Ozil was the fourth child of Turkish immigrants. His family struggled financially throughout his entire childhood and his mother had to take on several different cleaning jobs to make ends meet. Thus, he has been giving back to those who desperately need aid. At the age of 22 due to his performance, he garnered everyone’s attention to the 2010 FIFA World Cup, as he was instrumental to the side’s campaign where they reached the semi-finals.
Following the footstep of Mesut Ozil, Bangladesh’s wealthy people should come forward individually or collectively in aid of the poor and needy people during this holy month of Ramzan and also for those financially hit hard by the ongoing second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. Currently, our levels of inequality between the rich and the poor are the highest in the country’s independent history and these are expected to go up. The benefits of development are going to the most privileged and powerful in the society, including large corporations having direct links to the government, or, those occupying cabinet portfolios and other senior state offices.
Now Bangladesh is home to around 25 million extremely poor people (out of a population of over 160 million) who earn less than $1.90 a day. Capital flight has become a serious concern for Bangladesh’s economy. Silently but enormously, money is being laundered to safe destinations worldwide. But little is done by rich people to ameliorate the sufferings of the extreme poor.
This is the most shocking thing that we have enough wealth in private hands of the richest few in world to remove people’s suffering from hunger all over the world. For the call of humanity let the richest people come forward to fight poverty not only by giving cash but also by creating jobs for the poor people. It has become fashionable for NGOs to fight poverty but most of the NGO are linked with the failed governments in their self interest. One should try to find out how big NGOs are making big money in poor countries.
It is not also unknown that if support for corrupt governments is withdrawn internationally, there would not have been so much poverty through exploitation anywhere.
