Badrul Huda Sohel :
William A.S. Ouderland, an Australian who directly took part in the Liberation War of Bangladesh died on this day (May 18) in 2001 in a hospital in Western Australia. His unwavering love and affection for Bangladesh really amazes us even today. Ouderland came to Dhaka in the late 1970 as a production manager of Bata Shoe Company as a part of job in his career. Due to his professionalism, he was appointed as the company manager in Dhaka.
William A.S. Ouderland was born on December 6, 1917 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. At the beginning of his life, at 17, he took a job in Bata Shoe Company. He left his job after 2 years and joined the national army. He also left the army in 1940 and participated in the Second World War (1939-1945) as a guerrilla commando of the Dutch forces.
He could not tolerate injustice, oppression and exploitation towards any nation. This skilled fighter, therefore, could not avoid the oppression and exploitation of West Pakistanis on us. On the night of March 25, 1971, Ouderland’s conscience was aroused when Pakistani troops carried out an operation called ‘Operation Searchlight’. He planned to use his Bata Shoe Factory in Tongi as a secret camp for the freedom fighters. He used his professional identity to fight directly against the Pakistani exploiters. As the CEO of a multinational company like Bata Shoe Company, he could come and go freely in West Pakistan. Taking advantage of this opportunity, he found a way to spy for East Pakistan. Due to his acquaintance with high-ranking military officers, he also had free movement in Dhaka Cantonment. He often had the opportunity to attend meetings of military officers in the cantonment. Being a foreign national, military officers have never viewed Ouderland with suspicion.
At one point, he started collecting secret news from West Pakistanis and secretly sending it to Sector No. 2. Ouderland assisted the freedom fighters in all possible ways, including the provision of medicine and food, and financial assistance. Capitalizing his experience as a guerrilla commando in World War II, and being a freedom fighter and an active member of the guerrilla branch of Sector No. 2, he regularly trained freedom fighters in guerrilla tactics at several secret camps in Tongi, including the premises of Bata Company. Because of being a commando, he had a significant idea about weapons, ammunition and explosives. Seeing the horrors of the war, he destroyed the bridges and culverts of the Tongi-Bhairab railway line with the common fighters of East Pakistan and cut off the communication system. Under his direction and management, many small and big operations took place in Dhaka and its environs. In this way, he directly accelerated our victory in the war of liberation with training, advice, secret information, money and medical services of the freedom fighters.
A.S. Ouderland did not just work for the liberation of the country. His contribution in building public opinion in favor of Bangladesh’s liberation in the international arena is no less. He also undertook the task of building world solidarity by sending photographs of the brutal torture and genocide of our freedom-loving people by the Pakistani forces to various media outlets abroad. He felt the need to inform the countries outside the border about the persecution and oppression on the freedom-loving people of East Pakistan. He himself wrote in this regard, “It was as if I had got back to myself the experiences of my youth in Europe. It seemed that the world should be informed about what was happening in Bangladesh.” “When Pakistani troops and tanks took to the streets in March 1971, I felt like I was back in Europe in my youth,” he also said.
During his stay at the Bata Shoe Company in Tongi, he not only took part in the war himself, but also encouraged the workers of the company to join the war. During the war of liberation, he kept in touch with the Commander-in-Chief M. A. G. Osmani and fought for the freedom-loving people. During this time he also received the secret assistance of the Australian Deputy High Commission in Dhaka. After the freedom of the country, he stayed in Bangladesh till 1978. After retiring from his job, he returned to his native Australia. His deep affection and love for Bangladesh can be seen towards the end of his life. In the last days of his life, he often said to his wife and daughter, “Bangladesh is our love, keep this flow of emotion in the next generation.”
A.S. Ouderland was later awarded with the state insignia of ‘Bir Pratik’ by the Government of Bangladesh for his heroic contribution and outstanding role in the great liberation war of 1971 as a foreign hero. He is the only foreigner who was given the title by the Bangladesh government. Ouderland was invited by the Prime Minister to the reception and distribution of certificates to the freedom fighters on 7 March 1998. But he could not come to the ceremony due to illness. If he could have come, maybe we would have known many unknown stories of the liberation war.
May his disembodied soul merge with the history and existence of Bangladesh and live forever. Today we along with the whole nation mourn for him on his 20th death anniversary.
(Badrul Huda Sohel is Assistant Professor, Ishakha International University. E-mail: [email protected])
