Mashrafe Mortaza gives special message to the youth of Bangladesh
Apart from being an astute leader and an intelligent
cricketer, Mashrafe Mortaza is a devout lover of the freedom fighters that
helped Bangladesh gain independence in 1971. There have been many instances
where he displayed his admiration for the soldiers that went to war for the
nation and he did just that while speaking at Quize Ekkator (Quiz of ’71), an
event organized by Project London-1971.
Mashrafe was particularly dissatisfied at the use of mobile
phones in the crowd when his preceding speakers were on stage and giving their
speeches. So when his turn to speak came, he made his feelings completely known
to the crowd.
‘Mobile phones have spread throughout the nation. I doubt
that any of you have really felt the speeches given by the people before me. Everyone
is busy with their phones.
‘If I now ask about freedom fighters, you will have to take
out your phones to answer [those question]. This shouldn’t be the case, this is quite sad.’
While he admitted that movies can’t completely capture the gruesome
incidents surrounding the freedom fighters, he revealed that he always watches
any 1971-related war movies and asked the youth in the crowd to do the same.
‘Movies might not completely depict the real incidents of
the freedom fighters, but if I see any film regarding the freedom fighters, I
don’t leave [my seat] before finishing it. ‘
‘Regardless of what we do, we can’t say that we don’t make
one hour of spare time [to gain knowledge about the freedom fighters]. Try to
know about the freedom fighters little-by-little for 15-20 days in a row. Use
the internet to gain information… that’s when the heart will house feelings.’
He continued by stating that the current generations are the
ones who will be the torch-bearers for the next generation, but their current
knowledge isn’t adequate enough to spread the word about the heroes of 1971—before
stating that we owe everything to those heroes.
‘My children will know about the freedom fighters from young
people like you. Even I could learn something new from you. However, you have
to know more about the freedom fighters before you could impart knowledge of
the 1971 war to the next generation.’
‘When you youngsters will fly, remember that every dust on
the runway is drenched with the blood of martyrs. ‘
Mashrafe’s words are an inspiration for the youngsters. At a
time when people are perhaps not serious enough about their roots, Mashrafe’s constant
attempts at galvanizing the youth to know more about the birth of the country
is admirable, to the say the least.
