The Outcry of Ambia Khatun: a 110 year-old citizen of Bangladesh

by Neshmeen Faatimah* At the age of 110, Ambia Khatun is not supposed to be working to earn her own daily bread. Duniyata ekta kharap jaiga, she says. The world is a cruel place. This century-old hunch-backed woman has to live by looking after other peoples cows, at desperate times visiting the old residents of the area to sell a few basic items like milk and vegetables for money. She lives under an open sky near the Banani lake opposite the graveyard with a plastic bag for a bed. A few months ago, at 3.00 a.m she had been attacked by two men who came by in a car. They seized her cows and when she had started making a racket at their crime, they beat her up mercilessly and left her there injured with broken bones. Ambia Khatun is a senior citizen of our country. The state was supposed to help her- give her a senior citizens allowance so that she could finally get some leisure at this old age. This woman has worked all her life- with her manual work and other kinds of domestic services created by her, she contributed to the GDP of this country; yet she is now a helpless destitute. The constitution names her the owner of this country, yet all she owns are a few torn out sarees! If we are to claim ourselves a civilized nation, this woman should have been in an old-age home. While traveling in a public bus, launch or train, people were supposed to leave their seats for her, show her some respect and give her a helping hand in whatever way possible. Bangladesh was liberated at the cost of thousands of martyrs. The objective of the war was to free the country from any sort of exploitation- internal or external; for equal rights and dignity for all citizens. The burning question that arises is why our country should be a cruel place for even a hundred year old woman. If the story of Ambia Khatun hints towards any generalized moral degradation of our society, it is very alarming. Whereas a simple push would make it impossible for her to keep standing up, she had been beaten up ruthlessly and left wounded. Her broken wrist still remains broken, the proof of brutality, the bone having fixed itself in the wrong position due to the lack of medical care which this owner of the country could not afford. While people are supposed to be giving her charity and alms, her bread earning source (the cows) had been robbed away by heartless criminals. According to her observations, in our society, the numbers of such criminals terrorizing the have-nots like her are increasing in number everyday. We read news reports about hundreds of human rights cases everyday where the NGOs of this country, funded by foreign money make a hue and cry out of the violated rights of many including criminals. Is there nobody to raise voice for the human rights of this old woman... a senior citizen of the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh then? This is not a violation of human rights only; it is an insult to humanity, an insult to the very name of civilization. This writer, while speaking to her, has heard a few upsetting comments about our country from this hundred and ten years old woman but has seen even more unresolved questions in her eyes. Deshta omanushe bhoira gese. The country is filled with inhumane people. Ora amareo chartase na... Tora choilla ja onno kono deshe They are not even sparing me... you should migrate to some other country. The issues raised by this archaic citizen cannot be ignored anymore. Where are we headed for, if not a very dark age? The future leaders and all of us need to come forward to stop this rampant abuse, otherwise, we run the risks of being labeled an uncivilized cruel, callous nation, void of humane feelings even towards hundred-year old senior citizens.
* The author Neshmeen Faatimah is a freelance writer for The Daily Star and maybe contacted at neshmeen@gmail.com