The setting was the Bangladesh consulate on Connaught Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong, where about twenty Bangladeshi, mostly businessmen and women, and one junior representative gathered. Messages from Bangladesh President Md. Zillur Rahman, and Foreign Minister Dr. Dipu Moni, MP, were delivered. Speeches were made by attendees – with not a little emotion – and declarations from individuals. Organisations took the opportunity to express their difficulties and expectations and made appeals for solidarity. The opportune opening of a Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce was mentioned. The change of presidency of the Bangladesh Cultural Association was announced. Awards were presented.
In Bangladesh over the same period that morning huge crowds had formed as people street-depth queued to pay respects at the Shaheed Minar – monument for the language martyrs in Dhaka, and at the National Martyrs’ Memorials at Savar, just outside Dhaka.
On this national holiday, when the people recall the language movement that started from the year 1952 and which became the lynchpin of their independence – after West Pakistan tried to install Urdu as the local language of the then East Pakistan. The ‘locals’ who were and are solidly set in their Bengali culture and language, refused. The culmination saw a brutal crackdown but in the end, with India’s aid, Bangladesh forestalled those cultural impositions and not only kept their own adored language, Bengali, but achieved independence, in 1971.
International Mother Language Day was proclaimed by the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in November 1999. On 16 May 2009 the United Nations General Assembly called upon Member States “to promote the preservation and protection of all languages used by peoples of the world”.
The gathering was presided over by the Consul Genera Mr Ashud Ahmed who is leaving Hong Kong after a four year stint – previous to Hong Kong he spent two years in Brussels. He will return to Dhaka for at least two years before likely reappointment abroad.
Pressenza asked the Consul General what were his major achievements over his duration in Hong Kong:
“For one thing I am happy to say that trade volume between Hong Kong and Bangladesh is increasing. When I arrived the total volume of trade was US$7.5 million or thereabouts and now it is more than one billion.
“The most important thing I have done over here in my four years was the most successful investment seminar I organised in coordination with the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. That was December 8, 2011. The seminar was attended by a high delegation from Bangladesh lead by the executive chairman of the board of investment Mr S. A. Samat, former chief secretary to the prime minister.
“We have the lowest wage workers anywhere and this gives competitive edge and even the investors from China are looking for countries to take their manufacturing outside of China and they have selected Bangladesh. In 2010 there was a seminar on the topic and the conclusion was Bangladesh would be the next China-outside-of-China because it had the lowest production costs, followed by Vietnam and other countries.
“Another activity on mine has been in the field of supplying workers to Hong Kong. So far, the domestic helpers coming to Hong Kong have been largely from the Philippines and Indonesia but now interest has shifted to that same possibility from Bangladesh. In the meantime, visits have been made to Bangladesh by officials for familiarisation and the result is domestic workers will be coming into Hong Kong. If all goes according to plan domestic workers will be coming to Hong Kong from June or July this year. I am also proud of this development.
Our workers have been going abroad for many years but we think Hong Kong one of the better places for our workers because of its very strong rule of law and the social system.”
Mirana Mahrukh is now acting consul-general, and informed the press that 10 applications have been received so far as the first wave of applications. These came from Dhaka’s Technic Employment Service Centre, one of the biggest such agencies in the city, under co-operation with the Bangladesh government’s Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training. It has been training 50 to 60 Bangladeshis at the centre in Cantonese, English and cooking.
Note: Interview: Consul General of Bangladesh (Hong Kong and Macau), Mr Ashud Ahmed, on 21 February 2013 on the occasion of Martyr’s Day and International Mother Language Day.
