Jeremy Maron, a young researcher and Curator of Holocaust and Genocide Content at the Canadian Museum, is currently in Dhaka at the invitation of the Foreign Ministry and the Liberation War Museum. He is here to visit some of the places firsthand as part of his search for building the content and sharing the story of the 1971 Liberation War. He also met with family members of the martyrs and heard their stories. He spoke to Sheikh Shahariar Zaman about the political aspect of the 1971 genocide recognition, the challenges to preserve documents, and how Bangladesh can move forward in telling the truth in different countries.
How do we preserve the genocide content?
Jeremy Maron: The work that the Liberation War Museum and the Foreign Ministry are doing is very promising. I know the Foreign Ministry is building a relationship with other countries around the world in order to facilitate broader recognition of this very tragic history in Bangladesh in 1971, the history that preceded it, and the Language Movement.
The challenge of documentation and preserving evidence looms very large, but from what I have seen, this history is very good and capable hands by the liberation war museum. They are not only projecting the documents but also collecting the stories who lived through them and sharing them with both students in Bangladesh and researchers like me around the world.
Until we started engaging with our friends here and our friends in Diaspora, this is a history that was largely unknown to me. Now I am learning more every day, especially during my visit here. I am looking forward to bringing this back to my colleague and figuring out the best way to share this information.
How hopeful are you about recognition from other countries?
Certainly, the process is ongoing. I know the Bangladesh community in Canada specifically has been engaging with other communities seeking recognition for genocide. Sometimes it is hard to be patient.
There are so many political considerations in play when seeking genocide recognition. But I think patience is a virtue in this case and as long as it is accompanied by persistent and proper advocacy. That's exactly what I have seen from the Diaspora in Canada that we are working with, and certainly what we have seen at the Liberation War Museum, the Foreign Ministry and other places as well.
How to get political support for recognition?
I think one of the ways to address it is through the comparative opportunities people have within the social, cultural and academic realms. Those places where truth can be told and things can be brought to the forefront may be a little bit easier when that discussion becomes broader, and perhaps that can start influencing the discussion in the political realm.
It is something that starts at the grassroots level with a discussion that the Liberation War Museum is doing in order to build international awareness and push for international recognition. It is those efforts that may ultimately yield some result in the political realm.
How long can it take to get recognition?
There is no simple answer to that because there are different types of recognition. One advice could be that the Diaspora community in Canada can start discussions at the local level, and local politics. You can build consensus at a smaller level and then when the discussion becomes broader, it naturally flows upward and naturally becomes more recognized.
In the case of Canada, we have a history of genocide of indigenous people, and the public would be very surprised to hear that 10 to 15 years ago. In the last decade, this is become much more accepted, understood and discussed, including in the political realm in Canada. It started with the advocacy of indigenous people themselves and later the public became more acclimatized to hearing about genocide and talking about it.
It is unlikely that recognition would just come from above without ground support, not only by the communities but also by their advocates and allies.