Can they be silenced?

Last month, Margaret Atwood chose Bangladeshi publisher and writer Ahmedur Rashid Chowdhury, also known as Tutul, as winner of the Pinter International Writer of Courage award. It was only a year ago, on October 31, 2015, that Tutul was stabbed by Islamic extremists, along with two other writers, for writing and publishing opinions that were considered “anti-Islamic.” On that same fateful day, publisher Faisal Arefin Dipan was hacked to death. A year down the line, their attackers are still at large. Faisal Arefin Dipan Dipan was not the only person who had to pay with his life for daring to exercise his right to freedom of speech. Since 2013, a number of authors, publishers and bloggers have been killed by religious extremists, and many more have fled the country after receiving threats. But these are not isolated incidents – starting from the brutal assassination attempt of poet and author Humayun Azad in 2004 to the culture of silence around the persecution of religious and ethnic minorities in Bangladesh, freedom of expression can be hard won, and there are still many Bangladeshis living a life of fear or emigrating to other countries where their opinions won't cost them their lives.

Since 2013, a number of authors, publishers and bloggers have been killed by religious extremists, and many more have fled the country after receiving threats.

The silencing of writers, journalists and proponents of free speech is a reality all across the world, and it is only expected that the Dhaka Lit Fest would respond to the issue through its choice of writers. This year, the Lit Fest is geared to host two eminent exiled speakers – Uzbek writer and journalist Hamid Ismailov and North Korean defector and activist Hyeonseo Lee.

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Also read -- "Authorities do not like to see reality as it is"

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Hamid Ismailov, one of Uzbekistan's most widely published writers, was forced to flee his country 23 years ago. He has since lived in the UK and became the the first BBC World Service Writer in Residence.  Critics have compared the dissident writer's works to the best of Russian classics, Sufi parables and works of Western post-modernism. While contemporary Uzbek politics is woven into his stories, it is his unique intercultural experience that excites and draws the reader into his world. While Ismailov was forcefully expelled, Hyeonseo Lee left home for what she thought would be a short while in 1997, and spent 10 years hiding her identity and living in fear in China as an illegal immigrant. She finally managed to escape to South Korea in 2008, and in July 2015 published her memoir The Girl with Seven Names. Lee now spends much of her time speaking about North Korean human rights and refugee issues, and is working on a book with other female North Koreans living in South Korea. Her experiences are fascinating not only because of her incredible journey and the insight into a closed-off society, but also for the timely reminder of the power of information (or its lack thereof).