Mohammad Monju Mia, 28, lives in a village in Mymensingh district. He is a jhalmuri seller by profession, but his passion is cricket.
When Monju was just one year old, his hands and feet began to dry up. It was not possible to treat his affliction because his father had died, and the family did not have means to pay the medical bills.
At the age of 5, he had to undergo an operation on his leg, but he still did not get strength back in his hands and feet. After studying up to class five, he began working to help support the family along with his mother, who was a garment factory worker.
Monju would often watch children playing cricket in the field. One day, he joined the children in a game. After that, he regularly played cricket with the normal boys of the area, and he has now played 3 international matches for the Bangladesh National People with Physical Disability Cricket Team in the last 6 years.
He could not run as much as the others, but Monju did not care. He would simply rest when he became tired and then rejoin the game.
“In 2010 I worked in a factory in Gazipur. I saw an advertisement in 2015, which said The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) would give cricket training to people with disabilities, like us, and players would be selected for a team. I joined there. This was how I got the chance to play for the national people with disabilities cricket team,” Monju told Dhaka Tribune recently.
Dhaka TribuneHe was busy preparing for his next match in a six-team cricket tournament for people with disabilities being organized at BKSP.
Monju said: “My mother, 2 children, and wife stay at home. Selling Jhalmuri earns Tk4,000 per month, and we also have ducks and chickens at home, and we sell eggs. The family is surviving, somehow, but if I don't go to work then the cooking stops at home. Still, I go to Brahmanbaria once a week to practice.
“The coach of the regular cricket team guided me there. Only this game gives me strength to survive,” he added.
A total 90 players like Monju participated in the six-team tournament. The participants had come in from Dhaka, Sylhet, Comilla, Satkhira and Brahmanbaria.
Opening batter Md Iqbal Hossain participated in cricket training with the help of ICRC In 2015. He has also played three international matches despite having one leg. The Bangladesh team won one of the matches.
Dhaka TribuneIqbal told Dhaka Tribune: “I run on one leg, I can't even take the help of an artificial limb because my leg is amputated too far above the joint, so the limb doesn't fit. In this game, everyone has different disabilities. Some people have more power than others. Some have more problems than others, resulting in a little difficulty during play. Even though I played well, I fell behind because I was leaning on one leg.”
Iqbal worked in a hotel and earned Tk130 a day. He lost his job during the Covid-19 pandemic but has now opened a grocery store in Khulna with the help of ICRC.
Like every year, the ICRC in cooperation with the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) organized the ICRC T20 Cricket Tournament for People with Physical Disabilities from October 23 to November 1. All the matches were organized at BKSP ground 1.
The first ever International Cricket Tournament for People with Physical Disabilities, with the participation of five countries, was organized with the support of the BCB in 2015.
Coach MD Moniruzzaman told the Dhaka Tribune: “These players could have achieved more success internationally if the artificial limbs of our country had been more modern, and they need regular practice sessions.
“We need some modern products; these would increase their strength. They would not lag behind the players who came to play with advanced technology from other countries,” he added.
Dhaka TribuneBesides, since there is no special amount allocated for these players, it is difficult to take initiatives to help their fitness. Up to 80% of them live in financial crisis, and can hardly afford to take time out for exercise.
“However, we continue to participate in international tournaments because they gain a different kind of energy in life through this game,” the coach added.
ICRC Physical Rehabilitation Project in partnership with the Center for the Rehabilitation for the Paralyzed (CRP) helps people with physical disabilities regain mobility so that they can lead a dignified life and play an active role in the society. The organizations are working to strengthen rehabilitation services in countries where they operate, ICRC said.
“We believe that sports can help reduce the stigma and discrimination associated with disabilities and can transform community attitudes people with disabilities by reducing the tendency to see the disability instead of the person,” said an ICRC statement.