During the liberation war of Bangladesh, around 21 children were born as a consequence of forced pregnancy, which desolately is still a frequently occurring phenomenon in many areas of the country. Mustafa Chowdhury, a retired federal public servant at the Government of Canada and a Bangladeshi-born freelance researcher and writer, has done profound work on war-babies of Bangladesh.
At a seminar, “Meet The Author,” Mustafa Chowdhury opened the session by addressing war-babies and defining what it means in simplest of words - unwanted, disposed and disregarded babies who were abandoned by helpless rape victims during the liberation war of 1971. The author of the book Picking Up The Pieces (71’er Juddhoshishu: Obidito Itihash), next spoke of the Canadian organisation called Families for Children, which was the first team from Canada to lend a hand for adoption of these babies. However, the only ray of sunshine for these innocent babies was clouded by government policy issues. One Canadian couple, the author told the audience, even went on a hunger strike, which took the media by storm until the government finally granted them permission for adoption.
15 out of 21 of the war babies discovered were deemed medically fit for adoption and immigration. Author Mustafa has provided a table of profiles of the parents, photographs of them hugging their babies upon arriving in Canada, the profiles of these war-babies, their weight (all less than average). One generous couple chose the weakest of the “children of despair,” as termed by the media. A child for whom survival would’ve been a miracle had the child not been adopted. Mustafa interviewed the parents to find out why they chose that child, their words were: “Mustafa, I thought he wouldn’t make it. It was a challenge. The moment I looked at him, I knew I had a better place for him.” He survived.
The journey wasn’t easy for these parents and their adopted children. Besides dilemmas and social stigma, there was also paper work that needed to be dealt with. One mother said, “It is like labour pain to have to wait for the baby’s arrival. And I don’t want to talk about my labour pain in public.” Mustafa discussed the stories behind each of these adoptions both in his book and in the seminar. Some of these babies, who are now in their 40s, grew up to be university lecturers, while others became successful businessmen. Few came back to their motherland to look for their biological mothers, while others moved on with their life, addressing the past as an accidental and consolatory event in both their and their birth-mother’s life. However, Rani, another successfully adopted baby, had to be institutionalised due to her deteriorating mental health and abandonment issues. She believed that if she was abandoned once, it is likely that she will be abandoned again. She took the past to heart and committed suicide at the age of 26. She would write poems about Bangladesh, and interestingly, identify the rivers as her biological mother, who she never had the chance to meet.
Mustafa has decked his book with the tale of such beautiful war-babies, who fortunately had a chance at a better life. These children would have been deprived of the lives they’ve had, had their birth mothers left them out of desperation and misery. The author’s precision of telling a tale is indeed heart-warming. The audience joined their fingers, while a few wiped the tears as the session concluded.
The session was organised by English and Humanities Department of Brac University on January 20. The session invited historical researcher on Liberation War, Afsan Chowdhury, to share a few words on the issue at hand, and then opened the floor to the audience. The book Picking Up The Pieces (71’er Juddhoshishu: Obidito Itihash) will soon be launched at Boi Mela in February. It is written both in English and Bangla for readers’ convenience.
