Bangladesh: The dream of lonely charioteers

Jean Eugene Paul Kay was a 29-year-old young man from a wealthy family in France, one of the wealthiest countries in Europe. At that age, he was supposed to be busy with his profession, beloved, and his own life, or be drunk in all the famous French bars. But what a strange humanity, he hijacked a Pakistan International Airlines plane, risking his life. He joined the Bengali liberation struggle. This incident created a stir in France and the whole of Europe. When the mediator spoke to Jean Kay, he demanded that 20 tons of medicine and relief materials be sent for the Bengali refugees who had taken refuge in India! At one point in the hostage incident, the security guards shot him in the chest. He was seriously injured but survived. Later, when detailed information about the matter was published, the French government sent relief medicine for the Bengali refugees.

There are many such heroes in the Bengali liberation struggle, who risked their lives for no reason, just for the call of humanity, and stood for Bangladesh. They spread the message of humanity all over the world. In which, millions of people have been inspired, world public opinion has been formed in favour of the Bengali liberation struggle. The Bengali liberation struggle has been accelerated. Let's know the incredible stories of some of the Bengali wartime heroes.

Belgian citizen Mario Pierre Roymans used to work in a hotel. This young man, very modest and well-fed, stole Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer's very valuable painting The Love Letter from an art gallery in Brussels on September 23, 1971. Roymans risked his life to steal this valuable painting from a secure art gallery. Later, when the gallery closed at night, he came out of there and stole this valuable painting. Then he hid the painting in various ways. Later, Roymans, claiming to be the famous bandit Teijl van Lumberg, met with a journalist from the Brussels-based newspaper Le Soir in a pine forest. Roymans asked the reporter to bring only a camera. On a foggy winter day, Roymans took the reporter to a church. There, he showed him the precious The Love Letter, wrapped in cloth. He then told the reporter that he too loved art. However, Roymans set three conditions for returning the painting. The main condition was that 200 million Belgian francs would be given to refugees in East Pakistan. Roymans set a deadline of October 6 for this. However, after various dramas, the Belgian police arrested him on the same day. After that, demands arose throughout Belgium and Europe for the release of the Bengali Robin Hood, Mario Pierre Roymans. Although stealing works of art to satisfy a demand is not a moral act at first glance, this theft and Robin Hood Mario Pierre Roymans, who was involved in helping the Bengali nation, are still remembered for their unique contribution to the Liberation War.

In 1971, journalist Anthony Mascarenhas was working as an assistant editor at the Karachi-based newspaper The Morning News in West Pakistan. At the same time, he worked at the London-based newspaper The Sunday Times. After the March 25 crackdown, the Pakistani military authorities expelled foreign journalists from Bangladesh. However, even then, the issue of Pakistani brutality could not be suppressed. Journalist Simon John Dring exploded the first bomb. The Telegraph published a report titled "Tanks Crush Revolt in Pakistan". After that, other media outlets also started publishing reports. As a result, Pakistan suffered an extreme image crisis all over the world. Then, to counter these news reports related to the genocide, the Pakistani military authorities brought eight influential journalists to Bangladesh on a 10-day tour. Anthony Mascarenhas was in that group. Although he was under the authority of the army during that 10-day tour, Mascarenhas's inquisitive mind was able to uncover the true picture of East Pakistan. He saw that in fact, in the name of controlling the law and order situation, the army had carried out barbaric genocides all over the country, including Dhaka. Their main targets were Hindus and Awami League leaders and activists.

After returning from that 10-day tour, other journalists presented news according to Pakistani demands. But Anthony had other thoughts in mind. He was wondering how the true picture of East Pakistan could be presented to the world. It was very risky to do this work while physically staying in Pakistan. And the Morning News would not print such a report. And if it did, the lives of his entire family would be in doubt. In such a situation, Anthony thought of the Sunday Times. This newspaper had published many of his reports before. But there were complications in that too. Because if the true picture is published under his name, the army authorities will not spare any of his family members. In such a situation, Anthony arranged to send his family to London. Later, taking risks, he reached London via Afghanistan by land. Then he published the sensational report titled Genocide. The impact of this report, published on June 13, 1971, was far-reaching. It made a special contribution to shaping world opinion in favor of the Bengali nation.

Despite doing an extraordinary job risking his own and his family's lives, Mascarenhas did not receive the slightest recognition. Although the Bangladesh government gave special honors to foreign friends of Bangladesh in 1971, Mascarenhas's name was not on that list.

Because later, he wrote a book called Legacy of Blood on the political events of Bangladesh. In which Mascarenhas has highlighted many issues in his own way. Many political parties in Bangladesh do not agree with the political commentary. Outside of the nation, party, association, and society, many such individuals, professionals, artists, and human rights activists played a small but effective role in the liberation war of Bangladesh.

They sang songs of humanity and sang melodies of solidarity. This list includes Pandit Ravi Shankar, George Harrison, journalist Simon John Dring, photojournalist Michel Laurent, poet Allen Ginsberg, and many others. Gratitude to these humanitarian ambassadors of the great liberation war of 1971.

(Author: Assistant Professor, Department of Mass Communication and Journalism, Jagannath University)