Responding appropriately

Thank you Saif! Well, we all know with what reverence our fairer Western brethren is treated back home. I blame Fair and Lovely/Handsome. Ok, so maybe not entirely…

My favourite example of extra-khatir for the gora aadmis is the guest board at the “new” Sajna on Banani-11. I don’t know if it’s still there but last time I went, their lobby had a wall pasted with pages from their guestbook entries. There was Runa Laila and Alamgir, some BSF chief, Basit Ali, Shahid Afridi etc. all celebrities of different grades, as the captions underneath each name explained (singer, actor, cricketer, etc.).

As I scanned through the entries, I came across two very generic American names (say, Bob and Sandra). Curious, I looked closer at the caption and it said: “Overseas couple”. Yup, that’s all it said.

Needless to say, I was tempted to leave a few comments on their walls as well.

To DS: How can you be so sure this has anything to do with race (BTW, the “gora aadmi” bit is completely uncalled for)? What if Pelé had come to Bangladesh and called for democracy? Do you think the response would have been any different?

What about famous Bangladeshi bands lining up a few years ago to open for a concert by the Indian Idol winner? Where were the white people there?

To Saif: There are two ways of looking at this without getting angry. One is that Prince Richard is as human as anyone else, and is thus as entitled to his opinions as anyone else. I don’t think you’d like it if anti-Bush non-Americans were told to shut up just because they aren’t Americans, for example. The idea of Prince Richard’s wealth or title
disqualifying him from the right to have an opinion is completely arbitrary. If you think the Bangladeshi government should ignore his opinion, please criticise the government, not him.

The other point is that, as a member of the British royal family, I presume Prince Richard is not allowed by the British government to make political statements abroad, except as asked by the Foreign Office. So his opinion in this case is really that of Britain. And that is why it got the attention it did from the Bangladeshi government. What would have been the point in their pouting and saying “We don’t talk to princes”?

Don’t shoot the messenger, man.

Rashed bhai,

My sincerest apologies if “gora aadmi” sounded to you like a racial epithet. As Saif and others can attest, I am not in the habit of bandying those about. I have usually heard it used ironically, sometimes by bi-racial friends of mine. That is how I meant it. Perhaps you have heard it used in a different, hateful context. Thus my apologies.

I do not by any means attribute it wholly to race. And by race, I hardly mean physical attributes alone. But race is definitely a part of the reaction why someone so powerless is given so much coverage. Yes, citizenship and class are another two components. But Saif already touched on those.

In any case, it was a throw-away comment which I obviously didn’t think through.

My comment was in no way meant to suggest that Caucasians and/or other races in Bangladesh should be treated disrespectfully. Idi Amin-like nationalism is not to my liking, no matter what the race. Bangladeshi people should welcome all and treat everyone with respect. That a tension exists between being cosmopolitan and being nationalistic is no doubt true, but I’d rather err on the side of cosmopolitanism.

It’s just galling to see so many examples of our society under-estimating their own heritage’s worth. You’ve pointed one out. I’ll add in another: Azam Khan opening for Junoon a couple of years ago.

I repeat: I apologise for letting my bitterness take the better of me.

A word perhaps to show you that I am only too aware of deshi racism as well. Caucasians are welcome only as long as we work with them. But socialise with them? Be-friend them? Marry them? Suddenly there are changes in peoples’ attitudes. Just wanted to let you know that I am aware of all this too and I do not approve.

Oh, long-time reader of your blog btw.