Since my job life, I have to change my houses, changes towns. Whenever we shift places, always my Wife do not forget to take two things, one is a tub with Basok pata, that’s my wife the juice of Basak Pata to my children when they suffer cold / cough. Another one is a book title ” Jekane Dactar Nei”, it is a book originally written by a Health Activist of Mexico, translated by Gonoshastya Kendra (GK). We have been immensely benefited from the book.
When we came in Dhaka, me and wife have had taken book from GK nogor/town hospital. Always we take treatment from the place. My daughter Fatima gave birth of her first son Alif in GK. My sister in law Rebecca also gave birth of her first son in GK hospital. When we did a campaign against confrontational politics, Zafrullah Bhai used to speak in our programs. To train our paramedics, we had an agreement with GK.
I used meet him in his office in Nogor Haspatal. One day I was talking about skin disease in my family, I said may be it has came from maid, who do the job coming from slums. Zafrullah Bhai was a bit angry on my statement, he said, Reza I do not expect this sort of notion from you, as most of middle class come to me, say like you, that maid are the source of such disease. It is your family members might have such contamination too. It is easy to blame maid that you do. Blaming maid on such contagious disease unfair. It was a great learning from me.
You all, have such learning in interacting with him. We need to mention those, for all others. So, he is our Hero, he has not died. He is living with me, with us. He is our National Hero. We need to celebrate his life, we want to learn from his life. Rezaul Karim Chowdhury, 12th April 2023 [Bangla Report] [English Report]
