Eid is the biggest festival in Bangladesh, the country where most people want to return to their rural home during the vacation. Unlike many developed countries the root of these people is still strongly tied with the ancestral homes in villages.
After months of back-breaking work and extreme stress in urban life, people find their greatest solace during the Eid. The festival not only brings unbridled joy but also boosts the economy as people want to spend for their near and dear ones.
Yet, these people face inhuman and unjust situations year after year. One may start with the peril of journey. The pressure of passengers during the Eid season is immense but no one seems to care. On the contrary, the owners of long-distance buses and other means of transportations take advantage of the situation by increasing the fare manifold. Even the train services are inadequate.
Over the last couple of years it was seen that to avoid the extra pressure the rail authority decided to sell tickets 100 percent online. This is a bizarre decision as poor and uneducated people are deprived of the service. These poor people have to take dangerous means like riding on a jam-packed truck or the roof of the trains.
The traffic congestion is perpetual and it is seen that the situation got worse this year due to road conditions, many development works and reckless attitude of the bus companies. Yet, people somehow reach home as if they are winning the sternest challenge of a video game.
That is not all! Most of the garment workers did not get their festival bonus or even March salary. And when they will reach their village homes they will be plunged under severe load-shedding. Despite spending billions of dollars on electricity the situation has not improved as that money is basically purloined by the powerful people in the government.
Despite all these odds, the amazing people of Bangladesh embrace Eid with joy and hope. Eid teaches us that we can overcome any hurdle and keep our smile. Perhaps one day we will unleash this power to change the fate of this country as well.
The Boxer: The author is one of the indefatigable working-class Bangladeshis who have been trying to change the fate of the nation but were betrayed by the ruling elites and autocrats. The name is inspired by a character in George Orwell's 1945 novel Animal Farm.