DT
8 | Independence Day
Thursday, March 26, 2015
Written in the stars:
Independence Day picks A compilation of some of the bright young trailblazers featured in TMAG’s ‘Written in the Stars’ section over the last two years
Fighting the good fight Special Olympics Gold Medalist Shiuli Sathi is an icon of encouragement and true inspiration. Born to a family of six and the daughter of a rickshaw puller, Shiuli was diagnosed with a mental disability at the age of four. For the first 15 years of her life, she could not walk on her own and had to be carried around from place to place. “I could not talk fluently too,” Shiuli says as she reminisces about her tough childhood, “No one played with me or talked to me. They treated me like an outcast and I hated it.” It was Shiuli’s endless determination and never ending practice at the Dhupkhola Field, which caught the eyes of the selectors of the Bangladesh Special Olympics Association in the year 2007. Her first international acknowledgement took place in that very year when Shiuli qualified for the Special Olympics World Summer Games, in China, Shanghai. Losing to her opponent by just one point, Shiuli brought back two silver and one bronze medal for her country in badminton.
Turning her disappointment for her unexpected loss to her goal to achieve, Shiuli worked harder and in the year 2009, she attended the second summer Olympics in Brunei, Darussalam. Qualifying in every round for badminton and boichi, her years of hard work shone brightly when Shiuli won the final rounds of her sports with huge leads and brought back five gold medals in a row. “I could not believe it,” she says, “I was so ecstatic that I was still in a daze for days” Since then, Shiuli has participated in another special Olympics and has garnered 10 medals in total till date. When in Dhaka, Shiuli works as a teacher’s assistant in the school Sweet Bangladesh in Mohakhali. She teaches dancing to the challenged kids there and when asked about her future plans, Shiuli says that she wants to make an institution where she will train challenged kids of our country to be like her, so that they can live a normal, happy life and contribute to the society as good citizens, taking Bangladesh forward.
Taking action From Tahrir Square to Shahbagh, from Occupy Wall Street to protests in Syria, youth around the world are beginning to rise, to voice their opinion about issues they believe in. How successful or effective they have been is a matter of debate. Young Inspirator Farah Maliha understands the need for a more informed and constructive approach. A military baby, Farah Maliha has
travelled far and wide at a very young age. Where a lot of young people her age (she recently turned 25) and in her
Reality in celluloid Manik, the protagonist of Red Mark Studios’ project, Paatshala – the movie left his home and flew to the city with the dream of enrolling in a local school (pathshala). Reading the synopsis, one might wonder what makes the story so extraordinary. Asif Islam and Faisal Roddy have always thrived to capture stories that were ignored and treated insignificantly within our society regardless of their immense values. Asif says: “Many flamboyant events happen in the world every day. Our world celebrates the Olympics, the World Cup etc, but how important is it for us to value the fact that young Manik wants to go to school. Therefore, our attempt is to bring these small stories out from the shoes would be complaining about the constant moves, Maliha chooses to channel her experience and energies into shaping the voice of the youth through Activista. Activista, which is ActionAid’s youth network, spans 23 countries worldwide. Comprising of young activists, journalists, musicians and artists, basically anyone able and willing to pitch in, the network is
dark and into the light of public awareness.” Faisal explains it more thoroughly by saying: “By using the word “paatshala” we don’t want to refer to an institution. Rather, our objective is to convey the message – the whole world is your school. This means that you can learn from anywhere, from anyone at any time if you want to, and that too without denying the importance of school.” currently involved with ActionAid’s international campaigns for issues such as tax justice, safer cities and emergency response programmes for Syrian refugees. Maliha, who is at present based in Amman, is in charge of the entire Youth programme in ActionAid’s Regional initiative. The objective of this project is to mobilise youth around the Arab region to institutionalise their activism, rather than merely engage in street protests.