I keep hearing about people wanting to move abroad (I myself live abroad but that’s a different story plus I do frequently visit Bangladesh and plan to live there later on since there’s some stuff I want to achieve there) and honestly it’s sad to hear. Consider the following scenarios that occurred in the past:

Several intellectuals from Bangladesh during the war returned home to come and fight the Pakistan government. And many died. They could have chosen to stay abroad and perhaps live luxuriously. But they chose the more honorable path, for which they are known.

Rabindranath Tagore was knighted by the British King and could have decided to move to Britain if he wanted, yet he would rather stay true to his roots and rejected the notion and the knighthood when he saw the things the British did in Punjab.

When the British with the help of Mir Jafar managed to take over Bengal, the Nawab could have surrendered to save his life but he refused to do that and tried to escape until he was eventually captured and killed.

When the Mughals invaded Bengal, the Sultan was killed in war without any successor. Instead of letting that slide to total defeat, Isa Khan and his allies formed the Bhuiyan Confederacy and eventually managed to weaken the Mughals enough to come to amicable agreements. If not for those efforts Bengal would have not seen autonomy ever again.

Lastly, an example that isn’t relevant to Bangladesh but I love regardless. Harald Hardrada was exiled from Norway, a country he loved and also wanted to rule. After his exile he travelled extensively and ended up becoming a Byzantine commander, a post highly valued and respected. Yet he didn’t let that blind him from his country and eventually returned to be the last notably Viking ruler in history.

Now many of these examples are of political situations yes, but their lessons are nonetheless important. Our people had a strong sense of independence, self worth and passion for the land of their origin. In the past, in worse situations, they prevailed and in times returned for the sake of their country. Today alas, it seems to be the other way. I hope one day we as a people can reconcile with our past and get rid of this mindset of migrating outwards and letting the country rot, because history has proven again and again that is not who we are, and I truly hope we don’t change that ever.