 A friend in the time of our need.Photo: AFP I had the privilege and honour of hearing Senator Ted Kennedy speak at the Democratic National Convention at the Pepsi Centre in Denver, Colorado on August 25, 2008. Exactly one year on from that date, he has said his final goodbye. America has lost one of the most remarkable and influential senators in its history, the world a political Leviathan and a model public representative, and Bangladesh one of its truest friends ever. For almost five eventful decades, not only was Sen. Kennedy at the centre of the most burning and sensitive issues facing America and the world, he did much in his own style to help shape them too by challenging the status quo and fighting injustice. He publicly supported our Liberation War and was sharply critical of the Nixon Administration's opposition to it. He personally visited refugee camps in India in August 1971, and alerted the world to the human tragedies and sufferings he witnessed there and the reign of terror that was unleashed on the Bengalees in the then East Pakistan. In his submissions to the Senate, he portrayed Nixon's support for West Pakistan as "nothing short of complicity in the human and political tragedy of East Bengal." Following the independence of Bangladesh, he visited Dhaka in early 1972 and, in a speech at Dhaka University, said: "Even though the United States government does not recognise you, the people of the world do recognise you." An internationalist and a world citizen, he was a champion, crusader and defender par excellence of the poor and politically disadvantaged and, as a prolific legislator much respected across the political spectrum, he set and defined the standard for the Democratic Party -- and America -- on health care, education, civil and human rights, campaign-finance reform and labour law. He characteristically opposed the war in Vietnam and, from the beginning, was an outspoken opponent and critic of war in Iraq. A year ago, as I made my way to the Convention Hall, monitors flashed the news that Sen. Kennedy had arrived in Denver and would indeed be addressing the delegates. Courtesy of National Democratic Institute (NDI), I was also in Boston for the 2004 Democratic National Convention and, at a reception for the foreign delegates, had the pleasure of meeting and speaking to the senator. That meeting, and the few minutes of focused conversation we had wherein he enquired about Bangladesh and expressed his deep affection for its people, was the thrill of a lifetime for me. I kept in regular touch with him thereafter through his office, and was deeply impressed by how up to date and current he was on events in Bangladesh and also, despite his pre-occupations, his willingness to engage and get others in Congress and the Senate to do so on matters such as assassination of S.A.M.S. Kibria, attempted assassination of Sheikh Hasina on August 21 and the fact that there was no real progress in the investigations. Given his medical condition, I knew I would not be able to meet him in person this time round in 2008, but hoped that somehow he could make an appearance at the Convention. As he walked to the podium, the lion of American politics was greeted with tears and cheers. The words he spoke that evening in Denver will forever be embedded in me. He started of by saying about how nothing, nothing could have kept him away from the Convention and the fact that he was there to stand in solidarity with the delegates to change America, to restore its future and rise to America's best ideals. In victory and defeat, he went on to say, we have never lost our belief that we are called to a better country and a newer world. He spoke about hope, new hope -- which he referred to as the cause of his life -- for justice and prosperity for the many, not just for the few. His closing words ran thus: "There is a new wave of change all around us, and if we set our compass true, we will reach our destination -- not merely victory for our Party but renewal for our nation. This November the torch will be passed again to a new generation of Americans. The work begins anew. The hope rises again. And the dream lives on." The torch has now passed to a new generation and the work has indeed begun anew. In a brief statement announcing his death, his family said: "We've lost the irreplaceable centre of our family and joyous light in our lives, but the inspiration of his faith, optimism, and perseverance will live on in our hearts forever." These are words not just of a grieving family but the sentiments of many in grief across the world. He was the best president America never had, and proved through his life and triumphs that to be towering personality and an iconic world figure one need not be president of the United States. The dream indeed lives on, not just in America but more importantly, all over the world, as does Sen. Kennedy in our hearts and souls. Saber Hossain Chowdhury is a Member of Parliament. |
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