Freedom Fighter relays war memories to youths in Meherpur

A Freedom Fighters relayed his daring Liberation War memories among the youths of Bashundhara Shuvosangho at an event hosted by the welfare organisation at the office of local daily Dainik Meherpur on Thursday afternoon.

Freedom Fighter Capt (retd) Abdul Malek recollected memories at the event chaired by Shuvosangho Meherpur district unit President Rafikul Alam Bokul.

Addressing the listeners, Abdul Malek said he returned from the clutches of death three times during the nine-month war of 1971. And yet, he and other fighters continued the life-threatening struggle without expecting anything in return other than the freedom of their motherland.

The occupying and brutal Pakistan forces had up-to-date weapons, and even though the Freedom Fighters had none of those, they possessed unflinching resolve, patriotism and strategies.

He called on the youth to love the country and work selflessly for the nation.

At the event, Abdul Malek also lamented that Meherpur had about 350 genuine Freedom Fighters, but after gaining independence, successive governments inflated the number for political gains. As a result, at present, there are as many as 650 Freedom Fighters in the district.

He called on the current government to form a high-level committee to impartially scrutinise the Freedom Fighters’ record and weed out the imposters.

Among others present at the discussion were Kaler Kantho’s Meherpur correspondent Yadul Momin, Shuvosangho Joint Secretaries Sajid Hossain and Rakibul Islam as well as Publicity Secretary Touhidul Islam Tuhin.

At the end of the programme, the youths present became emotional after hearing the heroic stories of the Liberation War and were inspired with a sense of patriotism. They said such events would play an important role in informing the new generation about the country’s history and instilling patriotic values.