Happy 2021!

January 1, 2021:
New Palm Beach, Antarctica

So much has happened in the last decade, so many positive changes for the world in general, and specifically for Bangladesh. As the satisfying hum of my GPS vacuum robot cleaning my bioneural carpet sounds in my ear, I quote the following article to my sleevetop computer.

To see how far we've come as another year closes, we really need to look back to that year that changed everything:

2011.

Those of you who were really young back then might not remember how things began to change, how on that plane ride from Newark Liberty to Schwarzenegger Airport (called LAX back then), a passenger rose from his seat. Somewhere over the Rockies, he announced his intentions to the passengers in Economy Class. He handed a suitcase to a stunned woman in a threadbare coat who cradled a baby on her lap. "This is my entire earnings from last year," he declared, "$90,000. It is for your child's education. Let this child, and everyone know. Those who believe and do good works, God will pay them their wages in full."

This was the first publicised act of "Heraldism", although some say the phenomenon started with a parked car being given to a passer-by in Istanbul as early as January 2011. In London, Tokyo, Madrid, Jakarta, Heraldists worldwide made people excited to leave their homes everyday. Many took to walking to work, hoping to be in an area "hit" by an act of Heraldism. Random people, rich and poor, were being blessed in the name of Islam by righteous givers, who operated anonymously out of mosques throughout the world. When wealthy people were "hit" by a blessing, they were invited to "pass it on". The strategy was simple: while it is inherently unfair that world media had associated Islam with terrorism, it is also true that this is because most people, especially reporters, can only hold one thought at a time in their minds, and that is usually the most extreme thought. The strategy was to make Heraldism the one extreme thought outsiders associated with Islam.

It worked. It worked with a vengeance. The French government, ever the fashion police, subsequently required all citizens, regardless of faith or gender, to wear whatever women were wearing in Ryadh. In Switzerland, citizens rebelled against the constitutional ban on minarets. As a result it was discovered that the ban had nothing to do with religious intolerance. It had been implemented so no one could see over many of the higher walls into the courtyards in Bern, where the larger pieces of missing artwork from World War II had been hidden. In Norway, every newspaper was peacefully boycotted out of business, because even though it was a sensationalist newspaper in Denmark that published offensive anti-Islamic cartoons, really, who can tell the difference between Denmark and Norway?

Back in 2011, the press still called Heralds "anti-terrorists". It was discovered that many of these original operatives were unmarried Muslim men and women who were recently graduated from universities throughout the world who had decided to devote one year to austere life, religious study, and good works. They would live Spartan existences, while earning a salary in their chosen profession. All of the money they accumulated from their first year's work, minus minimal expenses, they would dedicate to performing one enormous public act of good. We see it all the time now, and we come to expect it, especially here in the US, but you must imagine how unusual it must have felt in 2012 for shoppers in a downtown area suddenly to have all their grocery purchases paid for by an anonymous stranger. At first, the press called these young people "suicide givers", until one writer, I forget who, it might have even been me, started to use the term "Heraldist" (That was before my first Pulitzer Prize).

To "herald" is to announce the arrival of someone important, or something very good. When the herald trumpet sounds, people grow excited. In fact, what they feel is the exact opposite of terror. And what do the Heraldists announce? Simply that God is good. What better news can anyone announce than that? Nowadays, we take it for granted — people looking forward to an airline flight, hoping theirs is the lucky plane that is "hit", stepping out onto the street in hopeful anticipation of a drive-by act of giving, travelling by public transportation in hopes of being Heraldised. When I tell my 13-year-old granddaughter that before 2011, ignorant Americans used to associate Islam with terror, she laughs at me.

Since the movement began, Muslims have always been the main recipients of Heraldism. While the more publicised acts have occurred in Christian countries (remember that week when everyone in England could visit a dentist for free? No nation has logged more man-hours of round-the-clock labour since the construction of the Great Wall) but eight out of every nine acts of generosity are Muslim-to-Muslim. Remember that donor who bought 8,500,000 Tk worth of cattle for herders in Bangladesh? That hit was coordinated with another Herald who slipped into the border guard offices in India and installed satellite TV, a cricket pitch, and gave everyone Blackberries. India immediately outsourced its border guard duties to a call centre in Mexico. Now, no one notices when anyone crosses the border.

2011 was also the year Bangladesh came into its own as the leader of the developing world. On November 11, 2011, private citizens of all economic levels and political creeds decided to create an event: The Concert From Bangladesh. It was a nation's coming-out party. The surviving participants of the 1971 concert gathered in a World's Fair-like atmosphere to showcase Bangladesh's triumph and survival. The concert, broadcast worldwide, raised 2.4 million dollars for the victims of the Haitian earthquake, hurricane and plague, and sent the message of hope to Haitians that people with tenacity, faith and conviction could survive the worst disasters. The poster was of a smiling Bangladeshi child offering food to the world. The leaders of the AL and BNP banded together to make the event a success. Bangladeshi products, such as tents, clothing and food were part of a care package to Haiti that highlighted manufactured products. People worldwide came to discover that Bangladesh was "like China, but with religion and freedom", and that developed countries could actually import from Bangladesh without feeling guilty about supporting a totalitarian dictatorship like China's.

In 2014, The United States decided that the War on Terror was over, the War on Drugs was not worth fighting, and, finding no other wars to fight, added 2,000 cable channels, most of them interactive. The worst of these is the Groundhog Hunting Channel, where old drones left over from the Afghanistan war are now used by hunters to hunt groundhogs by remote. I like groundhog steak as much as the next man, so I tried the channel once. I took out five of the chubby rodents, but the collateral damage was five squirrels, living in a tree above the burrows. Of course, I did not claim responsibility. After all, one of those squirrels was suspiciously fat. .

Speaking of Groundhogs, President Chris Christie's two terms in office will end in late January. If all goes well between now and inauguration day, he will be the first New Jerseyan President not to go insane while in office, or involve the country in a world war.

Personally, I can't believe that a mere 10 years ago, I had never visited Bangladesh, that I wrote my bdnews24.com articles in English, not perfect Bengali, and had never dined with a head of state. I feel privileged to have been a small part of reporting the spiritual, cultural and commercial awakening of this great nation. The decade to come promises more stability, prosperity and freedom for our children and grandchildren.

Happy New Year!

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Dear Readers,
My self-imposed assignment is to offer an American point of view related to events in Bangladesh. I think such a view is useful. One needs to step way back from a large painting to appreciate its artistry and offer an honest critique. What I honestly see, watching from the other side of the world, is a compelling landscape of human potential in the face of adversity; such kindness, such ready intellect, such beauty, and so many knots that still need to be untied, that I long to step into that painting and become a part of it. Sometimes in my enthusiasm to do so, I might rip the canvas. I may offend.

I was worried about this column. What I write, even with the best intentions may seem offensive. Believe me, I have come to be a great admirer of Bangladesh, but, as one reader stated, I can be as naïve as a young child about your politics and sensibilities. Because I am Frank, I need to speak "Frank-ly", but each time I hit the "send" button, I do so with some trepidation that maybe I've gone too far, and I'll have said something unforgivable, especially when I talk about religion or politics. If I ever offend, I trust you'll let me know.

May your chosen paths be strewn with blessings in 2011. Thanks for reading.

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Frank Domenico Cipriani writes a weekly column in the Riverside Signal called "You Think What You Think And I'll Think What I Know." He is also the founder and CEO of The Gatherer Institute — a not-for-profit public charity dedicated to promoting respect for the environment and empowering individuals to become self-taught and self-sufficient. His most recent book, "Learning Little Hawk's Way of Storytelling", is scheduled to be released by Findhorn Press in May of 2011.