Sundarbans talks in the time of Jongi

What topics are ushering in storms over teacups in Bangladesh right now?

Certainly, the issue of Jongis. Jihadi militants. Since 1st of July 2016, the issue of religious extremism and the interpretation of Islam entered household talk.

It is obvious that the country had a shaken, terrified and jaw-dropping moment when Jongis took the lives of 20 diners including 17 foreign nationals in Holi Artisan Bakery in Dhaka.

Bringing the climate talk on the table right now seems stupidity. However, it might be relevant in a different way. Every time there is an attack from Paris to Dhaka – regardless the place, the first question we all throw is 'how can they do that?' The police of Bangladesh found a Jihadists' map of the road to heaven which indicates that through these activities they will go straight to heaven. However, they were killed in Kalynapur, Dhaka.

Why they were so desperate for heaven at the expense others' lives, might be an issue of discussion for psychologists or religious experts. This is not what I am talking about. I have got a question which I would like to have answered or discussed.

The question is, are we different from them? The biggest concern is, we are Jongis too. I am sorry to say this, but the scale of our militancy or terrorism might be different, but the extent is same.

When we kill animals*, don't they think – 'how can human kill us just for their meal?' We hear their groans. They try hard to save their lives, but we just don't let them go. They beg with tears, but that doesn't make us stop. We tighten their legs and put the knife on their necks. Are we different from Jongis?

When we plan for a coal-based power plant to get electricity, the Sundarbans is surely crying, scared and thinking of us as Jongis and saying 'how can you do this to me?'

We are not listening to the mangrove forest because we want short term benefits, short cut ways to live in comfort.

So, one thing is common – the desire for heaven or a heavenly life among jongis and non-jongis. All admire a beautiful life, to be in paradise or to live in comfort.

That's why climate talks shoudl go on in the time of Jongis.

In my view, there are two types of Jongis. One kills humans to secure their heaven making victims and their loved ones lives miserable in the name of Islam. And, the other, whom I call 'civilised Jongi', kills this earth – the river, the forests like Sundarban, and tigers, creating a dangerous climate for future generations.

The only difference is we can approximate the loss brought by the religious Jongis and see what they have done, but we can't measure and witness what damage we have done to future generations. Certainly, they won't be proud of the people living in our current times, in the same way we are not proud of Jongis.

For the rise and act of Jongis, you can blame ISIS, you can claim the misinterpretation of Islam, you can blame US invasion and foreign policy and so on, you can accuse parenting, and/or one thing that certainly can be counted is the psychological state of mind of Jongis. But, for the other group – the civilised jongis like us – what's the reason? What made us civilised jongis kill the Sundarbans? What made us deny climate change?

Because we are afraid of losing our comfort. Surely, in this race the Westerners are ahead of us. In developed countries, the per capita carbon footprint is higher than the developing and non-developed nations, but that doesn't certify us as innocent. We are extremists too in a local scale.

Our mighty Sundarbans is our safeguard, which saved many lives and properties during SIDR attack in 2007. It is now urgent to make it clear to the government that the whole nation prefers Sundarbans over electricity in the era of climate change. We are not civilised Jongis.

Climate scientists and researchers know Bangladesh is vulnerable to climate change. Little may they know about our strength, and our power to fight and win against all the odds. Admitting climate change means taking steps to increasing adaptive power and ensuring mitigating actions towards an average global temperature below 1.5 degrees C. Can we do that? Well, only if we are not civilised Jongis.