Bangladeshis Abroad

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A PROBASHI BANGLADESHI'S EFFORTS TO HELP THE PEOPLE OF HIS MOTHERLAND

There are many Bangladeshis living outside Bangladesh who are very much concerned about the well-being of their motherland. They are trying to help their old country in various ways. I would like to write articles on the activities of these Bangladeshis in their country of origin. The purpose of writing these articles is to encourage and inspire other Bangladeshis to do similar work, and to provide examples that they can learn from and follow.

The present article will describe the work of a Bangladeshi gentleman living in North America. In this article we shall call him 'donor'. He wanted to remain anonymous because, he says, "I try to help our brothers and sisters of Bangladesh quietly; I am doing this work not for name or fame; I do this because I love my people. Every time I start a major project, the people in Bangladesh want to name it after me. I have consistently refused to have my name associated with any of the projects. Only in one case they succeeded in naming the project after me. They named a college library after my name without my knowledge. I came to know about it only after I saw my name permanently engraved on the front cement wall of the library building." He visits Bangladesh every year (sometimes twice a year) to keep his ties with the sacred soil of his motherland strong, and to supervise the work that he is doing in his beloved country. We shall call the area of the country where he does most of the work as 'location one'. Other areas where he does some work will be designated as location two, three, and so on.

WORK IN HIS COUNTRY OF RESIDENCE IN THE WEST

It should be mentioned that the donor does a great deal of humanitarian work in his adopted country in the west as well. He has contributed good sums of money to the construction of two mosques, and regularly helps another two mosques. In order to promote Bangladeshi culture he always contributes funds to Bangladeshi organizations that organize cultural activities. He planned a major project which he thought was very useful for his community. He had set aside a substantial sum of money for this project. Since his initial efforts to realize this project were not encouraging, he abandoned that idea and decided to direct the resources to Bangladesh where there is a genuine need for help.

The donor tries to entertain and help the artists and other visitors from Bangladesh during their stay in the city of his residence.

As for his work to help the mainstream society of the country of his residence, he has been devoting a great deal of time and energy for more than 40 years to promote interfaith and intercultural understanding and harmony among the people of various backgrounds. He was one of the founders of an intercultural institute that has been playing a vital role for the last 40 years in promoting harmony among the people of his adopted country. He also founded, and directed an intercultural center for 25 years at a large educational institution where he worked as a professor. He regularly contributes funds to hospitals, charitable organizations, educational institutions, churches, and political parties.

WORK FOR HELPING BANGLADESHI STUDENTS OF A UNIVERSITY IN HIS CITY

It should also be mentioned that the donor helps students from Bangladesh studying at a reputed western University. He lives very close to the campus of this particular University. When he came to the same University as a graduate student 46 years ago, there was hardly anybody from the then East Pakistan in that city. It is the white families who took care of the foreign students at that time. Since then times have changed. Now there are about 100 students from Bangladesh studying in that University, and thousands of Bangladeshis living permanently in the city. The donor believes that it is the responsibility of the established expatriate Bangladeshi residents to take care of the Bangladeshi students. He would like to see many Bangladeshi families 'adopting' one Bangladeshi student per family, and take care of him or her for the period of their study. This 'adoption' will certainly help the students in many ways; the company of these students will also produce a positive influence on the young children of these families.

Bangladeshi students face many problems in a foreign country. They miss their near and dear ones in Bangladesh, especially on important occasions such as 'Id. They also face financial and other problems. Normally the donor organizes two gatherings a year. On the 'Id day 80 to 90 students come to his house to have a Bangladeshi 'Id dinner. Sometimes after the dinner they are treated with songs and music performed by local artists and student themselves. The second gathering takes place in the fall when the new students arrive. The objective of this gathering is to have the new students meet the ones who are already here so that they can help the new arrivals. They are served with Bangladeshi foods, and students organize games and musical performances. Some local Bangladeshi professors and other professionals are also invited to attend the gathering.

The donor knows that many Bangladeshi students, especially the male students, do not know how to cook well or do not cook regularly. Asked what they have been eating, the regular answer is, 'noodles'. The donor asks, "What have you been eating for protein and other nutrients?" Usually there is no answer. Parents reading this article should be concerned about the eating habits of their children abroad, and try to do something about it. If the donor knows any student who is planning to come to study in the west, he advises him or her to learn to cook before leaving Bangladesh.

The donor has extended an open invitation to all students to drop in for a Bangladeshi meal at 5:30 p.m. when the donor and his wife eat supper. Fortunately some students have been dropping in for supper. There are one dozen students who visit the donor's house regularly. They are invited to come whenever special foods are cooked at the donor's kitchen. People say that the donor's wife cooks delicious food. She also supports and participates in all the activities of her husband to help students.

The donor has been helping Bangladeshi students by lending funds and co-signing bank loans. There are some landlords in the city who do not rent apartments to foreign students without a local resident with good credit co-signing the lease. Accordingly, the donor has been co-signing leases of a number of students. Co-signing a bank loan or a lease makes the co-signer responsible for the entire amount which may run from $6,000- to $15,000 in each case. Fortunately no student has so far defaulted on the payment of his or her debt. Only in one case many years ago the donor had to pay to a bank the entire amount of the loan and its interest totalling $12,000 for a young Bangladeshi who was not a student. Sometimes the donor also finds jobs for students in the businesses known to him. The Bangladeshi students living in his apartment buildings have always paid a reduced rent. Sometimes these students do not receive funds from Bangladesh on time. The donor never minded if they paid their rent late.

The donor also makes financial contribution to the Bangladeshi Students Association for cultural and social activities; take students out to the countryside for picnic, fishing, apple picking, etc.; takes them for shopping at places where it difficult to go by public transportation; provides furniture to some students; and offers storage space for their belongings when they go away for the summer.

WORK IN BANGLADESH

Because the people of Bangladesh need more help than those in the west, he uses a major part of his resources to help the people of that country.

The donor funds all his programs of activities in Bangladesh. His work is done by an organization called Interfaith Community Service (ICS). There are two reasons for which the organization is characterized as interfaith. First, the people of all religious faiths—Muslims, Hindus, Christians and Buddhists—get the benefit of the work. Secondly, interaction of the people of all faiths working together on various projects is expected to promote understanding and appreciation of each other's faith.

The work of various projects is planned, supervised and executed by two volunteer committees: an executive committee consisting of a younger, energetic and enthusiastic group of people; and an advisory council of elders who formulate policies, and make sure that the executive committee does its work properly. Both of these committees must have at least 15% of the members from the minority groups. Efforts are also made to have women to fill 50% of the seats of both the committees. The members of the committees are elected by the people of the locality in a yearly gathering. The outgoing committees also present to this gathering a description of the activities and a statement of expenses of the previous year.

One important feature of the organization is that at least 20 % of all funds must be used for helping the religious minorities. Emphasis is also laid on paying special attention to helping women and children.

ICS tries to help the people in the fields of education, housing, employment, health care, small investments, and spiritual work. The following is a brief description of the activities of the organization in various fields.

EDUCATION

A major project completed by ICS is a library building for a college in location one. This particular college, established a few years ago, did not have a library. The construction of the brick-built library took six years to complete. The donor and one of his relatives also bought furniture and books for the library.

By now CIS has set up six scholarships at schools and colleges: four in location one, one in location two, and one in location three. In each case a scholarship committee has been set up. This committee invests the scholarship fund in a long-term plan at an interest rate of approximately 12%, and uses the interest income to award scholarships to three students every year on the basis of the final results of their yearly examinations. Merit and merit alone is the basis of awarding these scholarships. Hence these awards are called merit scholarships. The committee uses only the interest money for scholarships; they can never touch the capital invested for the purpose.

ICS has established a foundation called Foundation for a Dialogue among the Members of the Family of Abraham: Jews, Christians and Muslims. The purpose of this foundation is to promote understanding and appreciation among these major religious groups in Bangladesh through lectures, seminars, publications and visits to places of worship and homes of the people of other faiths. This foundation works in a University in location four which is the capital city of Dhaka.

40- 50% of the adults of location one is illiterate. In order to remove illiteracy ICS has started an adult education program. As a first step classes are being held for 50 women two hours a day, two days a week. They learn to read and write Bangla, and master simple arithmetic: addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Teachers and visiting speakers also discuss hygiene, child care and other such issues that are important to the people of the village. To encourage them to attend classes regularly the students are paid a small sum of money for every hour that they spend in the classroom. Two educated ladies of the village work as teachers in this program. Classes for male adults will be started in the future.

ICS has started an essay competition program among the students of all the High Schools of a large area around location one. The writers of the three best essays will be awarded cash prizes. The topic of the first essay was: What I Can Do for My Country, Bangladesh.

ICS provides uniforms to all the students of the elementary school of location one who have financial difficulties. Once ICS paid the cost of filling the part of the school compound that eroded and fell in the pond behind the school. One young Bangladeshi living in Canada paid the cost of raising the level of
the school playground. Previously this compound could not be used by students in the rainy season because it submerged under water. After the completion of the work the school named the playground after this young Bangladeshi of Canada.

In 2008 a friend of the donor living in the west contributed a good sum of money which paid part of the cost of constructing a building for an orphanage in Bangladesh.

HOUSING

Many people of location one live in shacks which cannot be called houses: only one room, roofs made of hay and standing on bamboo poles, and walls made of hanging banana leaves, jute sticks or shredded bamboos. In some cases one could stand in front of the shack and see the backyard through the walls. In the winter cold air passes from one side of the shack to another. And do they have anything to cover their bodies to protect themselves from the cold air in the winter? How do these people survive the long rainy season of Bangladesh with water leaking through hay roofs and rain water blown in by gust of wind through banana-leaf walls? The donor wanted to see that no one of location one had to sleep in wet beds or shiver in winter nights. Hence he launched a house-building project for the people. So far ICS has built 23 houses—22 in location one, and one in Kushthia which is location five.

Once the donor saw 12 students featured in a Bangla TV program. These students were very poor, but scored perfect grades in their S. Sc exams. The program also showed the house of one female student of this group and her van-rickshaw-driver father standing beside his vehicle. The donor somehow collected the addresses of all the 12 students and wrote letters to them offering help. Only two girls responded. At the recommendation of the headmaster of the van-rickshaw driver's daughter, the donor rebuilt their house. He also gave the other girl a sum of money.

As for rebuilding of the houses, the old structures have been replaced with new poles and corrugated tin roofs and walls. The donor has seen a generous Bangladeshi friend building expensive homes for the poor people in Sylhet. Actually these houses looked better than his friend's own house. The donor referred to in the present article has a different philosophy. He thinks that needs are enormous; hence his limited resources should be spread out to as many people as possible. He is therefore building less expensive houses for a larger number of people. He also hopes that before he closes his eyes forever he can build houses for all the people of location one who have no houses worth the name.

EMPLOYMENT

More than 25 %of the people of location one are landless. They are also uneducated and unskilled. In some seasons when there is work in the rice fields they work as labourers. At other times of the year they just sit idle. Hence the donor decided to help them get a source of regular income. He gave able-bodied men new rickshaws and van-rickshaws. A rickshaw peddler now earns 200 to 300 takas a day. That is good money for someone living in the village. In one case the man who received a rickshaw passed away. His wife then rented the rickshaw to someone for 100 takas a day, and that definitely helped her to feed her and her children. There are children from very poor families at schools who are likely to drop out of schools in order to help the father to bring food for their families. ICS gave rickshaws and van rickshaws to the families with children studying at schools with the hope that their children will no longer drop out of schools. Those who received van rickshaws are expected to pay the cost of their vehicles, interest free, in easy instalments to the ICS fund so that this money can be used for helping others. As far as he could remember, ICS distributed 17 regular rickshaws and 10 van-rickshaws.

INTEREST-FREE LOANS FOR SMALL INVESTMENTS

ICS is now providing interest-free loans to the people for small capital investments. The borrowers invest the money for raising ducks, goats, or in any other project that produces revenue. The purpose of this project is to slowly get the poor families out of chronic poverty and help them to stand on their own feet. These loans will be paid back to the ICS fund so that it can be used to help others. ICS makes sure that the borrowers pay off their loans slowly and conveniently.

HEALTH CARE

ICS has a health care program. The people who have no means to receive medical care can go to a doctor of the ICS for free consultation and medicine. This doctor refers the patients to the hospitals if they need hospital care. At the suggestion of the DC of the district ICS has also made a contribution for the acquisition of land for the extension of the Heart Foundation of the city. To provide pure drinking water to the people ICS has dug a deep tube well at the middle of location one.

PLACES OF WORSHIP

ICS has built and renovated a number of places of worship in location one and six. The most important project was the jame mosque at the center of location one. A brick building with tin roof, this mosque can accommodate 250 to 300 worshippers. ICS has also helped to renovate three other mosques of location one and one mosque in location six. One place of worship will be built for a minority faith group in the near future.

HELPING OTHER CHARITABLE ORGANIZATIONS IN BANGLADESH

The donor has been helping other organizations which are working to promote secular education and poverty reduction in Bangladesh.

CONCLUSION: AN APPEAL

A majority of the probashi Bangladeshis, especially those in the west, live a comfortable life. They have a roof over their heads, food on the table, modern medical help, and good education for their children. For the people living in Canada, housing, food, clothes, superb medical care, and free education at elementary, high school and college levels (college level education in Quebec) are guaranteed by the Government for everyone. Where in the world do you find a country where a father gets parental leave to be at home to take care of a new-born baby (the mother of the baby is already at home) for one full year with 93% salary paid by his employer? Bangladeshis in Canada are one of the luckiest people in the world. Unfortunately, a majority of our brothers and sisters in Bangladesh are not so lucky. More than 40% of the people are poor, and 20% of the people (which is about the size of the entire population of Canada) have nothing. Many of them have shacks with leaking roofs made of hay and supported by bamboo poles; walls made by hanging dry banana leaves or jute sticks, and of course, mud floors. Often you can stand in front of a shack and you can see the back yard through the walls of that shack. Do they have good foods, clothing, education and health care? The answer is obvious. Do you know that every year one million Bangladeshis lose their homes and everything that they own as a result of river erosion (nadi bhangon)? Many of these people end up in the city basties or sidewalks. Here are a few more facts: the people of char areas are deprived of medical care and education because the doctors and teachers are unwilling to go to the isolated chars; the rate of unemployment in these chars is more than 30%; and in the haor and coastal areas many people have no work for four months of the year--Jaishtha to Ashsvin. The poor people of Bangladesh are absolutely powerless to do anything to change their destiny; they also have no voice so that nobody hears their plight. The donor appeals to all Bangladeshis abroad to do whatever they can to help our brothers and sisters in Bangladesh. He says,

"You find out what kind of help will benefit the poor people of your own area most, and then do what is necessary. And we should not wait to do good things. Good things should be done today because there is no guarantee that I shall be alive tomorrow."

A few people of the Bangladeshi community of Quebec got together and formed the Center for Integration with the sincere intension of helping the immigrants and their families in Quebec, especially those of Bangladeshi origin, to integrate into the mainstream Quebec society. Many organizations and individuals have been working hard to preserve Bangladeshi values, especially among our young people. We are grateful to these organizations and individuals for their work. Some of us however felt that it is time that we should also make an effort to integrate ourselves into the mainstream Quebec society and thus become a significant part of that society.

Most of us originating from Bangladesh are intelligent, hard-working and peace-loving people. Most of the Muslim members of the community are also moderate in their religious belief and practice. We came to this great country Canada to live in freedom, peace and prosperity. Many of us are trying to contribute to the well-being of our adopted country. Yet some international events of the last few years, over which we had no control, have affected our life in Canada. In the recent past there have been some events in Quebec which, I am sure, have something to do with the current negative attitude of the west to Muslims. A part of the Quebec population considers us, Muslims, a problem. Now-a-days I hear some people saying the following about us: “If they do not like our way of life, they should go back where they came from.”

We are Canadians living in Quebec and Canada. Our home is here; we are not going anywhere. We want for us, and our children and grandchildren, the same opportunities as those of other people. Our children will have to join Medical Schools, Law Schools, Engineering Schools, and the like. They will also have to move up in the professions of their choice. Imagine a situation in which your son has applied for admission to a Medical School. The Dean who will make the final decision about the acceptance of your son for admission has negative feelings about Muslims. It is possible that your son will not be admitted to the Medical School. The same may happen when your son will apply for a job or a promotion at the place of his work. These are no longer matters of being mistreated in a shop, or someone with a long beard wearing a lungi being insulted by a bunch of young people at the St. Laurent Metro station. We are now faced with a situation that may affect our livelihood. Moreover, our community, however small in the beginning, has been here for more than forty years. I think that it is time for some of our young people to think of going beyond Medical Schools, Law Schools, etc. and aiming at occupying elective positions such as those of City Councillors, M.N.A.’s, M,P’s, and Government Ministers. To achieve these goals, we have to integrate ourselves into the Quebec and Canadian societies. If we are not part of them, we cannot represent them. Every society has both good and unacceptable values. The Quebec society is no exception. We can easily adopt those values of the majority Quebec population that we consider good. These values have no inconsistency with our Bangladeshi and Muslim values. The other day while fishing from a boat in Lake St. Louis I heard my fisherman companion receiving many calls on his cell phone and talking fluently in French, English and Bangla. This gentleman, who is in his early thirties, is one of the most successful young Bangladeshi businessmen in Canada. He told me that at this time he owns 250 apartments on the Island of Montreal. I also know a few other Bangladeshi young people who have done extraordinarily well in their professions and businesses. One of the important ingredients of the success of these young people is that they speak French and English fluently. They also know the laws of the land and the manners and customs of the people of Quebec. Why should we all not acquire the same kind of knowledge that has made these young people very successful? If they could do it, we could do it too. Many of our people already have knowledge of English. We only need to improve the knowledge of that language and learn to speak in Canadian accent.

Now let us talk about the knowledge of French. It not only helps us to get good jobs, promotions and success in businesses; it also makes our life easier and more pleasant. Whether we ask for direction to a place in Trois Riviere or talk to the police about some difficulties that we have been facing, knowledge of French definitely makes the work easier. Also if you speak to the clerk in a shop in French, you will see the smile on his or her face. Secondly, as Muslims, we are required to be at peace with ourselves. The Arabic word Muslim means the one who is at peace with oneself; but, to be at peace with ourselves, we have to be at peace with others around us. How can we be at peace with our majority French neighbours if we cannot communicate with them for lack of knowledge of their language? We certainly cannot expect them to learn Bangla to communicate with us. Thirdly, let us place ourselves in the position of the French. We cannot compare the relationship of the East and West Pakistan before 1971 with that between the French and the English here; yet we have to admit that there is some amount of tension between the French and the English in Canada. We Bangladeshis have come from the outside, live in a province with a French majority population, and yet we follow the language and culture of the English. In the Pakistani days, would we have liked to see an American living in Dhaka for many years but speaking only Urdu? Obviously not. We have had tooth-ache ourselves; hence we should know how other people feel when they have tooth-ache. Now we can have an idea as to why the French people want that we speak the language that they speak.

There is no doubt that we have problems in learning French. First, we were ruled by the British for almost 200 years. It is the British who brought their language, justice system, etc. to India. Most of us were educated in English under the British system of education. Sometimes I jokingly say to my French friends: “You came to India and remained confined to some small enclaves of the sea coast, whereas the British took over most of the vast territory of India. If you had colonized entire India, we would not have had the problem of speaking French today.” Secondly, a large majority of the first generation Bangladeshis came to Quebec during the last 25 years. A majority of them came as refugees. Many of them had good education and good jobs back home. Since they did not have Canadian education and Canadian job experience, they have done odd jobs to earn a livelihood for themselves and their families. Many have large families in the old country that they have to support financially. So often they have to work in two jobs to meet their financial needs. Hence they hardly had any time to go to French school. Thirdly, the French programs that the Immigration Department offers to the new immigrants may not have been well-adapted to the needs of the first generation Bangladeshi immigrants. Under these circumstances it has been very difficult for them to go to learn French.

What I am saying about the difficulties of learning French are facts; but the ordinary French people do not have the knowledge of our difficulties; nor are they interested in finding out why we do not speak French. They only know that we do not speak French, and that is all that matters to them. They would like us to speak French no matter what.

I would like to mention however that our language Bangla and French have similarities in sounds. Hence it is easier for Bangladeshis to learn French than it is for people of many other tongues. If we keep our eyes, ears and minds open, we can also learn the manners and customs of the people of Quebec.

In my opinion, we need to do the following: First, we need to recognize that we are faced with a problem in Quebec: there are people in the province who do not like us. Second, we should try to do as much as possible, individually and collectively, to rectify this problem. I think that the Center for Integration will be useful in this regard. I would like to invite all our brothers and sisters to join us and make our efforts a success. Please come forward to give us your ideas about activities that you think are useful for our community. We would also like that you help us in carrying out those activities. Please remember that the center BELONGS TO ALL. The people who have taken this initiative to work for the well-being of the community are doing so ENTIRELY for love of their brothers and sisters, especially the young.

Soon we shall announce a schedule of hours when the center will be kept open for the people to drop in. For now we shall keep the place open from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Sundays. You may however call anyone of the people whose names appear below.

The center will be available for community and private cultural activities free of cost. We shall not hold any activities relating to DESHI politics at the center. We shall also not drink alcohol, gamble or do any illegal and anti-religious activities in the premises of the center.

RECEPTION OF THE BANGLADESHI COMMUNITY OF MONTREAL FOR PROFESSOR DR. HAMID RABB

 (ARTICLES ON DR. HAMID RABB RECENTLY PUBLISHED IN SOME BANGLADESHI WEBSITES CONTAIN ERRORS. THESE ARTICLES WERE BASED ON INFORMATION OBTAINED FROM SECOND-HAND SOURCES. DR. HAMID RABB WAS NOT AWARE OF THESE ARICLES, NOR IS HE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CONTENTS OF THESE PUBLICATIONS)

The Bangladeshi community of Montreal organized a large reception for one of their own: Professor Dr. Hamid Rabb, MD (McGill), FRCP(C), FACP (UCLA), FASN (Harvard), Medical Director of the Kidney Transplant Program of Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, Maryland), and Vice-Chairman of the Department of Medicine of the same University. The reception was held on Saturday April 11, 2009 at the auditorium of the Lavoie School on Lavoie St., Montreal. Some 350 people attended the reception. The event was divided into three parts: speeches and the award ceremony, dinner, and a cultural function. The evening’s success was summed up by one participant in the following manner:” It was a spectacular event. The Bangladesh community has never held an event like this since Bangladeshis settled in Montreal several decades ago.” The committee that organized the event gave the community a very special gift that evening—an extraordinary program of activities. During the buffet dinner Dr. Hamid Rabb mingled with members of the audience. Many young people took their photograph with Dr. Rabb and asked for a copy of his speech. A number of people from outside Bangladeshi community also attended the event.

A number of people spoke on the occasion. The chairperson Mrs. Irshat Alam spoke first. She spoke of Dr. Hamid Rabb in glowing terms and introduced the speakers to the gathering. There were three main speakers : the chief guest Professor Dr. James Martin, Lung Research Director at McGill University (Dr. Hamid Rabb’s teacher, mentor and later research partner); Professor Dr. Syed Tareque Ali, Professor of Mathematics at Concordia University, who spoke in English; and Prof. Bidyot Bhowmik who spoke in Bangla. Professor Bhowmik spoke of Dr. Hamid Rabb’s life and achievements with great affection. A representative of the Federal Ministry of Immigration and Multiculturalism read a message from the Minister and endorsed by the Prime Minister for the occasion. There were also brief talks by Dr. Hamid Rabb’s father Dr. Abdur Rabb, sister Mrs. Shirin Rabb, and brother-in-law Mr. Ali Hossain Khan. Dr. Hamid Rabb spoke after the speeches of the main speakers. The following are the highlights of the speeches of the three main speakers. The entire speech by Dr. Hamid Rabb is quoted at the end of this report.

As for his professional career, he worked at the University of Southern Florida and University of Minnesota for a total of nine years. He rapidly advanced in his career. He joined the Kidney Transplant Program of Johns Hopkins University as its Physician Director in 2001. The Johns Hopkins Hospital has been rated number one in United States for the last 18 years in a row by US News and World Report. If that institution is the best in North America, said Prof Bhowmik, it is probably the best in the world. Dr. Hamid Rabb’s publications, which appeared in books, prestigious journal, and meeting reports number approximately 360. Some of these publications are used as texts in medical schools and hospitals all over the world.

Dr. Hamid Rabb has been competitively awarded many millions of dollars to support his research, employing many MD’s and PhD’s, some of whom are Bangladeshis. As an external reviewer for the US National Institutes of Health, he advises on the allocation of funds for research in US Universities. He does the same for other countries including Canada, Germany, Scotland, Australia, Netherlands, Ireland and England.

At a young age Dr. Hamid Rabb made a number of extraordinary achievements. In 2007 he received two prestigious awards: one for becoming a member of the American Society of Clinical Investigation, an elite group that includes numerous Nobel laureates, with an entry requirement having made a significant number of high impact medical discoveries prior to the age of 45. Among his discoveries is a new blood test for early diagnosis of acute kidney disease. Other discoveries are in the realm of immunologic injury to the kidney, a major contributor to kidney failure.

The same year he received a second award as the top mid-career physician investigator among the five thousand or so members of the main international transplant organization, the American Society of Transplantation.

In 2007 he was also promoted to the position of a full Professor—a rare honour for someone of his age, especially at Johns Hopkins University.

Dr. Rabb is frequently invited to deliver lectures to Universities and hospitals of North America, Europe and Asia. These institutions are interested in hearing about his discoveries in medicine and the new methods of treating kidney diseases.

Dr. Rabb is also an exceptional physician. Many patients with very complicated symptoms are sent to him from all over the US for diagnosis and treatment. He takes care of poor patients in inner city Baltimore, as well as dignitaries from all over the world.

Last Ramadan Dr. Rabb served as physician of Hon. Sheik Hasina. She was most pleased and proud to see a Bangladeshi doctor in a very high position at Johns Hopkins University. In appreciation of Dr. Hamid Rabb’s dedication she cooked Bangladeshi foods on her own, and served Dr. Rabb and his family herself before sitting down to eat her own dinner at her son’s house in Virginia.

Dr. Rabb visits Bangladesh once every few years. During his visits to the country of his birth he delivers lectures at various medical colleges and hospitals, and teaches the doctors of those institutions the new techniques of treating kidney diseases. Over the years during Bangladesh trips he has voluntarily seen hundreds of patients, especially the poor who cannot afford to see a specialist.

Professor Dr. James Martin said:
“My knowledge of Hamid goes back to his days as a medical student when he came to my laboratory for a taste of research. Although he was clearly an exceptional student I could not know at that time that he would go on to have a highly successful career in medicine and research. I was fortunate enough that the slow immigration system in the US required him to wait for more than six months for a visa to return for his first faculty position. He volunteered to participate in research with me at that time. In fact he brought with him ideas that we worked on together that attracted a great deal of interest in the medical community and which formed the basis for a program in research for several years. Since those days I have had the pleasure to watch his rise to his current position. However admirable Dr. Hamid Rabb’s success has been in medicine and medical research I believe that his most admirable accomplishments stem from his humanity. He is a gentle but strong person, he is courteous but insistent, he is humble but ambitious. He understands the human spirit. We are all immigrants to Canada in this room, I suspect. We have left our homes to make a life in a foreign country as did the Rabb family. As great a country as Canada is, it is not without its barriers to success for immigrants. Foreign qualifications are in general not recognized and many well qualified persons take jobs that are not consistent with their skills and education. It is therefore the children of new immigrants that must succeed and make their contributions to society. Hamid was fortunate that he came from a background of academic success. His father is a successful religious scholar and his mother highly cultured in her native literature. Such example was certainly important in guiding Hamid on his path to success. Of course, this in no way reduces his accomplishment but it means that the celebration this evening is also a celebration of the contributions of his parents to his success. Hamid is an example for his community and he has set a high standard for others to follow.”

Professor Bhowmik, who spoke a great deal about Dr. Rabb’s achievements, hoped that Dr. Hamid Rabb will one day become the second Bangladeshi Nobel Prize winner. Dr. Tareque Ali said that he was pleasantly surprised when he was told in a wedding party in 1982 that Hamid was accepted for admission to the McGill Medical School. To him Dr. Rabb looked like a boy in his early teens. Once Dr. Ali, while surfing the internet for information on a Mathematics international prize winner, the famous Iranian physicist Dr. Muhammad Sheikh Jabbari, was shocked to come across 10,000 links. “When I searched the internet for information on Dr. Hamid Rabb, I found 35,000 links!.” The day after the reception Professor Ali wrote to Dr. Hamid Rabb’s father: “I was very impressed by Hamid’s focussed and precise presentation. His clarity of thinking is truly remarkable. You are so fortunate to have a son like him.”

Dr. Hamid Rabb’s father Dr. Abdur Rabb credited his wife Mrs. Aishah Rabb for nurturing her son to grow up to be an intellectual leader as well as a compassionate and caring human being. He was also full of praise for his daughter-in-law Nausheen for her love, care and support for Hamid since they were married in 1987. She herself comes from a scholarly family with her Grandfather, Dr. Quadrat-i-Khuda, being a pre-eminent Bangladeshi scientist. Dr. Abdur Rabb further said, “My own father, a peasant from a Barisali village, had little formal education; but he was a man of great wisdom. His teaching shaped the formation of my personality. One of the things that he taught me is to love and care for all human beings. I have tried to follow his advice in my own humble way. I am glad to see that Hamid is trying to live according to my father’s teaching even better than I have. With a Harvard University specialization in the diseases of the kidneys (nephrology) Hamid could have made a great deal of money in private practice in the United States, but instead he chose a more difficult course of life in order to be able to contribute to the well-being of humankind. Bangladeshis from all over the world approach me for Hamid’s help and advice when they are faced with difficult heath problems. In spite of his busy schedule, Hamid always tries to help these people with a great deal of pleasure. I am also happy to say that in the forty-six years of his life nobody has mentioned to me that Hamid was ever rude or discourteous. I am proud to say that he has grown up to be a gentle, humble, loving and caring human being. As his parents, we value his personal qualities more than anything else.”

Since last Saturday’s function, numerous people are sending emails and making telephone calls to Dr. Abdur Rabb to express their appreciation of it and of Dr. Hamid Rabb. The credit for having organized such a wonderful evening goes to Mrs. Ishrat Alam, Mr. Nazrul Alam Shanu, Mr. Ithrad Zuberi Salim, Mr. Bashir Munshi, Mr. Shawkat Ali Anu, Mr. Shakhawat Hossain, Mr. Lutfur Rahman, Mr. Mominul Islam Bhuiyan, Dr. Mahiuddin Talukdar, Dr. Abdul Muttalib, and Mr. Rafique Bhuiyan. Professor Dr. Syed Tareque Ali and Professor Bidyot Bhowmik delivered excellent speeches. Mrs. Shamshed Ara Rana did a wonderful job as an MC. Khalid Hussain Shaheen did a great job in designing the announcement of the event and providing a large and beautiful banner for the wall of the stage. The beautiful cultural show was organized by our talented and popular singer Mr. Shafiul Isalam; and the sumptuous dinner was supplied by the well-known Café Royal.

TEXT OF PROFESSOR DR. HAMID RABB’S TALK

Assalamu alaykum, nomoshkar, bon soir medames et messiures: I thank the Bangladeshi community of Montreal, specially the citizen’s committee headed by Mrs. Ishrat Alam, for the honor that they have bestowed on me. For the benefit of our young people and those who came from outside the community, I shall deliver my speech in English.

I love Bangladesh and Bangladeshis everywhere in the world, and try my best to do what I can for them.

I love Montreal because I grew up here. Montreal is my home. I also love the Bangladeshi community of Montreal, whose members loved and supported me when I was growing up in this city. After finishing medical school at McGill, I studied at UCLA and Harvard to improve my training, and my goal was to return to Montreal. I came back here after finishing my studies but at that time, in 1991, academic job opportunities for me were not available and for complex reasons, some of which were not in my control, went back to the US where I felt I would have the opportunities to continue to develop professionally. Yet, wherever I live, I always have special love and concern for the Bangladeshis of my community.

The main goal for today’s function is to help inspire and mentor the members of the Montreal Bangladeshi community, particularly the youth, into developing their full potential as individuals as well as citizens of the local and global communities. I would like to share 10 points with you that I believe are important in order to meet these goals, with a bias from my own experiences and perspectives. These are weaved and modified from thoughts of others, but came to my mind very easily this afternoon since I try to follow these principles:

1. Develop a vision, a dream. Not someone else’s vision, your vision. Something that inspires you and elevates you. It could be that you will be the best business person, the best politician, the best scientist, the best cook, the best actress. Hold on to that vision and don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t achieve it.

2. Take the path less travelled. Don’t follow what others do or take the easy path. Take the path that excites you, the path that you think can make a difference for you and others.

3. Choose a topic of focus that not only excites you, but one that helps others –either in the short or long term. Then, choose a route that you can follow that will be financially feasible. If you follow your vision, you will be able to reap economic rewards that will enable you to realize your vision. The real reward for good work is to have the resources and environment that allows you to continue to do good work.

4. The importance of work. One needs to work consistently and hard. Day in, day out. The difference between most people who are exceptional and those who are only very good is that the exceptional ones have worked harder, sacrificed more, and continue to sharpen their skills in their area of expertise.

5. Don’t try to be everything to everyone. Be outstanding at one thing. Accept that others will do better than you in different things, but put all your energy and focus on doing one thing better than anyone, not only at your school or work, but in the country or the world.

6. Cultivate trust and integrity at your home, work and friends. Support others, minimize personal criticism, and avoid controlling others. Your professional performance will be elevated by your relationships with people.

7. Communicate with others about what you are doing, accept criticism but don’t be discouraged or necessarily change your actions due to it. Seek feedback, and really listen to it. Find mentors in and outside your community.

8. Avoid judging others and help other people be successful. Don’t quantify every action towards a goal, do things because they feel right, not only to your brain but also to your gut and instinct.

9. Eat right, exercise regularly, avoid smoking, drugs, alcohol and dietary excess. Take care of your mind with rest, connecting with nature and spirituality.

10. Enjoy what you are doing and remember every day that there are so many others who don’t have the opportunity that you do, either due to their political circumstances, economic, social or health limitations. Thus, the opportunities that you have should not be wasted since so many of the world’s population, particularly in Bangladesh, do not have your opportunity. What you are doing is not only for yourself but for all of those who don’t have the opportunities that you have.

In closing, I want to give special recognition to my Mother, Aishah Rabb, who has given me love, guidance and support over the years; and my father, Dr. Abdur Rabb, who has sacrificed for the family and continues to be a role model at home and the community. I have special thanks for my wife, Nausheen Rabb, who has provided me love and companionship during my challenges over the years, always striving for the right path for our family and selfless in her pursuits. Unfortunately, she had to go to Bangladesh suddenly to take care of her mother who became ill. My sons Adib, Samir and Nabil – my source of joy, curiosity and my legacy. My sister Shirin and her husband Ali Khan, who have prospered in Montreal and raised three wonderful children, Adil, Kameel and Aliya. My special thanks to my professor and mentor James Martin, who has guided me and accepted me as person and physician since I was a medical student, always a source of inspiration and guidance. My uncle, Professor Tariq Ahmedali has always given me advice, company and affection. I want to recognize my good friend Nadim Rahman, who since childhood has complemented my own approach with humanism and common sense, always being available to me when I took the lonely path needed to follow my dreams.

On his return to Maryland Dr. Hamid Rabb wrote the following letter of thanks to Mrs. Ishrat Alam and her team for the honour accorded to him:

April 14, 2009

Mrs. Ishrat Alam
Chairperson
Citizen’s reception committee

Re: Event of Saturday April 11, 2009

Dear Mrs. Ishrat Alam,

Greetings. I would like to express my appreciation and thanks for the
wonderful function that you and members of your team organized. There are so many people who contributed that it does not do justice for me to write only one letter, but hopefully by sending it to you the message can be disseminated.

In a short period of time, you were able to put together both a community, scholarly and culturally focused program. I know it was a lot of work for everyone. I was really impressed how professionally it was organized. One of the things that really touched me was how emotional the audience was. The manner in which the evening was orchestrated really helped all members of the community to feel good about them, have heightened self-esteem, and become more motivated for higher goals in their personal and professional lives.

The children and young adults, the intended primary target of the
evening, told me that they were quite thrilled and many have taken my contact information. I am also very grateful for the thoughtful gift of the beautiful pen (it looks so expensive that I am reluctant to carry it in case I lose it!). Another aspect I really appreciated was the inclusion of the Canadian government official and the letter from the minister with joint support of Prime Minister Steven Harper.

Overall, it was truly a spectacular event that I will remember all my
life, and hope that this will empower and motivate all of us to be
better in our thoughts and actions!

Sincerely,

Hamid Rabb, M.D.
Professor & Vice Chairman
Department of Medicine
Medical Director, Kidney Transplantation
Johns Hopkins University
(A similar article was published in the JOGAJOG of Montreal on April ,2009)