The Way Forward

Election Night 2012 saw a number of our friends and human rights allies go down to defeat.  The most significant loss was that of Illinois Congressman Robert Dold--a man whom I consider a friend; a good man; and someone whose defeat is more of a loss for the country than it is a loss for just one man.  Of whatever disappointments I had that night, Bob Dold's defeat was the one about which I am truly and personally sad.

Having said that, we must understand that while I have my own personal values and beliefs, politics is ultimately a means through which we achieve our human rights goal.  And in that respect, we retain many friends in Washington who are committed to helping us save the 15 million Hindus in Bangladesh.  We might have gained new ones, as well.  The election results--and especially Bob's loss--mean that the way forward is not as straight or direct; but it is still before us, and we will seize the opportunities that 2013 offers us.

For several years now, I have been collecting evidence of the atrocities committed against Hindus in Bangladesh and of the Bangladeshi government's complicity in them.  That complicity runs the gamut from actual participation in the atrocities and their coverup by members of the government, to the government's tacit approval of them through its refusal to prosecute.  Much of that evidence is presented in my book A Quiet Case of Ethnic Cleansing: The Murder of Bangladesh's Hindus.

Since its publication, however, I have gathered verified and verifiable evidence that the atrocities continue, as does Bangladesh's Awami League government's complicity.  I have obtained some of the evidence first-hand and some of it through human rights activists like Rabindra Ghosh.  (When the history of this terrible atrocity is written, including how it was stopped, the name of Rabindra Ghosh will be recognized as that of a true and self-less hero.  I am honored to call him a friend and colleague.)

Gathering and verifying that evidence--accumulating so much that the world can no longer remain silent and inert--and presenting it to organizations and individuals who can act is our sole focus and a goal I know we will reach soon.