'I don't have Eid on my forehead'

The street child sea. Age 12 years. Talked to him on the third day of Eid-ul-Azha (May 30). He says, “Everybody celebrates Eid, wears new clothes. We don't even have new clothes, we don't even have a way to eat well on Eid. If someone gives us a plate of semai or biryani on the morning of Eid, it's Eid for us.”

On Saturday (May 30), different areas of the capital can be seen, while people in new clothes are sharing the joy of Eid with their families, ragged children are looking at the pedestrians with dirty faces. They reach out hoping for a little better food or a little help.

Sixty-four-year-old Rahima Begum, who was wrapped in polythene next to the Tejgaon railway line slum, said with anger and regret, “Father, I don't have Eid on my forehead. The big people rejoice in the Eid aisle, and we are begging. We don't have rice in our stomach, what can we do with Eid?”

According to sociologists, along with government initiatives, the able-bodied and wealthy of the society should come forward. If everyone takes the responsibility of putting a smile on the face of at least one downtrodden person on this festive day, the saying “Kapale Eid Nai” can be erased from the society.

Dhaka University Associate Professor and Social Scientist Dr. Tauhidul Haque said, “Eid is not only a name for one's own joy, but it is a festival of sacrifice and sharing. The true joy of Eid cannot be fulfilled by leaving behind this vast and disadvantaged population. If the rules and signs of sacrifice are followed in Islam, the number of people who are deprived of Eid joy will decrease in the society. Also, we should not engage in unhealthy competition with sacrifice. There are rules of distribution that have to be done properly.”