Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Special Assistant Barrister Shah Ali Farhad on Sunday urged all to get registered for Covid-19 vaccination, shunning politics.
“Now is not the time for politics. Not on the vaccine issue. Please. No responsible human being can speak ill of a lifesaving tool like vaccines. Please register. And get vaccinated. If not for you, for your fellow human beings. For the lives we have lost. For the loved ones we couldn’t say goodbyes to. Remember the fight that led to this moment,” he wrote in an emotional facebook post as the government could start the countrywide vaccination much early.
There has been no help from the political opponents who even made the government’s job difficult by spreading fake news and rumours.
“I can’t help but feel extremely thankful and emotional that we were able to roll out our nationwide vaccination drive today. This is indeed a turning point. I remember every day since March 8 last year when the first case of Covid-19 was detected in Bangladesh,” he wrote.
“I was present in the emergency meeting on the same day with our Hon. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, where she and her sister, Sheikh Rehana, told us unequivocally that their father, our Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was the leader of the people. And they couldn’t, in good conscience, allow any Mujib Borsho events or gatherings in his name which could potentially put even one of his people at risk.
“I remember distinctly, the initial confusion and chaos, not just here, but all across the world. The surging cases, the lockdowns, the food relief drives, the shortage of PPEs, people turning on their frontline worker neighbours, not adhering to health rules, lack of ICUs and ventilators, and so on. And of course, the pain of not being able to say goodbye to our loved ones.
“But as a nation, we showed our resilience. We fought back. Strongly. We remedied our shortcomings. Our Prime Minister led the efforts from the front. Our frontline workers, our doctors, our nurses, our medical technologists, our community health workers, our local officials, our administrators, our police, our armed forces, our youth, our volunteers, all came together.
“Under extremely difficult circumstances, we gave a trailer of how this nation must have fought unitedly in 1971. We lost so many of our heroes. Our brave frontline workers gave their lives protecting and helping us. Scores of our political workers also died helping their people in the time of their need.
“On a personal level, due to working in the Government and party’s Covid-19 related communications, me and my colleagues were exposed to every death, every bad news and every dire predictions. It took its toll on us. But unlike most, we couldn’t even vent our anger by blaming everything on the government. We actually had to find solutions. And make the most of what we had.
“All through this ordeal, we received no help from our political opponents. In fact, they made our job that much more difficult by manufacturing and spreading fake news and rumours. Saving lives was not a priority. Political point scoring was.
“When many countries are still grappling with securing vaccines for their people, and most advanced nations showing their insensitivity by stockpiling large amounts of vaccine at the cost of depriving their fellow least developed and developing nations, we were able to secure this life saving tool for our people.
“It was the Prime Minister and her team which explored all possible avenues. It wasn’t easy. Let me tell you that.
“As I was watching the media coverage of the launch of the vaccination drive, unbeknownst to myself, I started shedding tears of joy. And had a flashback of what we had to endure as a nation, and as a global community, for the last 11 months,” he wrote.
