A friend of Bangladesh
by Vincent Ciccarello
Professor
Atique Islam, Head of UniSA’s School of Commerce, has been awarded the
prestigious Bangabandhu Award for 2006.
Presented in front of 14,000 people at Sydney’s Homebush Olympic Stadium, the award recognises Prof Islam’s outstanding academic and professional achievements, his contribution to the Bangladeshi community in Australia, and his unwavering commitment to the ideals of Bangladesh.
"I’m not too sure whether I deserve it but I definitely feel very happy," Prof Islam said. "To be somehow linked with Bangabandhu is a great honour."
As a student activist, Prof Islam suffered at the hands of Pakistani army during the heady days of the 1971 Bengali liberation movement. He was an acquaintance of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, also known as "Bangabandhu" or "friend of Bengalis", who led the movement and became the first Prime Minister of Bangladesh in 1972.
Prof Islam said while he has always been committed to the hard-won ideals of Bangladesh enshrined in the country’s constitution – democracy, social equity, secularism and nationalism – he believes the award is largely in recognition of his community work in Sydney between 1975 and 1990.
"I was a very active member of the community; I promoted the community in a positive way," he said. "I think I helped in maintaining some kind of cohesion with all of the various groups there."
That work had practical dimensions too, from interpreting, finding accommodation and acting as a guarantor, to drafting petitions on behalf of people in detention centres. Prof Islam admits to being altruistic, ("It’s in the blood – my mother was a little Mother Teresa"), but wanting to help out of sympathy with newly-arrived migrants. As a student arriving in 1975 to a culturally very different Australia, he had to overcome his own hurdles.
"I recall standing at the bus stop, seeing the sign ‘no standing’ and being confused. It wasn’t until I got home that I understood it was referring to cars," he laughed.
He has valuable advice for international students based on his own experience.
"Get connected," he said. "Don’t stay within your own group, in your own ‘country club’. Try to learn the culture by tuning into the local music, sport, films and media."