It was a hot and hummid autumn afternoon in dhaka in july 1983. I was having a chat at Nijera Kori office with Khushi Kabir, The program coodinator. Then came a request from her as a pleasant suprise.
"What's up", I said.
"They say it's a network of intellectuals and activists. I have been invited, but I can't go. So why don't you represent us"?
That was the beginning.
Among the participants, perhaps I was the youngest and Prof. Nakamura was the senior most. Incidentally or accidentally we were put in the same room at the hotel. In the evening he told me in his usual gentle and soft voice, “Look, I go to bed early and I am an early riser too. I said, “No problem.” Later I found a new meaning to his “early”. He used to go to the bed at around 8 in the evening and get up at 2 o' clock midnight. What did he do at that point in time when the whole world was asleep? He switched on his bedside lamp and started writing. He was very careful, so that the light doesn’t disturb me. He continued this routine for the whole week and I never felt disturbed.
It was the first Council Meeting of ARENA and my journey began with this indomitable group which dreamt of a new order, a new world. The journey that began on 7 September 1983 still continues.
Birth of Arena
I can think of four milestones that installed and established ARENA in its early days: the founding consultation in 1980, setting up a secretariat in 1981, publication of a bulletin titled Asian Exchange in 1982 and first council meeting in 1983.
The founding consultation was held in Hong Kong on 17-23 July 1980. Among the participants were:
Abu Mahmud (Bangladesh);
CK Tsang (Hong Kong);
A Leung (Hong Kong);
Javed Anand (India);
Takeo Ohnishi (Japan);
DT Katak (Malaysia);
Temario C Rivera (Philippines);
Nimalka Fernando (Sri Lanka);
K Kaewthep (Thailand);
Hoang Lan-Phuong (Vietnam);
D.L. Surendra (consultant coordinator);
Carmencita Karagdag (consultant advisor); and
HFJ Daniel (consultant advisor).
Mushakoji Kinhide (Japan) and Oh Jae Shik (Korea) could not attend due to last minute changes in their programs.
An ‘Interim Governing Committee’ was formed with Takeo Ohnishi, Temario Rivera, CK Tsang, Nimalka Fernando and Lawrence Surendra.
The ARENA Secretariat was formally launched in Hong Kong in January 1981 at 1 Dyer Avenue, Hung Hom, Kowloon, with two fulltime staff, one Coordinator and one administrative staff. Lawrence Surendra was the founding Coordinator. ARENA’s first publication was “Papers from the Founding Consultation”, published from Hong Kong in January 1981
The fist issue of Asian Exchange was published in August 1982. This issue included a sort of preamble in the cover page, which was an excerpt from the founding consultation statement. It was stated:
“In the search for an Asian identity and understanding of the problems in the national and regional context of Asia, a key element is the creation of a forum among concerned Asians. The increasing intensity of the crises in Asia demands more than ever a creative forum through which concerned intellectuals from various social strata can continually exchange ideas, share experiences and lessons, and critically analyze alternative perspectives for social change and progress.
“ARENA – Asian Regional Exchange for new Alternatives will provide this forum and within the pluri-dimensional context of Asia, seek to make its own modest contribution. It is hoped that ARENA by the very process of the community it seeks to build, can provide a pluralist and ‘critical prophetic’ function in the search for new perspectives for Asia and Asian societies.”
The first council was held in September 1983 at Hua Hin. The council elected Surichai Wun’gaeo of Chulalonkorn University, Bangkok, as ARENA’s first Chair.
The Long Journey
In the last quarter of the last century, ARENA was steered by persons with varying temperament, style and vision. The first three Coordinators were Lawrence Surendra, Mitet Diokno and Ed Tadem. They all tried to pull people from all corners of the planet. I can confidently say that I met some of the finest human beings I know through ARENA. ARENA is a platform for good souls. It does not necessarily mean that there were no crooks. Yes there were and there are. But they are few in number. In this long voyage, I came across many interesting fellows, many memorable events and many amazing experiences.
I was a member of the ARENA project of SAPR (State of the People’s Report). In October 1989, I went to Bangkok with a broken heart to undergo a cardiac bypass surgery. I sent a letter to Hong Kong ARENA office requesting them to pray for me. Sabur (ACFOD) was my contact in Bangkok and arranged everything with the Bangkok Hospital. Then I received a fax message from ARENA signed by all ARENA staff with a solidarity message that boosted my morale. Maitet Diokno, the then Coordinator, also sent my honorarium, US$ 1,000, in advance, anticipating that I might need it. How can I forget these loving demeanors?
Lawrence was the door through which I entered ARENA. So He has always a special place in my heart. He is the first ARENA musketeer to visit my house in Dhaka, probably at sometime in 1993/94. We had dinner with few typical Bangladeshi dishes. At that time he was involved with an ESCAP project. He lost his luggage while coming to Dhaka. I took him to a shop and helped him to by a pair of shirts and trousers.
Clarence is a veteran human rights organizer. He didn’t change since I met him first. Age cannot put mark on his face. He speaks very slow, chooses words very carefully and means what he says. He demands respect at the first sight. He was one of the evaluators of ARENA on two occasions. He ignored few issues during the second evaluation. Maybe he was too naïve. Maybe he couldn’t believe that fellows in ARENA could quarrel like that.
Ed Tadem was a professional from tip to toe. I met him first at the World Food Assembly in Rome in October 1984. He took a challenging initiative in late eighties to do a sort of social audit. It was named State of the Asian Peoples Report (SAPR). I was also a member of the team. The initiative didn’t succeed as expected, as some of the tasks were given to wrong hands. He was ARENA coordinator during 1994-97. That was by far the best ‘ARENA regime’, when peace was prevailing in every front. He didn’t seek stewardship for another term. He knew when to stop and how.
Kin Chi was leading PP21 process since 1996 Kathmandu Assembly. In my perception, it was not moving. Kin Chi had a different view. It was probably in 1998 or 1999, she came to Dhaka along with Jeannie and Vinod. I invited them in my house in one evening. We spent some nice time together. My daughter entertained them with few songs, Rabindra Sangeet. On the following afternoon I convened a meeting at CDL of people who had been connected with PP21 on various occasions. We were exchanging views. The climate suddenly took a bitter turn. Some of us were quite harsh on her accusing of inaction. I was also very critical. Probably I ‘over-reacted’.
The Three Musketeers
Whom to talk about? So I choose three amongst many, purely arbitrarily. They are Suthi, Kumar and Ohashi.
I met Suthi in 1983 at Chulalongkorn University campus in Bangkok. He didn’t participate in the ARENA Council. Rather Surichai, who was the lone participant from Thailand, didn’t involve Surichai. Why? Ask Surichai.
Suthi had been a regular participant since the nineties. He is one of the few exceptions who have a rare quality of socializing with any person irrespective of age. I can hardly think of another friend with a better sense of humor.
Once we were in Hong Kong in 1992, probably in October. At that time, ARENA was undergoing an evaluation. Two evaluators were also with us. I forgot the name of the lady evaluator, but Clarence Dias was there. I knew him since October 1990 when we met first at an ACFOD workshop at Sara Buri in Thailand on human rights. In that meeting, I presented a "human rights education kit" for Bangladesh. Later Clarence and I jointly edited a book that contained the proceedings of the meeting. It was in that meeting that I met Asma Jehangir, the noted human rights activist from Pakistan.
In our meeting at Hong Kong in 1992, Suthi and I were sharing the same room and our neighbors were Harsh, Lawrence and Samuel Lee. We had a tough time in Hong Kong. ARENA was passing through a difficult period. The Council was pending for over four years. We had been meeting on and off at the ARENA office at Hung Hom Bay. At one stage, we decided to have a confidential meeting without the presence of the staff. When we reassembled, we found that all the staffs were weeping. They felt offended or ignored, as we had decided to meet separately. Suthy commented, “Little kids, why do they bother about it? Are they scared of loosing jobs? Are we better managers then them?”
On the last day we went out together to do some shopping. Suthy took me to a shop that sells traditional and herbal items. Then he whispered to me, “Look, this is the penis of a tiger. They claim that if you eat a bit of it, it would work like magic, you become 20 years younger than what you are now. The Chinese believe it and they spend a lot for that.” After almost twenty years, viagra invaded the market.
I haven’t met Kumar David so often. But he impressed me when Lawrence introduced him to me at Kumar's Hong Kong residence in October 1992. I heard of him before as I read his book on Ethnicity, which was published by ARENA. He was a revolutionary (retired hurt?) and talked like a free man. Free women or men in these days are indeed endangered species. The very first sentence he said to me was, “Look, in my house, there is no water for guests. I made this rule and I see no reason to change it. You have to drink alcohol.” So I started drinking bear along with Kumar and Lawrence and that went on for a couple of hours.
Kumar talks loud, laughs loud and screams loud. He doesn’t need a loudspeaker. We touched upon many issues while we were drinking; from ARENA in-house brawl to Trotskyism, from ethnic strife to sex. We also discussed something else involving something fishy about an ARENA fellow and a staff. Since I am still captive of some taboo, I am not going to disclose it. Kumar’s’ wife (I forgot her name) was also participating in the discussion while preparing dinner for us. Then we had dinner, typical Sri Lankan dishes.
Ohashi is almost of my age. I don’t remember when we met first; probably at the Bangkok house of Sabur, Coordinator of ACFOD, at sometime in 1991. Before that we knew each other by name but never had a chance to meet. Ohashi was in Dhaka with Shapla Neer (citizen’s committee in Japan for overseas support), one of he few Japanese NGOs with activities in Bangladesh, since the seventies. Ohashi worked as its CEO for two years. He speaks good Bangla. First I used to speak English with him and he responded in Bangla. I understand his logic. English is none of our language. Either we should use Bangla or Japanese for communication.
Ohashi visits Bangladesh twice or thrice a year. Each time he informs me about his schedule. Sometimes we manage to meet, sometimes not. On most occasions, he brings something for me, some traditional dry food, a small souvenir, a packet of rice wine or a bottle of whisky. He is one of the very few Japanese, who has a world outlook and genuine love for the common rural people of Bangladesh. He complains about the attitude of the Japanese government that gives an impression of a ‘donor’ and not a ‘friend’.
Some years back Ohashi told me that a Japanese publisher would bring out an anthology on Bangladesh. It would be a book on Bangladesh in sixty chapters, each chapter centering round an issue or a field. Different Japanese authors would be writing different chapters. He requested me whether I would agree to contribute a chapter on ‘environment’. I agreed. Ohashi got it translated in Japanese. After few months, the book was published. During the next visit, Ohashi brought a copy of the book and also some royalty, fifty US dollar. I found that I was one of the two non-Japanese writers, the other being rather a half-Japanese living happily in Tokyo for twelve years with a Japanese wife. Within a year, he brought a copy of its second edition.
Unforgettable Yayuri
When I met her first? Sometimes memory fails. I am not very organized. I never keep diary. I have a lovely daughter who keeps family photographs in her safe custody. While digging her treasure, I found two photographs that reminded me of the past.
In one photo, I was sitting beside Yayuri in the front row. It was the summer of 1986. We were attending a conference on “Forestry resources crisis in the third world” in Penang organized by Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM), a sister organization of the Consumer Association of Penang (CAP). The annual assembly of the Friends of the Earth International followed the conference. It was my first ever exposure to a gathering dominated by “environmentalists”. Vandana Shiba was one of the participants. I learned from her about the Chipko movement of India and about Sundarlal Bahuguna who popularized the movement through a Long March from Kashmir to Mizoram.
The second photograph reminds me of another occasion. We were having a “river cruise”. It is a pity that I forgot names of some participants. Sitting from left to right were Yayuri, a participant from Philippines, a participant from Indonesia, Emi (Indonesia), Mohiuddin and a participant from UNEP. With an invitation from SKEPHI and WALHI (Indonesia), we assembled at Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan in December 1986. Yayuri was also there. We traveled together, crossed several hills and rivers on foot to visit a “Manglikin” village, a habitat of an indigenous community. There we met Sundarlal Bahuguna. We had a long conversation with him and Yayuri was taking notes. Later she told me that she was not “impressed” by Sundarlal.
On way back to Jakarta, we stayed at Banjarmasin for a couple of days. In an informal session, Yayuri was discussing “environmental” issues with some Indonesian participants. I joined the discussion and soon found myself in a hot debate with her. Yayuri was emphasizing that the indigenous people should be left alone to decide their affairs and nothing should be imposed on them from outside in the name of development. My contention was simple. The indigenous people should be exposed to other options. If they are aware of options, they may change their attitude and lifestyles, as we have done. The conversation ended there and we agreed to disagree
Probably Yayuri was right. Probably not. We are caught in the illusion of “development”. Are we happy? Are we progressing? Or what is progress? What is happiness? We may not have an answer in our lifetime.
Since then we met on few more occasions. But I still remember her dissenting me, “Mohiuddin, you are wrong. Don’t impose your ideas. Let them live their life.”
Yayuri has left. She won’t be debating any more. She lived in accordance with her conviction. She was a “friend of the earth.”
I was in Japan in 2006 for nine weeks to participate in the Asia Leadership Fellow Program (ALFP). On 8 October, I visited WAM (Women's Active Museum on War and Peace) in Tokyo founded by Yayuri. I saw an empty chair. There is a framed portrait of Yayuri on her desk.
I do not want to mourn for her. She is not around. But I hear her voice. In the words of Rabindranath Tagore, she still whispers to me:
I have got my leave.
Bid me farewell, my brothers!
I bow to you all and take my departure.
Here I give back the keys of my door
And I give up all claims to my house.
I only ask for last kind words from you.
We were neighbors for long,
But I received more than I could give.
Now the day has dawned
And the lamp that lit my dark corner is out.
A summons has come
And I am ready for my journey.
