The unveiling of the International Mother Language Monument in The Netherlands
By Roy Lie Atjam.
The long awaited International Mother Language Monument was unveiled in The Hague, the International City of Peace and Justice on Thursday 21 February 2019.
The International Mother Language Monument was erected in recognition of the 1952 Language Movement in Bangladesh and declaration of February 21st as the International Mother Language Day by UNESCO. It is noteworthy to mention that the Foreign Secretary of Bangladesh, Md. Shahidul Haque laid the foundation stone of this Shaheed Minar on 19 February 2017. A similar International Mother Language Monument was also unveiled in Sydney Australia in Ashfield Park in 2006.
The path to the unveiling of the first-ever Shaheed Minar on Dutch territory has been in the making for almost a decade. The unveiling of this monument can indeed be considered as yet another jewel in the crown of achievements of H.E. Sheikh Mohammed Belal, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh to the Netherlands as the result of his relentless efforts and invested energy to come to we are today.
The Government of Bangladesh financed the physical construction while The Hague Municipality contributed to the design of the monument as part of joint collaboration between Bangladesh and the Netherlands to promote a culture of peace and multilingualism.
Ambassador Belal was accompanied by Deputy Mayor of The Hague, Saskia with the unveiling of the monument. Following the unveiling, Ambassador Belal, Deputy Mayor , Ambassadors, members of Diplomatic Corps, as well as the members of Bangladesh community, placed flower wreaths at the newly erected monument.
Ambassador Belal, accompanied by many of his fellow Ambassadors and Diplomats who accepted his invitation to join him in celebrating this momentous occasion. The dignitaries that joined Ambassador Belal included the Ambassadors of Brazil, India, Indonesia, Russian-Federation, Sri Lanka, Viet nam, Yemen, representatives of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Municipality of The Hague and the Bangladesh community.
Deputy Mayor of The Hague Ms. Saskia Bruines, stated the following in her remarks:
Every language is at home in The Hague. Every language may be heard here, because every person may be seen.
On International Mother Language Day, we hear many languages and we reflect on what can be a struggle to ensure that every language is heard. To remind ourselves that hiding a language is ultimately the same as oppressing people and their identity
As the Bengali community, you’ve had personal experience of this. And this new monument reminds you and us of that. It’s in a good place. In a park where – particularly in summer when everyone’s outside – dozens of languages can be heard. And where – in a quiet moment – we listen to the language the language of the birds and the rustling of the leaves on the trees.
The act of listening is important. Because only by listening to each other, will we understand each other better.
The deputy mayor observed that the language monument in the Zuider Park would not only enhance the dignity of The Hague but also remain as an inspiration for future generations to preserve and promote the mother tongue
During his address, Ambassador Sheikh Mohammed Belal paid tribute to the language martyrs and expressed gratitude to authorities of the municipality of The Hague for their support and cooperation for the construction of the monument. Ambassador Belal recalled the fine contribution of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in the language movement and his charismatic leadership in liberating Bangladesh following the inspiration and solidarity of the language movement in 1952.
Also on 21 February 2019, an event was held in connection with the International Mother Language Day at the UNESCO HQ in Paris.
This year, International Mother Language day was framed by the International Year of indigenous languages 2019 (IYIL19) around the theme “Indigenous languages matter for development, peace building and reconciliation”.
International Mother Language Day (IMLD) is celebrated every year on 21 February with the overall objective to promote linguistic diversity and multilingual education. (source UNESCO).
