Today, I saw my life flash before my eyes. Yes kind of dramatic for an opener but today was intense (definite understatement). We marched for National Language Day with the World Solidarity Movement. As foreigners and people here to support GK we wanted to march alongside the Bangladeshis to show our understanding - that we knew the work and pain that went into gaining their freedom and keeping their national language. And even if we didn't complete understand all that it has taken we wanted to offer this small symbol of support. So we drove to Dhaka at 5am, put on our funny looking hats with words written on them I couldn't understand, and started walking towards the National Language Monument. We weren't the only ones with the idea. Soon I met up with Nazmul Nahar and her good friend. The three of us somewhat parted ways with the World Solidarity Movement group since Nazmul was quicker at weaving in and out of the crowd. After walking for 2 miles or more we stopped in the crowd and waited our turn. I was told we were only a few minute walk away from the monument and we would only have to wait a little while before getting the chance to pay our respects at the memorial. We stood in the crowd and waited an hour. Then a bit more. It didn't seem we were moving at all. Luckily I am not claustrophobic either. Imagine thousands of people marching in from multiple streets and all converging on one main street maybe the width of four cars. We were right in the middle and I couldn't see any glimpse of the memorial up ahead. Nazmul, her friend, and I passed the time by making jokes, they told me about their culture and the importance of the day, I snapped photos and filled them in on my life. Then all of a sudden Nazmul brought us back to the present. Out of nowhere I looked up and the thousands of people in the street ahead of me were facing the opposite way, facing towards us instead of towards the supposed monument. And they were moving, they were running straight at us. I froze. Deer in the headlights, panicked, I just stared at the crowd running. Nazmul pushed me to the side and forcefully yelled at me to run... and to run to the side. With the encouraging push I followed the flow of the crowd to prevent getting run over. As I was pushed and collided with people my heart was racing. It wasn't the power of a pushing crowd that scared me, but the fact that this scene looked exactly like the ones on the news. The ones where riots in the Middle East go bad and people are running through the streets... running away from very real, and very serious threats. I had no idea what or who I was running from, where Nazmul, her friend, or the rest of the World Solidarity Movement was, and I was pretty sure I was going to pee myself. I managed to make it up on a side walk as I saw people jumping the high fences that lined the street. I looked at the height and debated scaling the wall myself for safety, when just like that it was over. The crowd had stopped running, people were standing in the street again searching for family and friends. Injured people were being tended to, and the large white World Solidarity Movement flag acted like a beacon for me to find my group. I later heard that all of the commotion was indeed caused by a simple scare. The prime minister had showed up to pay respects at the memorial and apparently when the police shoved the crowd back as a protective action they did so a little forcefully. The front of the crowd became scared with the forceful pushing and turned and started running in the opposite direction. The wave effect took over and by the time it reached us 5 or so blocks back, the intimidating level had escalated. While I was fine, only a bit shaken, I found out that Nazmul had gotten pushed down and broke her knee cap. When I found her being tended to by medical students while she waited for the Red Crescent emergency van to pick her up and take her back to GK she looked to be in a lot of pain. I felt horrible. I know she could have easily been pushed no matter what, but her selfless act of standing still a second or two longer to push me out of the way and give helpful advice of running towards the street edge to get out of the crowd I will never forget. She had been looking out for me since day 1 (helping me to carry my belongings to my room when I first arrived) and was there making sure my every need was met. I have been shown good hospitality before, but the selflessness Nazmul has showed throughout the week is incomparable. She is going to make one hell of a paramedic if she shows her future patients even half of the kindness she showed me this week.
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