Ramizuddin, a sixty plus man, sells national flags before Victory Day in front of the Rayerbazaar martyred intellectuals’ mausoleum. The income is not high but he does not sell flags for money but more out of love for freedom and freedom fighters who sacrificed their lives to give us Bangladesh.
“I have been selling flags during Victory Day for 40 years,” he said.
Hailing from Madaripur, he came to Dhaka after independence and runs a betel shop near the Mohammadpur bus stand. Every year, for ten days, he sells national flags.
“This time, however, sales are low due to poll time frenzy,” he said.
I was 15 during the liberation war and when we heard that the military was coming, we fled; but we also provided milk to the freedom fighters who could not get regular food, says Ramiz.
Speaking about the mayhem and terror unleased by the Pakistan Army, he said, “There were times when we saved our lives by lying in deep water.”
I began selling national flags to take part in the celebration of independence; he said and added, “During the election prior to the liberation war, we were for AL’s boat while Jamaat’s symbol was date tree.”
The date tree symbol is not here but Jamaat is still around, he observed.

Photo: Sazzad Hossain