![\"IMAG0168\"](\"http:\/\/www.mrambler.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/IMAG0168.jpg\")
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Been meaning to share this and finally found the media. December 16th, 1971 is the independence day for Bangladesh, when they finally broke away from Pakistan (until then, they had been East Pakistan, and their local language and customs had been gradually suppressed.)<\/p>\n
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It was a very ugly war in a very impoverished nation, as a friend I work with can attest. He was about 8 years old and lived in the capital city Dhaka. His dad owned a machine shop, so was a valuable asset (he made some spare parts) to whichever force was occupying his area which probably saved his family from some ugliness. My friend told a story of peeking out a window one night and watching tanks firing down the street. As I had never met anyone from Bangladesh, I always showed interest in what he could relate of his home country. So last December, he asked if I would like to attend the Bijoy Dibosh (Victory Day) celebration of\u00c2\u00a0 the local Bengali immigrants. It was held at the community center across the street from the mosque at 48th and Hamilton (my grandad would be spinning in his grave at the idea of a mosque in Oklahoma). I was really surprised, it was attended by close to 300 people, and I was the only white guy in the place. I had no idea OKC had that many Bengali people living here. Had some great (if spicy) food, saw some lovely women in traditional dress dancing and singing, and some great heartfelt speeches praising freedom by people that really appreciate it… kinda made me feel a little guilty that I take it for granted so often. They also had some surprisingly good music by a local Bengali musician that has enjoyed some success, I *think* his name is Shafait, but I haven’t found out much about him. Anyway, here’s a pic I snapped and a brief clip. Found the whole evening fascinating, and kinda laughed at seeing muslims in warm-climate clothing and sandals slipping out into the freezing wind and snow to sneak a smoke and grab a beer outside away from the wives.<\/p>\n