Infatuated with extremism

When people go missing leaving no trace whatsoever, a chilling sensation runs down the spine of the people in general. But for the near and dear ones of the missing person the fear is not as overwhelming as the pains and sufferings. Their wait never ends. They hope against hope. At times they encounter mental breakdown and other times the chimera of hope lures them to believe that the loved ones will suddenly appear from nowhere. The agonising nights and days pass by while their bosom continues to bleed with further pessimism mounting on the already unbearably heavy burden on soul.

In dictatorial and tyrannical regimes, security forces have picked up political opponents in many countries all across the globe. The Gestapo in Germany, Pinochet's security agents in Chile and the Pakistani occupation army in Bangladesh earned infamy for this kind of operation. Mass graves unearthed in Cambodia point to brutal communist rule by Pol Pot with his henchmen Khamer Rouge.

The world has moved ahead since the secret killing by the Khamer Rouge during the 1975 -1979 communist regime in Cambodia. But still people go missing and the character of such incidents too has changed a lot. In some democratic dispensations, government secret services still use this much maligned method. But then there are others who depart on their own volition. They are young people -both boys and girls, who feel irresistibly drawn to extremism in the name of religion. The temptation proves so overpowering that they even forsake their highly comfortable living for a life fraught with danger, hardship, uncertainty and worries.

All but one of the attackers of Gulshan's Holey Artisan cafe came from affluent families. Similarly 10 youths were reported missing recently from Dhaka and elsewhere. One of them, a madrasha student however left home on becoming irate with members of his family. But then two more students from a Pabna medical college were freshly reported missing.

If the present system of education makes a few students here and there disillusioned about their future, they surely cannot be blamed. But when the large majority of deviant students come from a single private university in the capital, there is definitely a cause for concern. Question arises if there are some quarters who are leading unsuspecting students astray. Or, students from that particular university are made a target, knowing full well that youths coming to study there are malleable because of their isolation from society. Even too much luxury and comfort may produce in them strong apathy towards such a living -a counteractive effect.  

A long stream of youths from Western countries left their educational institutions in a number of Western countries to join the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Some of the missing from Bangladesh may have done so or they received orientation from local representatives of the ISIS. These youths were misguided so much that they are or were ready to carry the nefarious missions on behalf of the parent outfit.

Clearly, society has failed these youths miserably. They have felt isolated from families, friends and society. In a country where there is a lack of a widespread base of healthy entertainment such as games and sports, theatre, cinema and other cultural activities, youths are most likely to grow lonely and morose. Parents are engaged in making more and more money and ready to spend any amount on their education forgetful that it does spoil them unless backed by regular interaction and involvement with physical exercise and art and cultural pursuits.  

The fact that bodies of none of the attackers killed by army commandos at Holey Bakery were received by their families only expose the anguish and shame behind it. Families would have done better if they mended their behaviour before and treated their young ones with greater care.