Image: Shahidul Alam, NY Times Lens Blog
Bangladesh has the disreputable distinction of being a democracy that supports a killing squad. The Rapid Action Battalion, an “anti-crime” paramilitary group that has killed more that 550 people, under circumstances that are, at best, suspicious. The smarter bet is that this group has been engaging in extra-judicial executions–killings that, so far, seem to be state sanctioned.
Brad Adam’s the Asia Director of Human Rights Watch, the renowned advocacy group has examined RAB activities and has claimed that:
“RAB’s own announcement [on the observation of far too many “cross-fire” killings] makes it clear that this case fits the pattern of execution-style killings that the unit has carried out since its inception….This is a challenge to the government’s promise to end these killings, and the government needs to make clear they will not be tolerated.” (The interested reader can find an earlier 2006 Human Rights Watch report on RAB activities here.)
Since its inception in 2004, the RAB has been thought responsible for the executions of criminals, drug peddlers, and political opposition leaders. Indeed, members of the RAB were recently suspected of executing a member of their own group. The guardians have been killing their own.
In this context, artist, photojournalist and activist Shahidul Alam’s work shines a literal spotlight on RAB activities. As you can see above, his photographs illuminate those spaces mentioned and silenced in state reports. There is the glow of life and the smoking hum of spent cartridges. This work points to all those things that point back to the absurd justifications that the state has hoisted on its people, all that seems to have been expunged from official accounts.
Please view Shahidul Alam’s work on the New York Times Lens Blog and then go visit the Drik Gallery in Dhaka to find out more about this work, if time and bandwidth capacity– and, perhaps, visa limitations–permit.