From Dhaka to Gaza: The Shared Trauma of Genocide Denial

A common history of ethnic cleansing and the struggle for self-determination unites Bangladeshis and Palestinians in more ways than one.

Note: Due to family issues, I had to pause this newsletter for a bit, but I am back with a response to this writing prompt from

Muslim Writers' Salon

.

On October 7th, 2023, I was five weeks postpartum with my second daughter. Each time I’ve become a mother, I’m filled with awe at the ability to bring a new generation into the world. As the child of Bangladeshis who survived the 1971 genocide, it feels miraculous that any of us are here. Despite three million deaths over nine months, this genocide remains unrecognized by the United Nations, the United States, and its perpetrators—the Pakistani government. Even many Bangladeshis from that generation hesitate to call it what it was: ethnic cleansing.

Bangladesh’s Gonohotta (mass killings) of 1971 is Palestine’s Nakba (catastrophe) of 1948 .

Since 1948, when millions of Palestinians were forcibly displaced to create the state…