UK Bangladesh Mariners Celebrates Grand Get-together in London

As London basked under the glorious sun on 27th June, Bangladesh Mariners from all over UK came together to celebrate a biennial Get-together in a two-day organised event. It was nice to see so many UK based mariners gathering at one place under the umbrella of Bangladesh Mariners. It gave all an opportunity of meeting so many of the fellow mariners and their wives and families at one place. The aim was to get maximum people engaged and interact.

The event started with a `greet and meet’ session in a cosy environment of a South London restaurant. Southampton Organising committee headed by Forkanul Quader with members Mujibur Rahman, Jahangir Hussain, Zakirul I Bhuiyan and their families – all were at their best to welcome fellow mariners. It was a pleasure to meet a few new mariner colleagues including Quadi Harun from 8th Batch. Many took the pain of travelling from a long distance and Mohammed Quasem bhai travelled South from as far as Aberdeen to grace the occasion. This proved how much mariners valued this get together. Chisti bhai and evergreen Nazma bhabhi lightened up the night with their presence. The festive mood gathered pace with snacks, tea, coffee and peaked through to mid-night after the dinner. It gave everyone an immense pleasure to see so many fellow mariners and their families at the get-together event.

Zakirul conducted the event as MC. Forkanul Quader as the Chairperson of Southampton Organising Committee welcomed mariners and their families with a speech. One minute silence was observed in remembrance of mariners who passed away and departed solders of a recent incident in Bangladesh. In his opening remarks Forkanul thanked the organising committees of two previous get-togethers: especially the initiators – Capt Khairul Anam, Neaz Hyder, Ehsan Baig, Alamgir et-al. for their pioneering steps. He also urged the current and future generation of mariners to initiate measures to look at issues such as: preservation of ideas and experiences of successful older generation of mariners; undertake active role in helping the needy mariners and marine related organisations; and build a strong forum interlinking mariners from Bangladesh, US, Singapore and Australia.

The night was filled with performances from children, mariners and their family members. Mujib, Jahangir, Zakirul, Zohurul – all gave wonderful performances along their family members. Iftekhar & Zillur with their children took active part. Zohurul performed perfect magic shows in front of bewildered audience. As the night progressed after dinner there was an antaksari event overseen by a panel of judges – Quasem bhai, Chisti bhai & Nazma bhabhi. Iftekhar conducted the event with delightful humour. The night ended with a feverish floor dance by all those present during the late hours.

As the sun came up with a delightful smile on 28th June, mariners came together again at Merton Hall near Wimbledon. It was a fun-filled day with tight-knit indoor events including a Bingo session. With all mariners taking turn to oversee events this became a great big family fun-day. Quasem bhai, Chisti bhai, Khairul, Kaisar, Neaz, Iftekhar, Sarwar, Zohorul, Faiz, Zillur, Shameem, Shajed, Saminul and their families all enjoying and assisting as a team. A delicious lunch made up the day for participants.

At the closing meeting on 28 June it was proposed to hold the next get together in about 2 years time at South Shields, if mariners living in Shields agree to that. It appeared that the proposal was unanimously accepted and young Shajed agreed to take the proposal forward to the colleagues living in South Shields area. An alternative including Lowestoft area will be considered as fall-back venue if the above do not work out. It is expected that all mariners living in the UK will be able to attend the next gathering to make that a success. Fellow colleague Neaz Hyder made a formal proposal to give the UK Mariners’ gathering a formal shape. Details of this wonderful proposal will be distributed through e-mail for wider acceptance. An e-blog will also be introduced as proposed by Zillur. Faizur Rahman proposed the formation of a universal forum for seafaring officers that would see to the interests & welfare. This good proposal will also be circulated to all mariners in the UK via Zillur’s blog.

The community of Bangladesh Mariners in the UK is very small and all are urged to work towards greater bonds of a bigger family, standing tall with united fellow feelings. Organising committee wishes to thank all attending mariners and their family members for participating in the event with delightful team spirit.

Forkanul Quader

On behalf of Southampton Organising Committee