Afsana Alam

Dear Editor, As an international student, whenever I am asked to introduce my country, I proudly say that we are the nation of Bangladesh, a country that fought valiantly for its mother language and for its freedom. Growing up, I immersed myself in the history of our liberation war, marveling at the immense sacrifices made by our people to speak our mother language, Bangla. This is who we are as a nation – we fight against injustice across decades.

It was just another regular day here in Ohio, USA. I had just gotten back from work, tired but content, and I decided to unwind by scrolling through some news online. As I sipped my coffee, a headline about the quota reform movement in Bangladesh caught my eye. Initially, I wasn’t overly concerned. Protests in Bangladesh are not uncommon, and I assumed this was just another demonstration that would blow over soon.

This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon. Open AccessArticle by Afsana Alam Akhie * and Darko Joksimovic Department of Civil Engineering, Toronto Metropolitan University, 350 Victoria St., Toronto, ON M5B 2K3, Canada * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.