In 2008, we received a letter from Hurun uz Zaman who inquired if I was the same William Hein who went to East Pakistan as a Peace Corps volunteer in 1961. Harun, as it turns out, was the son – then about 12 years old – of the family I stayed with in Dhaka when we first got to East Pakistan. He remembered enough about me to find me on the internet -- some combination of Peace Corps and the University of Colorado. I e-mailed him back that I was indeed the same person.
Harun, his wife Dora and their two daughters then came to visit us in Berkeley. It turns out that he has his PhD in nuclear engineering from Ohio State and has been living in this country for the last 30 years.
We had a great time playing tourist in San Francisco and reminiscing about our time together nearly 50 years ago. He remembered the games we used to play (he liked to wrestle), coming to Judy and my wedding and my “long discussions on politics” with his father.
Harun was very interested in my thoughts of his father who was killed in the 1971 war under tragic circumstances. Moulvi Farid Ahmed was a religious scholar (thus his title), a lawyer, politician (then not allowed) and was one of the most articulate men I ever met. He had an incredible grasp of English and command of many subjects. He loved sports and most of all loved a good discussion on any topic. He and his wife accepted me into his family and it became my Dhaka home.
We are thankful that Harun made the effort to find us.
Bill Hein (Judy)
Peace Corps 1961 – 1963
Rajshahi, East Pakistan (Bangladesh)
No comments:
Post a Comment