Six years ago Sheikh Mohiuddin Ahmed fled his native Bangladesh to seek political asylum in Ireland. He tells Chinedu Onyejelem about his reasons for leaving his home country and his future plans here
In 2005, Bangladeshi national Sheikh Mohiud-din Ahmed found himself in Ireland seeking political asylum after narrowly escaping death at the hands of his country’s leaders.
“There was no reason given for my arrest and torture in November 2004,” Ahmed tells Metro Éireann, adding that he is still “on medication” as a result of his ordeal seven years ago.
“When I came [to Ireland] I could not stand up properly,” he says. “The Irish Govern-ment knew [I was a target], as I had previously visited Ireland three times as a politician before the incident.”
The former president of the Liberal Party Bangladesh says he has worked his whole life to fight for the rights of those who are less privileged in his home country.
Explaining the events that surrounded his ordeal, Ahmed says he would never wish what he went through on his worst enemy. “They wanted to eliminate me,” he says.
On the fateful night, he says police took him out at midnight “near the highway to be shot” but, as luck would have it, he was spared following the intervention of some of his friends in the government and army. They took him away to the police station, he says.
But having connections in high places did not end his ordeal. At the police station, he says, “they implicated me in an existing case and tortured me for seven days. Then, they organised a secret magistrate court which remanded me in custody.”
For many months Ahmed says he fought endlessly for is freedom. “I applied to another district court for bail which was granted.” His next few weeks were spent in hospital recovering from injuries he says he sustained in his initial attack by police.
“I was then admitted to a Red Cross hospital for one month. By this time, my political friends abroad and my friends in the government and army arranged for my safe departure from Bangladesh.”
Ahmed eventually arrived in Ireland. “I applied for asylum and was recognised as a refugee within three months,” he says. “The staff at the Refugee Applications Comm-issioner who interviewed me said she did not need any information from me because she already saw everything about me online.”
Armed with permission to live and work in Ireland, Ahmed said his thoughts were about bettering himself and the community in which he lives.
“I worked part-time for a while and then started studying,” he explains, adding that this was to prepare him for a new future in Irish society.
“I went to Waterford Institute of Technology where I studied for a BA in Legal Studies for four years. Following that I attended Dublin City University for a Masters in International Journalism, which I have just completed.
“My target with these is to use them to serve minorities politically. I have been in politics for the last 27 years.”
While in college, Ahmed contested the 2009 local election in Waterford. “I got 200 votes at the second count, whereas the man who was last elected as councillor got just over 350 votes.
“Mostly African people voted for me,” he says. “Nearly 700 – 90 per cent – of Indians and Pakistanis who live in the area did not register to vote. I did not get many votes from Irish people, either.” He says the reason for this was not because he is a Muslim, or race-related in any way.
Ahmed professes that he was encouraged by his performance and would take another shot at the next local election, and possibly consider running for a general election in the near future.
In the meantime, he says he is “making plans” to become a barrister, hopefully at Supreme Court level. But for now Ahmed would like to unite immigrants in Ireland under the Irish National Minority Council, of which he is president.
“Minority people cannot have a common platform,” he says. “There is an internal leadership conflict. Compe-tition is good but conflict is a divisive thing, This is why I have formed the council aimed at bringing [different minorities] under the same umbrella.”
Ahmed says immigrants in Ireland would do better if they joined his council, as they would be able to form a formidable pressure group.
“For a better future, Irish people need immigrants and minorities need Irish people to forge ahead.” This will only happen, he says, when immigrants take active part in Irish society.
Asked if he has now given up on his home country, Ahmed pauses. “I hope to return to Bangladesh but the situation doesn’t permit,” he says. “It will be very hard to leave Irish society and would be very hard to live in Bangladesh permanently.
“Because of that, I have decided to dedicate my whole life to people irrespective of where I am.”
