The flag display “Our Cultures, Our Community” represents the countries from which our students and their families come. It reminds us that including people from different cultures and experiences in decision making will help enrich community life at NEOMED.
How does the exhibit make you feel? Here’s one response:
The flag exhibit makes me feel included and celebrated. I was born in Bangladesh, raised in Cincinnati (Who Dey!). My mom brought me here in her arms as a 10-month-old baby. My family immigrated for a better life, but my preemie birth and obligatory surgeries hastened our arrival to America.
Growing up, I was constantly teased for bringing in “yellow chicken” to lunch or “smelly rice.” Fast forward 20 years and these same dishes are celebrated as a new cultural trend of curry chicken and biryani. The Bangladeshi flag validates my identity, ethnicity and language. It reminds me of the millions of lives sacrificed to preserve our right to speak Bangla. These sacrifices eventually led to the birth of my nation, Bangladesh.
Literally translated to “the country of Bangla,” Bangladesh’s red central dot signifies the sun and blood shed for the creation of a nation on a green background to signify land.
With the Bengal tiger being the national animal, it seemed fitting to move to a city where the football team was the “Bengals.” As life would have it, my mother’s brother was a practicing physician in Northern Kentucky and welcomed us into his home. Last year, when the Bengals made it to the Super Bowl, my dad made sure to inform every passerby on the origin of the Bengal tiger. He tells our local cashier at the grocery store, “you know, I’m from where the Bengal tiger is from” as I glared at him, embarrassed that we held up the line.
As a busy pharmacy student rushing to my next commitment, when I do catch a glimpse of Bangladesh’s flag, I can hear the echo of our anthem “amar shonar Bangla, ami tomaye bhalobashi” (“my golden Bangla, how I love thee”).
— Submitted by Momitul Talukdar (P3)
Write to [email protected] and tell us how the flag display makes you feel.