JEDDAH/RIYADH, 27 March 2007 — The Bangladesh cricket team’s entry into the second round of the World Cup sparked revelry among a foreign labor force in Saudi Arabia that doesn’t often have something to cheer about. The Bangladeshi expatriates were able to take a break from their hard work yesterday in the three major Saudi cities of Jeddah, Riyadh and Alkhobar to celebrate their team’s victory against Bermuda by seven wickets in Trinidad during the World Cup group encounters.
“It is not every day that we get a chance to celebrate something like this,” said Shafiur Raheem at the Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank. “We are short of heroes. We don’t have very many role models. Our young players are our heroes now. They have proved that we too can do it. This will have a great positive effect on the psyche of our nation. This will boost our morale.”
Not only was it a stunning victory, but it also took place on the eve of the 36th anniversary of the country’s independence.
“We are thrilled,” said Bangladesh Ambassador Maj. Gen. (Retd.) S.M. Ikramul Haque. “We are now in the Super Eights. Defeating the Indian team earlier and Bermuda on the eve of our National Day have given us added confidence. We hope and pray that the players will do well in the coming matches as well,” he said.
“We never thought our team would come this far in the tournament,” said Abdul Razzak Mian, a supervisor at the Jeddah-based Initial Company. “We have proved that our victory against India last week was no fluke,” he said.
Dr. Arif-ur-Rahman, a longtime Riyadh resident, said Bangladesh scored a hat trick of achievements with the historic win against Bermuda.
“It is not that Bangladeshis do not have other reasons to be proud of their nationality,” he said.
Other than their hard, often under-appreciated work in the Kingdom, there is Dr. Muhammad Yunus, who won the Nobel Peace Prize for his brilliant work in providing micro-financing to the poorest of the poor.
“Also, we got a clean administration, which is cleaning up the Augean stables,” said Arif-ur-Rahman, referring to the recent political changes in Dhaka.
“And now this morale-boosting victory in the World Cup. It is refreshing.”
According to many Bangladeshis, the victory was even sweeter because it came against the mighty Indians.
“We knocked them out fair and square,” said Haseebul Hassan, an Al-Rajhi Bank employee in Jeddah. “I say that with a lot of pride, especially because the Indians have not been magnanimous in defeat. Rather than complimenting us on our superior game they were reacting with an air of arrogance. They were not stung by the fact that they were beaten by a better team but that we poor Bangladeshis have beaten them.”
Arif-ur-Rahman said India and Pakistan made the mistake of writing off Bangladesh as a non-entity.
“You should never under-rate your opponent. We hope Bangladesh will continue its winning streak and reach a stage where it can make the whole of South Asia proud by winning the title.”
In the expat camps on the outskirts of major Saudi cities, Bangladeshi workers stayed till late on Sunday night and then distributed sweets among people of all nationalities.
Rehana Aziz, an avid Bangladeshi cricket team fan, said the victories against India and Bermuda were very important if seen in the backdrop of political turmoil in Dhaka. “These are uncertain times in Bangladesh,” she said. “Democracy is in a state of suspension. We are in the eye of a political storm. Almost everybody is divided along party lines. These victories have united us. There will be lessons that political parties will and should learn from the heroics on the cricketing field. United we stand, divided we fall.”
Saudis too congratulated their Bangladeshi employees.
Mukhtar Saeed Al-Fadl, a Saudi real-estate developer in Jeddah, said he personally called on his Bangladeshi workers yesterday to congratulate them.
“I felt very happy for them. They are very hardworking people and are always worried about the state of their country. I know nothing about cricket, but the gleam of victory in their eyes made me happy too,” he told Arab News.
Bangladesh beat Scotland and Pakistan in their first World Cup in 1999 but failed to win a match in 2003. They joined champions Australia, South Africa, West Indies, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, England and Ireland in the Super Eights campaign.
