Bareesh: Like parents, but with a green twist 

Recently, the video of a burly young man with long hair, in shorts, went viral on social media. He was an activist of a group attempting to lay siege to Nagar Bhaban on Sunday, 21 May. The group was protesting the felling of trees in the name of the beautification of Dhanmondi's Saat Masjid Road. 

The young man was running around animatedly, and at one point stopped before a camera to state, "We don't need a mayor who cuts down trees and kills dogs," referring to Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) Mayor Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh.

The 28-year-old is Bareesh Hasan Chowdhury, a legal researcher at Bangladesh Environment Lawyers Association (BELA). But he has another identity: he is the son of the recently demised public health activist and Gonoshasthaya Kendra founder Zafrullah Chowdhury. His mother Shirin Parvin Haque is also a prominent women's activist and campaigner for women's rights and social justice.

In a recent interview with The Business Standard, Bareesh spoke about inspiration from his parents to become an activist, the motivation behind protesting the felling of trees, and the three things they are demanding from the DSCC. 

Becoming an environmental activist

Apart from his role at BELA, Bareesh is also working as a regional facilitator at Friends of the Earth Asia Pacific, a formal regional structure of Friends of the Earth International, a federation of environmental organisations present in 73 countries, uniting over 2.2 million members and supporters.

He was also a former project researcher of the Death Penalty Mitigation Clinic at the University of Essex Human Rights Clinic, a former project assistant of Energy Access at the United Nations Foundation and a former member of the Bangladesh and Nepal teams at Amnesty International.  

His academic background played a big role in him becoming what he is today. 

He completed his bachelor's from Clark University in the United States of America, and then pursued a master's degree from the University of Essex. For his master's, he worked on the relationship between human rights and climate change, which later led him to become an environmental activist. 

But the idea of turning into an activist in the first place came from his upbringing, as both his parents were activists themselves. "Both my parents have been renowned activists in Bangladesh, and the people of the country have always respected them for their contribution to the nation. So, they were like an inspiration for me to become an activist myself," said Bareesh. 

Photo: Hanae Takahashi

But then again, Bareesh was not interested in following the exact same footsteps of his parents. "My father was a public health activist, and my mother a women's rights activist. So, it was a conscious decision from my side to not pursue a career in either of those sectors, but explore a new field instead."

The ongoing protest

Around three weeks ago, the DSCC cut down hundreds of trees on road dividers of Saat Masjid Road – from Abahani playground to Dhanmondi-15. 

While Bareesh and his other team members from BELA have been quite active in the ongoing protest against the felling of trees in Dhanmondi, he wants to give credit to some youngsters from the locality.

"Actually there were some young people from Dhanmondi who first took the initiative to protest the felling of trees. They also reached out to us and invited us to join the protest," he said. 

"The true stars of the protest have been them. They not only started the protest, but now they are also spending sleepless nights to watch over the remaining trees in the locality so that the city corporation cannot cut down any more trees."

Bareesh also clarified why he delivered the bold statement aimed at the mayor. "A few years ago, DSCC started killing or relocating stray dogs, defying existing laws, and the same mayor was behind the arbitrary move," he said.

"But this cannot be the role of a mayor. They are the representatives of the people, and they must abide by what the people really want, and be accountable to the local community," he further added. 

On a lighter note, Bareesh revealed that he had been receiving praise for his brave speech in front of the camera, though there were some people who had issues with his long hair. 

The three demands

The DSCC has recently planted 650 flower plants in the Saat Masjid Road intersection, just weeks after cutting down hundreds of trees in the same area, defying outcries.

The divider of the road has now been decorated with Rangan, Kamini, Bougainvillea, Chandraprabha (Tecoma) and Kanchan flowers.

But Bareesh condemned this decision, claiming that such flower trees cannot replace the trees that were cut down in the first place, as they were at least 20-25 years old and very big in size.

"Right now we have three main demands from the DSCC," said Bareesh. "First of all, they have to leave alone the 40-odd trees that are still remaining. They must not touch them."

"Second, they cannot replace old trees with some flower trees, which are of no use. They have to plant trees that could grow big and provide a shadow to everyone, like pedestrians or rickshaw pullers.

"And lastly, they have to be accountable to the local community. From what I have come to know, they never had any conversation with the people who reside in Dhanmondi, regarding the felling of trees. This cannot continue any longer, as the mayor has to listen to the people." 

Bareesh signed off by saying they were planning to have further discussions with other activists before finalising what their next move would be.