From the Village to the World

Traditionally, the New Year is a time to make resolutions, most of which are aimed at self-improvement. Unfortunately, those lofty promises are invariably in ruins within the first weeks of the New Year. So this year, I thought of an alternative approach: making a promise to myself that was less about what I “should” do, and more about what I might actually want to do. And the first item on the list is to read more good books, to make time for a simple pleasure that too often ends up last on my to-do list!
It struck a chord recently when I heard a young man living in rural Bangladesh talk on Al Jazeera about how he went from being bored all the time, to spending hours at the one-room library in his village. The library is one of dozens set up with the assistance of the Village Library Movement (VLM).“The books became like my friends,” the youth said, admitting that he had never been much of a reader before.
I, on the other hand, grew up spending much of my time with books rather than people. But as long as I had enough reading material, that never bothered me. I saw the world through other eyes, the eyes of the many characters that I came to know and love. And through those stories, I lived not one, but many lives – most of which were more interesting than my own, I felt!
Studies have shown, that among other things, reading fiction teaches us how to develop empathy. In a way, that should be obvious, since really enjoying a story requires the reader to be able to experience events from the point of view of the characters. And as the reader begins to understand the emotions of each of the key personalities that people that particular book, she also becomes increasingly better able to analyse the motives and behaviour of people whom she encounters in the real world.
The truth is, the books that really make an impact on us leave a lasting impression. In many ways, those books help to make us who we are. Let me give you an example:
At age 7: I'm reading a book called “Kathryn Brings Them Home”, immersed in a story about a young English girl who travels to South Africa to fetch the three children of her recently-deceased, estranged sister home to Britain, where the rest of their family still lives. In the process, Kathryn experiences a magical country full of exotic scenery, wild animals and colourful natives, looked after by the hospitable Boer family that took her sister under its wing. After I finish the book, I run to tell my mother that as soon as I grow up, I'm going to go to South Africa. She looks at me pityingly, and tells me that that's not going to happen. “Why?” I ask.

“Because they don't like black people there, darling. They won't let you in,” she says. And with that conversation begins my awareness of just some of the injustices in the world, not least the apartheid regime in South Africa.
At age 19: I'm at university in London, when my first real taste of student activism comes about through my experience with the divestments campaign, aimed at British companies investing in apartheid South Africa. My own university, the London School of Economics, has also invested funds in some of those companies. It is a heady, passionate time. At one point, we occupy some of the school buildings (successfully!) for a few days. And we regularly take turns - much to the irritation of the embassy guards - to help maintain the peaceful, 24-hour picket outside South Africa House in Trafalgar Square, singing songs about Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu, Govan Mbeki, Ruth First, Steve Biko and their fellow freedom fighters. All of this will pay off eventually, though we don't know that yet.
My own experience of how books have enriched my life contributed to my pleasure in learning more about the Village Library Movement in Bangladesh. Initiated in 2006, the non-profit organisation is assisting people in rural areas to set up tiny, one-room libraries in their communities. One such “literary activist”, Humayun Kabir, no longer lives in his own village, but readers continue to visit the library he set up in his house. Modelled on the library established in the neighbouring Arjuna village (which was the first library setup by VLM), Kabir's library in Bhuapur in Tangail has yet to lose a single one of its books. Annual reading contests are held there to encourage villagers to develop the habit of reading.
A student who won first prize in last year's contest said that the library provides village youth with a source of knowledge and entertainment, as well as a way to utilise their after-school hours. It brings the whole world to their doorstep. Sumi, who came second in that contest, said that her husband encourages her to read. And although she was already an avid reader, the village library has saved her time, money and energy by providing an accessible treasure trove of reading material.  
The VLM also aims to get rural youth involved in community development. Thus far, library members' activities have included fixing roads, providing relief during natural disasters, setting up tubewells and constructing bus shelters. In Khagrachhari, two village libraries have worked together to repair temples in nearby areas. Members of the Arjuna library have even raised funds to buy land and materials with which they have constructed a local college, in order to save village students from having to travel further away in order to study!
All this just goes to show how reading books not only changes individuals, it can also change the world around us. Coming back to my own experience of activism at university, we were amazed when the London School of Economics ultimately became one of the very few British universities to divest from South Africa, playing its part to help hasten the demise of the racist apartheid regime.
The students were jubilant at the news. It was a proud moment for all of us – one that disproved the “it won't make a difference” brigade, who are so quick to speak cynically, and yet so reluctant to actually do anything! And, while I didn't mention it to my fellow students, I knew that the seeds of that moment, for me had been sown more a decade previously, courtesy of“Kathryn Brings Them Home”.