In solidarity with Palestine, Bangladeshis raise awareness one cup at a time

When the managers of a fast-food chain in Dhaka put the Palestinian flag on its coffee cups in a show of solidarity, it soon turned into a local awareness campaign.

Kudos — which has 18 branches in the Bangladeshi capital — changed the colors of its logo to black, white, green and red on Nov. 1, and started to print the pre-1947 map of Palestine on its cups, which now read “In Solidarity With Palestine.”

The idea was formulated in response to several major US food brands and chains voicing their support for the Israeli military in the wake of its deadly onslaught on Palestinian civilians in Gaza, which started in October.

“We have seen some fast-food brands promoting Israeli (aggression) indirectly through their packaging. We wanted to counter that,” said Hisham bin Mohammad Mustafa, head of business at Kudos. “It’s not a matter of business. We just wanted to do something.”

Natasha Ahmed, a resident of the upscale Bashundhara area in Dhaka, visited the cafe as soon as she heard about the initiative, which, for her, serves as a reminder to not turn a blind eye to the ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip that have killed more than 14,800 Palestinians — mostly women and children — in the past five weeks.

“The way Kudos initiated the solidarity campaign is very bold and precise,” Ahmed said. “Every time I hold their coffee cup and look at the lines on the wrapper, it reminds me of the faces of innocent Palestine children who lost their lives in the last one and a half months.”

For Mohammad Jamil, a fresh graduate from the Badda area in Dhaka, it has a similar meaning, which he hopes will spread.

“This is how the ongoing agony of our Palestinian brothers and sisters remains alive in our minds every day,” he said. “The initiative might be a small one, but I believe it may inspire many others to do the same in their own way.”

Those who work at Kudos hope for that as well, the cafe’s head, Syed Jayedul Huq, said.

“I received positive feedback,” he said. “As a Muslim and a member of the Kudos family, I feel very proud to be a part of this initiative.”

While most Bangladeshis are Muslims, the sense of solidarity runs beyond religious lines.

Limon Halder, a Kudos waiter who belongs to the Hindu community, told said: “I firmly believe that it’s my moral obligation to stand against any sort of oppression anywhere in the world. If I don’t stand against it today, maybe tomorrow I will face the same,” he said.

“Kudos came forward with a protest and message of solidarity with the Palestinians. It’s a matter of great pride to me,” he continued. “I hope more and more businesses in the country will do the same.”