A young Hindu artist presented me with a small sample of his work the day before I returned to Bangkok. Here are two of his posters:
The artist's name is Santu Saha. He is 28 years old & lives in Dhaka.
My surrounding as well as the socio-economic and the political atmosphere influence me constantly. As a Bangladeshi citizen, I can realize the effects of poverty on a large number of our population since my childhood. Millions of poor people of the world are deprived of the right to a healthy life. Food, health and education are uncertain for them. We cannot deny major problems like poverty. The critical problems like population growth, conflict among nations, social & cultural discriminations, environmental pollution, the destructive use of nuclear power are a threat to future human generations.
So we must keep peace in this critical situation. We have to work for a peaceful world. Everybody has the right to live a healthy life. But people are deprived of these rights under the pressure of manifold problems. Especially, the situation of the backward countries of the third world is very piteous. Hunger, poverty, various types of social superstitions, lack of education, childhood death, oppression of women -- these social problems are devouring a huge number of people today. As a result, political instability is going on all over the world.
The question of humanity is a big factor for today's world. The hopeful matter for us is that big international organizations like the UN and the countries of North America and Europe have begun to take this matter seriously and thus are eager to keep peace and close union in the international field.
Personally, being not only an artist but also a human being I intend to initiate myself in this peace process. I want to work for a peaceful world all through my life. Let there be a well-established, democratic atmosphere: this is my wish.
In my recent series of posters, "Humanism and Human Rights" was the focal subject.
Santu Saha
22 November 1994
You can write to Santu Saha
c/o BICPAJ
14/20 Iqbal Road
Mohammedpur, Dhaka - 1207
Bangladesh
