Green Foot Soldiers celebrates silent heroes

On July 21st, the department of Mathematics and Natural Sciences (MNS) hosted the screening of the documentary, Green Foot Soldiers: homeless children and plastic world by Global Street Connect which serves Bangladeshi street children. This was followed by a discussion with panelists, Dr. Hasan Reza (Associate Professor, Indiana University, USA and founding member, Global Street Connect), Dr. Sharif Haider (Lecturer, Open University, UK and founding member,  Global Street Connect) and Dr. Moushumi Zahur (Assistant Professor, MNS).

The documentary illustrated a hauntingly inspiring story of resilience of children who are exploited and failed by all the adults in their lives yet they rise from the ashes as heroes of the environment by collecting waste to make a living and silently contributing to the global chain of recycling plastic. Before the screening started, Dr. Reza, the co-director of the documentary, threw in a powerful statement, “The purpose of this documentary is to shed light on the invisible children. So the next time you see a child on the streets, you look them in the eye and say “I’m sorry”.” 

The discussion session brought light on the cruel life of street children helping the audience gain more perspective on their frequently forgotten contribution in saving the world. In this connection Dr. Reza urged the audience to step in to make the world a better place for these children, “We humbly invite you to change the lives of these children.”