Picking up the Pieces (ePub)

Chowdhury describes the journeys to Canada of the first contingent of 15 war babies that were embraced by their adoptive parents when they reached their new homes in Canada in July 1972 breaking the racial boundaries and re-defining what a family could be. Products of one of the most outrageous crimes, these babies were conceived by Bangladeshi women victims of sexual crimes committed by the Pakistani military personnel in Occupied Bangladesh. Since it was a case of enforced pregnancy through penile penetration against the will of the victims, the undesirable newborns were seen as disposable or throw-away babies by both the birth mothers and the Bangladeshi society. Through sharp analysis, Chowdhury has illustrated with poignant vignettes an important fact of life that human beings desire and need close relationships.

Using archival records International Social Service, International Planned Parenthood Federation, Library and Archives Canada, Department of External Affairs and Manpower and Immigration in Canada and the Department of Labour and Welfare of the Government of Bangladesh, Missionaries of Charity and the Families For Children, Chowdhury examined the well-being of the war babies and their parents through the years with anecdotes of their rearing, nurturing, and becoming adults in Canada, the country they call home.