A ‘dream visit’

He was just 14 when Shubho Chowdhury left Bangladesh for the United States and later became an American citizen.

Chowdhury has been working for 16 years and is currently a Non-Commissioned Logistics Officer of the US Navy’s West Pacific Task Force.
 
Although his parents continue to live in Bangladesh, Shubho never really came back—until he was picked by the US Navy to participate in joint exercise with Bangladesh Navy.
 
“This is a dream visit for me,” said Chowdhury.
 
The fifth US-Bangladesh joint naval exercise, CARAT, began in Chittagong last Wednesday. 
 
Chowdhury is part the US Navy’s Task Force 73 that is involved in the joint manoeuvres.
 
The exercise ended on Sunday.
 
bdnews24.com caught up with Chowdhury at the Bangladesh Air Force  Zahurul Haque base during the drill.
 
Task Force 73 Public Relation Affairs Officer Lieutenant Arlo Abrahamson was with him at that time.
 
He spoke, alternating between Bangla and English, to narrate his emotional encounter with the country of his origin.
 

Shubho is the elder son of Prokash and Maya Chowdhury, who live in Dhaka.

“My parents were in the US for some time. But they came back to Dhaka and have been living in Khilkhet. My only sister Suparna Chowdhury lives with her husband in Australia,” he said.

“I went to the US on a diversity visa in 1994 while in Class X of St Gregory’s High School in Dhaka. I later joined the US Navy in 1999.

“I have come to Chittagong via Dhaka on Sep 28 but could not find time to visit home.  I met my father and mother for a couple of hours at the airport in Dhaka.

“I will be back in Dhaka after the exercise. But it is unlikely that I will be able to visit my parents,” said Shubho.

He said he will meet them again at the airport.

“It’s a dream tour for me,” said Chowdhury, insisting that it was a matter of pride for him to take part in the event in Bangladesh.

He was confident that both navies would gain experience through the joint exercise that would also improve bilateral relations.

“I am currently working as a Non-Commissioned Logistics Officer but certainly look forward to becoming the Master Chief (the head of the department) in future,” said Chowdhury with obvious pride.

“Bangladesh is always very beautiful. It’s a beauty, which remains unchanged forever. The people are wonderful, too,” he said.

He said he cherished the memory of his school and his teachers. But he lost touch with his old friends in Dhaka because there was no social network in the days when he went abroad.

“Work hard. There is no alternative to it. Hard work invariably brings success,” was his message for the youth of Bangladesh.

Shubho Chowdhury, still a bachelor at 35, plans to marry his Filipino fiancé next year.

US naval officer Arlo Abrahamson said Chowdhury was “a meritorious officer.”

He said there were many people working in the US Navy who had come and settled down in America from various countries. “But when we work for the US Navy, we are all Americans.”