I once read someone describe Bangladesh as "a small country of vast distances". Self-contradictory as it may sound, it clearly describes the tight arena where differences of dialects and customs sometimes co-exist in happy oblivion of each other, separated by natural obstacles that keep the varied flavours of the nation in a cogent state. The introduction of roads, railways, and other means of communication often cause a breakdown of these boundaries, which unavoidably, either through curiosity or the profit motive, leads to contact and interaction, an unveiling of the other that was for long hidden by a geographic divide. Modernization as a restructuring of social relations and economic equivalencies has been a reality in Bangladesh for quite some time, applied nationwide in a variety of doses from finances to construction. But a new sort of bridging is happening in the country, one that not only attempts to gather people and harness the unity of numbers around a common cause, but also seeks to bring into proximity the strengths of many minds, many voices, and many hearts, independent of location or citizenship.

Activism precludes a sense of awareness, a knowledge of facts and conditions which intimates the participants with a drive to action. The information that helps create this awareness takes many forms and is spread though a variety of traditional and modern methods; statistics and figures, placards and emails, or speeches and articles, the vast majority of communication is done through non-visual means and largely in a textual base. But in a country where literacy can best be considered the luxury of a powerful minority, words in written form can have little impact in educating the opinions of the masses whose conditions this information strives to address. And while modernization has affected the vast majority of the population through its broad and indiscriminate application, few have actually benefited from the promises of comfort and prosperity, the hopes of rising beyond mere subsistence defeated by a consistent policy of placing self-interest and profit over moral duty. In this nation whose small geography may feel vast, economic obstacles can seem utterly insurmountable. Repression takes many forms, but few are as brutal as the selective reduction of human life to one of invisibility, the result of an attitude of indifference that virtually erases the existence of a certain segment of the population from sight and memory. The burden of illiteracy further mutes any attempt at establishing an organized front to resisting the status quo. To remedy this vacuum of communication, a small group of determined people began to establish an alternate path to text and speech, and involve the public at a visual level.

Founded in 1989 and housed in a Dhanmondi residence, Drik began as a gathering of photographers whose work and focus lay outside the purview of mainstream media agencies. Recognizing that one of the key impediments to change is a lack of will, coupled with an often deliberate failure in addressing and understanding the roots of the problems, the group bravely embarked on an active and incessant campaign of creating awareness through their individual talents for capturing images. Showing a great degree of foresight, the members used visual media and digital communication in order to positively impact the repressive political atmosphere of the time, pioneering the use of the internet in Bangladesh (becoming country's the first public provider) and relentlessly employing its freedom and flexibility to spread the organization's messages and ideas around the globe.

At an international level, the members' main intentions focused on diffusing the general perceptions held by the world at large in regards to Bangladesh, trying to present the many faces of a country which are hidden by an often fatalistic and sensationalist approach in news reporting. One may be forgiven in still considering the country as "a bottomless basketcase" from the images which make their seasonal appearance on most television networks - aerial views of a lush landscape suffocating under the heavy hand of mother nature and close-ups of helpless children whose innocence is marred in a life of destitution. Drik's endeavours pierce these stereotypes by using photojournalism to both report and engage with the events in order to provide the viewer with an intelligent assessment of various occurrences, a broadening of scopes that concentrates on causes as much as effects rather than simply packaging them into insipid editorials for mass consumption. Each image possesses a raw honesty that brings to light the dark undertones of the simplistic views which reduce human tragedies into mere statistics, freezing instances of fleeting time whose meaning is expressed through the people and faces that are captured through the lens. The photographs avoid being gratuitously provocative by allowing the message to exert the same weight as its visual expression, never straying from the idea that the subjects are part of a palpable reality and not meant to represent some sort of abstracted notion of plight. This attitude also provides an antidote to the often irresistible urge of diluting personal expression along purely aesthetic lines, a decontextualization that reduces the work to mere a fetish. Maintaining a solid critical base provides the subject of the images with an audible voice, representing the disenfranchised and disadvantaged in full consideration of their being.

A certain individual deserves special mention in this organization. In 1980, Shahidul Alam, then a student of organic chemistry in England, was asked to delivera Nikon FM outfit to a friend in New York. Stuck with equipment as a result of this friend's inability to pay, Mr. Alam (or Shohid Bhai as he is known to many) embarked upon a path that would lead him away from his previously chosen profession, and set him on a journey that would define his subsequent work as one of unparalleled importance in the struggle to bring about change in Bangladeshi society and politics. ShohidBhai began to take pictures as a way to reveal the many realities that co-exist on this landscape, the lives of people who share common hopes and dreams in the face of deeply entrenched adversities. The work which came about through his involvement with various pro-democracy and human-rights causes laid down the groundwork for the subsequent creation of Drik, which he has guided from humble beginnings as a photo libraryto its maturing into the force it is now.

While still maintaining its position as a photography agency, Shohid Bhai has taken a series of bold initiatives to diversify its presence in the world of media and communication, setting up contacts with international groups with whom Drik shares a common ethic, and broadening its internet presence by publishing stories and reports on human-rights and equality issues through its sibling websites. The group has laid emphasis on the disparity between the accessibility of information and the people it addresses, leading various campaigns to place media within the reach of those prevented through a lack of financial means. In a recent venture called Out of Focus, Drik has involved itself directly with a group of young people of working-class backgrounds by putting cameras in their hands. Acting as outlets for their exuberance and imagination, the cameras have put them in the line of sight of those who would generally ignore them, confronting the stereotypes and patronizing attitudes that categorize them as helpless victims - condemned to suffer by way of their birth into an unfair world, or due to their own inability to reform their lives - and challenge the established views that certain professions are proscribed by heredity. Equipped with lenses and keen eyes, these youths have elicited a variety of reactions from an unsuspecting public, creating levels of condescension, surprise, and discomfort among those whose tacit complacency has been shaken by a resolute self-assertion. Presence in memory is the first step to an awareness that leads to recognition and acceptance.

Aside from reaching a desired audience, Drik's accomplishments haven't escaped the attention of Bangladesh's political "leaders", who from Gen. Ershad's military junta to the latest sequence of elected autocrats have acknowledged the organization's work through threats and intimidation. The group was heavily involved in opposing Ershad's regime, organizing a powerful protest in the form of a photo exhibit at a time when impositions on the media were at an extreme. That show in 1990, which attracted an inordinate number of visitors to its diminutive gallery, has been followed by several others that have featured emerging photojournalists and addressed many topics concerning not only Bangladesh, but also its foreign neighbours. Drik's dexterity and talents culminated at the end of 2000 with the opening of Chobimela, South Asia's first photography festival. The ambitious project showcased the group's ability to network and co-operate with diverse institutions, bringing further exposure and respect not only within the global journalistic community, but as the success of the exhibit showed, at home with its fellow compatriots. Shohid Bhai has managed to keep Drik's outlook independent of external financial needs and the demands of donors by making the group financially self-sufficient, providing commercial services to photographers through its studio, laboratory, and internet services. The group also plays the role of educator through its teaching initiatives, having set up a section called Patshala which trains aspiring photojournalists for the rigours of the profession.

Though permanent change may lie beyond our immediate expectations, Drik's approach to activism has provided a solid framework through its particular use of the photographic medium. The camera has gained prominence in the Bangladeshi context as a tool of discovery and awareness, not only of the subjects captured by the lens, but also of those behind the eye-piece, engaging the various players in a visual discourse that translates into action. The image acts as both catalyst and interlocutor for those who live in a textless universe, allowing them the ability to participate at a level previously denied by their social predicament. Change is certainly possible, even in the putrid climate of the nation's socio-political "structure", but with groups such as Drik, and individuals with the tenacity and drive of Shohid Bhai, the prospect of recomposing the once proud hopes of a ravished nation seems less an idealistic gambit than promising eventuality.

Profile written by Naquib Hossain