FATHER RICHARD TIMM CSC AND THE HOLY CROSS ORDER

I carefully selected the name – americanbychoice.net – when I started my blog. I was then and now most grateful for the opportunities afforded to me by this country but, most importantly, I was inspired by its unique system of checks and balances, inspiring leaders like Lincoln, Roosevelt, and Kennedy, its ability to foster innovativeness and creativity and the ability to fearlessly speak.

Today I make a departure from my usual writings on economics, politics, and healthcare. Instead, I dedicate this to Father Richard Timm CSC, a Holy Cross priest, who spent 70 of his 97 years in Bangladesh. Bangladesh was the country of his choice.

Father Timm followed a long line of Holy Cross missionaries who came to a part of India (now Bangladesh), known for its bad weather and poverty. This was a part of the world that was even eschewed by other missionary groups. Born in Indiana, Father Timm was no ordinary priest. He was a teacher – both in the classroom and outside, a scientist of international fame who had discovered over 2500 genomes, a relentless fighter for the oppressed, impoverished, and justice.

Father Timm came to Bangladesh (then East Pakistan) in the 1950s and helped establish Notre Dame College in Dhaka. Holy Cross missionaries had already established St. Gregory, St. Josephs, and a network of other schools, known for academic rigorousness, strict discipline, and a culture of social responsibility. The Holy Cross School and college network can count among its graduates a Nobel Prize winner, President, Prime Minister, thousands of teachers, engineers, doctors and Ph.D.’s, business pioneers, noted authors, and fearless journalists.

Holy Cross education was a departure from the prevalent British-inspired system which emphasized memorization, curbed independent thinking, and produced people who were adept at carrying out orders. Teachers like Fr Timm taught us to be independent, ‘not superior to others but not inferior to anyone either’, courageous in search for truth, and having a sense of social responsibility. He considered himself always a student and never stopped learning. This is clearly evident from his research, personal notes, and recollections from friends and colleagues.

Father Timm always identified himself with those in need, causes of social justice, fairness, and equity. When Pakistani army generals, in total disregard for the election results, jailed the legitimately elected leader of the majority party and started a campaign of brutal repression (by all accounts a genocide), there was no question where Father Timm’s allegiance lied.  He public and privately protested and lobbied against the Nixon-Kissinger support of the anti-democratic actions of the illegitimate Pakistani dictators and played an important role in the subsequent action of US Congress ordering the cessation of shipment of arms to Pakistan. Locally he provided sanctuary to families and sympathizers of the people who were involved in the Bangladesh liberation war.  This he did know fully that it could cost him his life.

His work among the poor and disadvantaged is almost legendary among the impoverished sector of the Bangladesh society. Bangladesh is a country that is essentially a delta formed by three great rivers of the world. Under normal monsoon season, it is not unusual for three-quarters of the country to be underwater and it is regularly devastated by hurricanes and cyclones. Father Timm would always be one of the first people on the scene after a natural disaster to rebuild homes and shops.  

He firmly believed in an old saying – give a person a fish, he will have a nice dinner that day but if you teach him how to fish, he will have a good dinner every day. Concurrently with his work in academia and relief work after the regular floods and cyclones, he started focusing on creating and assisting NGOs (non-government organizations) which in turn created economic opportunities for the poor through education, training, and microcredit. Many of those organizations are still helping thousands among the rural poor of Bangladesh.              

Father Timm and his fellow missionaries have done more for the people of Bangladesh than any foreign aid from the US. In fact, they presented the face of America which offset the misguided foreign policy of siding with military dictators in direct opposition to democratic forces fighting for independence. There was a suggestion to award Father Timm honorary citizenship of Bangladesh. This can and should be done posthumously. It will be an honor for Bangladesh to have a citizen like Father Timm.