PEN Canada for Freedom of Expression

Writers in Exile

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Bangladesh

Lutfor Rahman Riton
A reporter and children’s writer, Riton was working in the information section of the Bangladesh Embassy in Japan in 2001 when the change in government in Bangladesh suddenly put him at risk because of his newspaper columns. Several of his journalist and writer friends were imprisoned and tortured. When he was ordered to return to Bangladesh, he moved his family to Canada instead. Since he has been here, Riton has written a bi-weekly column for a Bangladeshi newspaper on life in Canada. Riton is best known in Bangladesh as an author of some 70 books for children. One of his stories, "Ragpicker Amin Ragpicker Pussycat", about a street kid in Dhaka, was translated into English by a senior professor and translator in Bangladesh, Kabir Chowdhury. Riton has taught Bengali culture and literature in Bangladesh.

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I owe PEN Canada for whatever it is we call a home…. I was deeply traumatized when I crossed mountains to flee my invaded home. When I got here, the immigration office labelled me as ‘general labour’. I am nothing less than ‘highly-skilled labour’ - in the field of poetry.” Poet and PEN Canada writer in exile Saghi Ghahraman