Letter from Bangladesh 2006

Saba and I in Dhaka

After numerous e-mail and reminders for promised jobs by two NGOs, nothing materialised for a year and that did not surprise me or stop me going back to Bangladesh in September 2006. My visit there was to remind myself of the good times I had in Bangladesh and forget about the bad times I experienced there. I also wanted to visit Chittagong, the area I had not really explored fully before.

 My trusted and reliable Bangladeshi girl friend Saba, became my guide and my companion throughout my stay in Bangladesh. Our first port of call was to visit my old NGO to unload a suitcase full of ladies dupattas (scarves) donated by members of my family to the poor people of Bangladesh; good deed completed, no mentioned of jobs by the Boss, I made my journey alone to see an old VSO friend, Sam who was still in Bangladesh well into completing his third year in Barisal, South of Bangladesh. Not a very easy journey to Barisal as the region is marked by the branches of Ganges that finds its way to the Bay of Bengal, creating a maze of waterways. Overnight journey in over crowed boat meant that I and all the passengers were locked in with a heavy metal iron door to keep away any burglars , scary for me as I was not sure if I would wake up the following morning alive to see my friend or dead at the bottom of the river. Barisal it self is a quiet sleepy port city, isolated from the rest of Bangladesh and my stay for few days were spent killing time by shooting darts into a dart board in my bed room during working hours waiting for my host! I could not venture out alone.
 

 On my return to Dhaka I joined my friend Saba and her six “merry” friends for a big journey by bus to the city of Chittagong, “Bangladeshi styles”; meaning nothing really happened on time or as planed and I sat and watched and hoped and prayed for things to move in my directions most of the times. The Bangladeshis are very proud to point out that Chittagong the second largest city is known to have the world’s longest beach (120km) but not so eager to admit that the beach is also well known for child prostitution, especially at the Cox’s Bazar, the country’s main holiday destination. Visiting Rangamati, a scenic town scattered along islands in Kaptai Lake was the high point for the rest of the troop escorting me. However my high light of this journey was to visit the ship breaking yards on the seashore, north of Chittagong where every kind of ocean-going vessels exported mainly from the West were dismantled by lots of bare hands!!

 Finally visiting Chittagong, I was able to meet and hear the plight of the Bihari Muslim people, thousands of them living in cramped conditions, who have been stateless since 1971 and are totally supported by funds from aboard and cared by the local NGOs. Sad way to live a life on my beautiful planet!!