Invisible War
I arrived from Dubai on saturday morning a little earlier then expected. Turns out I can't hang with food from POSH malls in the middle east, but food and water from the streets of Bangladesh is no problem.
I've been staying out in some rural villages in Bangladesh for the last few days. It's really been a great experience, much better then Dhaka. Everyone continues to be friendly;the scenery is much nicer. I finally felt like I was in Asia as I was passing the endless rice paddies along the hills of Chitagong.
I'm not sure if i've really made it clear or not, but this entire trip has been amazingly humbling. I can't tell you how amazed I am with the warmth of the people in this region. Because of this, ive been trying to stay with them as much as possible. The depth of conversations I've been having about the human experience is amazing. Take heart in the fact that there is someone on the other side of the world who is exactly like you - who loves, breaths, and bleeds the same as you.
I've spent the last few days interviewing a branch/area office of grameen as well as NGO's in Chokaria, which is located in the south eastern part of bangladesh. In every interview, no matter how insignificant, i've been ending with a really open broad question "what's next for bangladesh". It seems to be so out the norm that people are actually prone to answer. The political situation has come up a great deal. Bangladesh has been "hyjacked" by political bickering to the point that people have lost faith in the system. The title of this blog actually came from an interview with a well respected man in Chokaria. Corruption and buracraitc b.s., essentially, is the invisible war Bengali's are fighting.
I'm not exactly sure when it happened. I think it occured as I was passing a rural town while my bus driver was playing chicken with his collegues and the other 2 ton trucks on the highway. Bangladesh, I decided, is like a fast car spinning it's wheels.It has all this comerce going on with microcredit. It has a great deal of attention with massive NGO pressence. It has an amazing workforce. Yet, Bangladesh is loosing traction relative to many asian counterparts due to the fact that many of it's leaders don't care about the people as much as themselves.
On another note, I'm really suprised that you can just walk into any international organization and be seated with tea and cookies while you wait for an interview. Both Brac and Transperency International have been this way. It's quite fantastic.
I visited a BRAC school today. I really hate to sound overly dramatic, but it honestly broke my heart. The children are so wonderful, so attentive, so sincere. They all want to get good grades because they think this is the only education oportunity that they'll get. The teacher is payed 800 - 815 taka per month which, at the exchange rate it's under 12 dollars per month for 9 months out of the year. Thankfully, all the childrens supplies are free. They sit on the ground and write on little chalk boards. They recitd their abc's and did some bengali dances for me. English, Bengali, Math, Social Science, and Religion are taught (whatever religion the child happens to be).
Today, I am in Cox's Bazzar, which is a sort of vacation spot for bengalis. It's really nice actualy, the longest sandy beach in the world. I'm shooting for Moheshkhali island tommrow. If i get super ambitious, I might try for St. Martin's Island.
Hope all is well,
Keith
I've been staying out in some rural villages in Bangladesh for the last few days. It's really been a great experience, much better then Dhaka. Everyone continues to be friendly;the scenery is much nicer. I finally felt like I was in Asia as I was passing the endless rice paddies along the hills of Chitagong.
I'm not sure if i've really made it clear or not, but this entire trip has been amazingly humbling. I can't tell you how amazed I am with the warmth of the people in this region. Because of this, ive been trying to stay with them as much as possible. The depth of conversations I've been having about the human experience is amazing. Take heart in the fact that there is someone on the other side of the world who is exactly like you - who loves, breaths, and bleeds the same as you.
I've spent the last few days interviewing a branch/area office of grameen as well as NGO's in Chokaria, which is located in the south eastern part of bangladesh. In every interview, no matter how insignificant, i've been ending with a really open broad question "what's next for bangladesh". It seems to be so out the norm that people are actually prone to answer. The political situation has come up a great deal. Bangladesh has been "hyjacked" by political bickering to the point that people have lost faith in the system. The title of this blog actually came from an interview with a well respected man in Chokaria. Corruption and buracraitc b.s., essentially, is the invisible war Bengali's are fighting.
I'm not exactly sure when it happened. I think it occured as I was passing a rural town while my bus driver was playing chicken with his collegues and the other 2 ton trucks on the highway. Bangladesh, I decided, is like a fast car spinning it's wheels.It has all this comerce going on with microcredit. It has a great deal of attention with massive NGO pressence. It has an amazing workforce. Yet, Bangladesh is loosing traction relative to many asian counterparts due to the fact that many of it's leaders don't care about the people as much as themselves.
On another note, I'm really suprised that you can just walk into any international organization and be seated with tea and cookies while you wait for an interview. Both Brac and Transperency International have been this way. It's quite fantastic.
I visited a BRAC school today. I really hate to sound overly dramatic, but it honestly broke my heart. The children are so wonderful, so attentive, so sincere. They all want to get good grades because they think this is the only education oportunity that they'll get. The teacher is payed 800 - 815 taka per month which, at the exchange rate it's under 12 dollars per month for 9 months out of the year. Thankfully, all the childrens supplies are free. They sit on the ground and write on little chalk boards. They recitd their abc's and did some bengali dances for me. English, Bengali, Math, Social Science, and Religion are taught (whatever religion the child happens to be).
Today, I am in Cox's Bazzar, which is a sort of vacation spot for bengalis. It's really nice actualy, the longest sandy beach in the world. I'm shooting for Moheshkhali island tommrow. If i get super ambitious, I might try for St. Martin's Island.
Hope all is well,
Keith
posted by Keith Erickson at 5:29 AM
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