Now This is Bangladesh… (16th July)

Well today was more like what I expected Bangladesh to be like…

It started with a message at 5:30am from one of the other Aussies informing us that Sheikh Hasina, the Party Chief of the Awami League political party, and former Prime Minister of Bangladesh had been arrested. Her house is just a few places down from our apartment so it was a warning to be careful as mass protests were expected.

So, peering down on the street from our rooftop, Elise (housemate) and I expected to see a lot of action – as although under the current caretaker government political activity is banned, we thought it would be a big enough deal for supporters to stage a mass protest that Bangladesh is so famous for (our housemates Lucy and Shell who arrived here 9 months ago had a good couple of months of regular strikes and being locked in their house). Fortunately or unfortunately, there was no action on our street – just lots of police, RAB (military police) and journalists – so we were given the go ahead to go to work.

The day continued to get interesting as there had been heavy rains and so lots of the roads on my way to Mirpur were flooded. Again what I expected to see more of in Bangladesh, given that it’s the monsoon season – but I think the drainage from the roads is better in the area that I live in comparison to around where I work.

It was my second day at work today and my counterpart has been really busy – and not in the office a lot – so I went on a field visit with another colleague to some informal schools (mornings) come microfinance centres (afternoons) that our organisation runs in nearby Bihari Camps. I will write more about the Biharis in a separate entry but the living conditions in the camps were extremely poor and were very similar to the slums of Kampala – but different and with different issues.

Our organisation works a lot on child labour and so the informal schools run from 7:30-10:30 am to provide the children with some education while allowing them to still work and contribute to their families. I visited two of the schools and chatted with the women who came after the school had finished for a microfinance meeting. While we were talking, heavy rains came again and so we all stayed inside a little longer and through an interpreter were able to chat. It was probably one of the rawest cultural exchanges I have ever experienced – as I did not know a lot about the history of Biharis, or how their culture differs to the Bangladeshis – and the women had many questions about life in Australia.

Such moments are so special and it’s small moments like these that will make my time here.