Blogs from Bangladesh, Asia - page 31

There once was a boy called Selim. He lived within a very closed community - a community that had remained separate not through choice, but through various political and social mechanisms far beyond the realms of most of the people's comprehension. As a consequence of being so cut off, and of being dependent on aid and assistance from the land outside their reckoning, the people of the community had become almost entirely self-seeking. The spirit of the community had died so long ago that it no longer even haunted the dark narrow backstreets of that place. If truth be told, it had died in the darkness of another land, but this story is only remembered by a few old people and a few newcomers, who are not often trusted anyway. Those who are not listened ... read more

So it's been a week! Starting with a cyclone and ending with well, it hasn't ended yet...so who knows! (Fri and sat is the bangladesh weekend for all you confused people). Where to start? So the office is grand. Not just because its somewhere I can finally start working and settling into, but also because the people I work with are universally some of the most wonderful, determined, friendly and humourous people I know - vital characteristics for doing this job methinks. I feel I am learning as much from observing their way of dealing with things (dealing with suffering people with professionalism and compassion, coping themselves with the frustration of things like not being able to offer people spare plastic sheets to fend off the storms, coping with dealing with the people suffering etc) ... read more

Visited Countries Map So here is where I am....a little country with a lot of people, and right down in the south a little beach resort called Cox's Bazar. I'm going to be here for the next 3 months as an intern with the UNHCR, working in 2 refugee camps in the vicinity. These camps are populated with 26,000 Rohingya refugees from Burma, some of whom have been living there in what have been described as 'appalling' camp conditions for the past 15 years. The situation is complicated and money is scarce so the UNHCR face a continuing struggle to make things better for these people. I have read a lot about it, but will finally be visiting one of the camps tomorrow, so should have a better idea then (it's all about the lived ... read more

If a rule is implemented in a 3rd world country and yet nobody knows about it, does the rule even exist??? I know you're waiting to hear all about Everest, but this is story is just too ribonkulous and needs to be written while she's still fresh. In order to save a couple hundy, I opted to have a 1 night layover in Dhaka, Bangladesh on the way to Nepal and upon my return to Bangkok. Don't feel bad if you dont know where Dhaka is either, I thought it was in India and was made to look like a fool when I went to the Indian Embassy and confidently told the employee that I was going to Dhaka...to which he laughed in my face and essentially said "are you retarded? Dhaka isn't in India"....I ... read more

I arrived back home in China last night, so may I first say xin nian kuai le, which is 'Happy New Year'. Today is the first day of the Chinese New Year, the year of the pig! Anyway, onto the subject of my blog....Bangladesh! 3 days before I left for China myself, back in August 2006, my parents left for Dhaka, Bangladesh, their new home for 3 years plus. I haven't had a chance to visit them and the country itself so my 5 week holiday was my chance! To get to Dhaka it's surprisingly easy from this side of China anyway. There are daily flights from Kunming-Dhaka (2 hours) and the flight from my home in Chengdu to Kunming only takes 1 hour, and there's only a 2 hour time difference, so all in all, ... read more