Dhaka is the capital, and the international airport city, with about 8 million inhabitants. When I arrived it seemed crowded, impossibly congested, chaotic - after having a week out in various other places (Barisal, Barguna, Pathakouli, Parghtakata) it seemed comfortable to come back! Amazing how we initially resist anything different, then accept it on some future interaction, often wondering why "it" ever seemed so strange. Whether it's a new person, ski hill, country, game, language ( OK, for me languages are never easy to come back to) it's often best to have at least a second chance to experience before setting opinions.
Bangladesh, being almost 90% muslim, celebrates the weekend on Friday/Saturday, and the quiet Friday allowed me to enjoy Dhaka as a more pleasant city. The people are helpful, curious ( staring at a stranger is considered good form, and any westerner quickly draws a crowd just by being here), colorful- with beautifully colored saris worn in all parts of the country, always. And while many of the women wear full burkhas, and most at least a headress, I never sensed any female discrimination.
Corruption was a concern of mine, and it is much in the news here. A military government, with a Princeton PHD as CA Caretaker Advisor, has really cracked down. The heads of both major political parties, both daughters of former government leaders, are in jail awaiting trials, the mayors of several cities have been convicted and are serving time. The anti-corruption message has been ubiquitous in the discussions of disaster aid, now estimated at about $250 million, with $100 million from Saudi Arabia alone. The US has been most noticed with the support of helicopters from 2 ships offshore, ferrying relief supplies from major airport sites to remote villages. There is speculation re how soon the ships will leave, but it appears imminent as the food emergency supply chain seems to be getting in place. USAID is also a strong player, but normally through NGO's like SaveTheChildren.
It's so different being on site; you drop in to an organization like CARE or UNICEF, and strike a bond with the good people there immediately. Having connections from prior experiences " We worked with Cecilia from UNICEF in Peru, do you know her?" works wonders. Deservedly so. This is a people business, in every aspect. And since we need help with language here, also, great to have used our own network, with volunteers connecting the dots to get us to the right place, and people, directly.
Certainly there is substantial need here, though sometimes difficult to segregate the poverty from the disaster ( does it matter?). One of the "discoveries" from the five other disasters where we've deployed is that they hurt the poor so much more than... others. Here, with an average ANNUAL income of $400, the impact is, well, total. Our volunteers would have a strong message to bring of compassion , and competence. It would be a challenging environment, and there is a strong and well organized response, but that is needed just to get clean drinking water and a survivable food quantity to people. There is no effort yet to repair schools, help with homes, clear the thousands of trees ( I don't think there is a chainsaw in the whole country). So we will assess several more communities, search for possible locations, and make a decision as directly as we can. Marc and Stef will stay here until a decision is taken, then stay if we decide to deploy.
Thanks for following along, and may I suggest you think about reallocating some part of the holiday gifting to some sweet people who have little to celebrate, and could use a source of hope. www.HODR.org
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