Posts tagged with bengali.

Welcome to the "concrete jungle"

Raksha Vasudevan and Helen Hsu, May 29, 2009 at 4:25 PM

It's 7 o'clock at night here in Dhaka city and the power's out...for the third time today. Bangladesh currently has about a 2,000-megawatt shortfall between the country's demand and what can be generated by the country's plants. Without the money or resources to upgrade electrical capacity, the government has decided to deal with the shortfall by cutting the power to the country on a rolling basis. Since we live and work in relatively "upper class" neighbourhoods, we usually experience power outages only about three times a day, each time for about an hour. Other parts of the city have their power cut as often as every other hour. Electrical shortages are as much a part of life here as the humidity that wraps around you like a wet towel as soon as you step outside. I've been here now for two weeks, and my  body has acclimatized somewhat: instead of the sweat pouring out of me like a faucet the minute I step outside, I can usually walk for a few minutes before having to mop up the perspiration on my face.

The humidity is a mild annoyance compared to the intense discomfort you feel when you see the wide gap between the wealthy and the poor here. The stark contrasts that exist in this country are completely intriguing to me. The mansions in Gulshan, the richest neighbourhood in town, would rival those you'd find in Beverly Hills, and the inhabitants have the lifestyles to match (think: lots of servants, BMWs, and security guards with rifles). But on the same street, you'll inevitably encounter a desiccated beggar, children with sores on their face and sharp looking ribs, and women who are 30 pounds lighter than they should be.

Dhaka, the capital city and where I'm living, is aptly nicknamed "the concrete jungle" of Southeast Asia. It's crammed with skyscrapers, garment factories and residential buildings, and the number of people that live their lives in this metropolis is truly incredible (Dhaka has one of the highest population densities of any city in the world). The rainbow coloured rickshaws, the hidden side streets with hundreds of vendors selling everything from mops to luggage to live chickens, and even the slums in the middle of "modern" neighbourhoods, provide a welcome relief to the layers upon layers of concrete life.

I and the other AIESEC interns live in a small apartment in an area known as DOHS Baridhara. The "DOHS" stands for Defense Officer Housing Society, meaning that it was built for former members of the army. It's a huge plus for us, because the DOHS neighbourhoods are also the safest ones, since no one wants to cause trouble in an area with former militia. That being said, the only trouble I've had (if you can even call it that) is being the target of a LOT of staring, and understandably so: I look Bengali (I'm from India), but at 5-foot-7, I'm about five inches taller than the average resident, and when I'm not wearing the local shalwar kamiz (a traditional dress worn in South Asia involving loose pajama-like trousers and a long tunic), I tend to really stand out.

The non-governmental organization that I'm working for here - the Bangladesh Association for Social Advancement, also known as BASA - is really impressing me. There are about 300 people in total working for the NGO, with 30 of them working in the head office in Dhaka. Right now, I'm working closely with some of the senior officers in putting together a project proposal on improving the aquaculture practices of rural farmers. I also had the chance to visit one of the slums in the rural areas where BASA has built sanitary toilet facilities for the residents of the slum to use. That was one of the most exciting experiences I've had so far: seeing the enthusiasm of the residents, especially the children, over having such basic facilities. And the sense of gratitude that I felt then, for always having had a decent bathroom to use and safe water to drink, will stay with me for a long time. Another curious contrast here that I must mention: most of the residents of the slum don't have access to clean drinking water, but almost all of them had nicer cell phones than I do! People here are nothing if not connected.

The one other feature about Bangladesh that would be a crime for me not to describe are the people: in spite of the language barrier, never have I met people more friendly and welcoming than I have in this country. Navigating through this frenzied labyrinth of a city, bargaining with the rickshaw drivers, warding off the "beggars" that carry tiny snakes in innocent looking boxes (which they'll open if you don't spare them some change), crossing the roads that have neither traffic signals nor crosswalks  - one person or another has always been there to lend a hand. It's amazing how help just seems to appear here every time I start feeling like a fish out of water.

I'm sure there'll be many ups and downs in the remaining three and a half months that I have left here. Monsoon season is just around the corner, and there'll soon be seven people living in our "mini apartment." But there's a lot to look forward to as well: there are many parts of Dhaka (not to mention Bangladesh) that I've yet to visit, lots of learning to be done at work about micro credit, waste management, legal aid, etc. and I just got invited to a Bengali wedding! Even though it's only been two weeks, I feel so at home here, and I can't wait to get more wrapped up in the culture, the places, and most of all, the people, of Bangladesh. 

Tagged with poverty, wealth, aquaculture, rural, farmers, slums, sanitation, dhaka, outages, bangladesh, power, bengali, raksha, vasudevan | Comments (3) |