KEY TOPICS: Bangladesh, NGOs, common misconceptions
In Bangladesh, a delta nation of more than 160 million people, there are countless initiatives by big names like UNICEF, Save the Children and USAID to address social issues, like rural poverty, maternal health and primary education. There's also the famed Grameen Bank ('Grameen' means 'rural' or 'village' in Bangla). In fact, the country, independent since 1971, has the highest concentration of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) operating within its borders. On international flights to and from Dhaka, the capital, it isn't uncommon for a fellow passenger to presume - should you look like a 'foreigner' - that you work for the United Nations - or the garment industry but that's a topic deserving of its own rightful blog entry, not least because of recent factory fires. Why else would you be in Bangladesh, the same passenger will muse, if not for a sexy United Nations post or the prospect of getting rich through the textile trade?
In my case, I teach at an international school in the suburbs of Dhaka. Few people are aware that ex-pat teachers choose to work in Bangladesh, particularly Dhaka, where most international schools - of varying quality, it must be noted - operate. They're somewhat aghast when they learn you could've worked in the Emirates, Germany or Japan and totally shocked if you say you gave up a post in London, England to teach in Dhaka. These days, India is even touted as a much better option if you insist on working in the sub-continent. After all, India is the tigress of the region and given the state of our geo-politics, fierceness is sexy; underdeveloped Bangladesh certainly isn't.
Such a shallow understanding of Bangladesh does a disservice to local Bangladeshis (you may wish to include here 'foreign' spouses) who, as citizens of a young nation, are all too aware of the problems plaguing their homeland (am I verging on patriotic sentimentality? I'm inclined to write 'motherland' but shall refrain). Bangladeshis deserve to be viewed as a people who may have a complicated past and unstable present but possess the agency to turn around their current situation. Based on my personal experience, Bangladeshis are anything but shallow.
Many humanitarian project workers want to work with the local population, recognizing that direct input from those in need - mothers, city labourers, farmers, etc. - creates long-term, sustainable change. In a recent issue, The Economist magazine even lauded Bangladesh for its rapid social and economic progress of the last 4 decades. I guess the kind of change I'm hoping for will be evident in the radically different line of questioning I'm faced with on that future flight to or from Dhaka. When I'm no longer readying to respond with: "No, I don't work for the UN."
In Bangladesh, a delta nation of more than 160 million people, there are countless initiatives by big names like UNICEF, Save the Children and USAID to address social issues, like rural poverty, maternal health and primary education. There's also the famed Grameen Bank ('Grameen' means 'rural' or 'village' in Bangla). In fact, the country, independent since 1971, has the highest concentration of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) operating within its borders. On international flights to and from Dhaka, the capital, it isn't uncommon for a fellow passenger to presume - should you look like a 'foreigner' - that you work for the United Nations - or the garment industry but that's a topic deserving of its own rightful blog entry, not least because of recent factory fires. Why else would you be in Bangladesh, the same passenger will muse, if not for a sexy United Nations post or the prospect of getting rich through the textile trade?
In my case, I teach at an international school in the suburbs of Dhaka. Few people are aware that ex-pat teachers choose to work in Bangladesh, particularly Dhaka, where most international schools - of varying quality, it must be noted - operate. They're somewhat aghast when they learn you could've worked in the Emirates, Germany or Japan and totally shocked if you say you gave up a post in London, England to teach in Dhaka. These days, India is even touted as a much better option if you insist on working in the sub-continent. After all, India is the tigress of the region and given the state of our geo-politics, fierceness is sexy; underdeveloped Bangladesh certainly isn't.
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| Bangladesh's National Flag |
Such a shallow understanding of Bangladesh does a disservice to local Bangladeshis (you may wish to include here 'foreign' spouses) who, as citizens of a young nation, are all too aware of the problems plaguing their homeland (am I verging on patriotic sentimentality? I'm inclined to write 'motherland' but shall refrain). Bangladeshis deserve to be viewed as a people who may have a complicated past and unstable present but possess the agency to turn around their current situation. Based on my personal experience, Bangladeshis are anything but shallow.
Many humanitarian project workers want to work with the local population, recognizing that direct input from those in need - mothers, city labourers, farmers, etc. - creates long-term, sustainable change. In a recent issue, The Economist magazine even lauded Bangladesh for its rapid social and economic progress of the last 4 decades. I guess the kind of change I'm hoping for will be evident in the radically different line of questioning I'm faced with on that future flight to or from Dhaka. When I'm no longer readying to respond with: "No, I don't work for the UN."
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