Half way, Hard times and dancing Khagrachuri

Half way, looking back and realising the real challenge is only just starting

It has been six months, half way, 26 weeks since I unsurely journeyed to Heathrow, enjoyed my last English meal, watched pointless movies on a tiny screen and was then assaulted by the noise, heat and confusion of Dhaka. The jury is still out on Bangladesh for me and in some ways not sure my criteria were fair. One of the stereotypical perks of development is that often you can get to work in some pretty crazy and special places – other VSOs are stationed in Vanuatu (pacific island near Fiji), in Cape Town, Thailand and Uganda. My criteria were based on my time in Ghana where everyone spoke English, beers were had on a roof top bar at sun down and there were plenty of vibrant Afro-reggae dance clubs to enjoy. The small South Asian Buddhist/Islamic tribal hill town of Bandarban is none of these. Many of the initial ‘wows’ have become standard issue – the tropical forest covered hills, the monks sitting in tea shops, the golden pagodas, the bustling fresh vegetable and fish markets and the high street lit by oil lamps with incense smoke drifting on the air. Many of my early frustrations are solved – I can now wander when and where I want now, I get by in basic bangla, I have my own flat, can go running in the hills, know where to get good veg and the precious rice wine. But, now all the side issues are gone, the reality of the difference of the place is left to tackle. It feels like the easy things have been overcome but the real challenge of adaptation has yet to be done.

This is no standard issue job

It’s hard at times, incredibly hard. Not the life is terrible with no way out hard, I see people enduring genuine hardship everyday I walk in town – the people with no house, no job, no food, no hope. The hard that is a combination of frustration and the tiredness that comes with dealing with difference at every turn. The hard that means after trying for a while you think progress is finally being made but then suddenly everything you thought you knew was in fact incorrect and another obstacle has appeared. There is the constant urge to become blunt, loss your patience, criticise people, swear. But often your problems are from a misunderstanding. Or just the fact you are looking at a situation from either completely different directions to those you are interacting with the criteria, aims and process of the task determined by a view of the world built from contrasting histories with disparate social environments.
At BNKS, we are doing some really good work at the moment – creating a report writing system, designing a human resource framework, setting out a research and advocacy strategy – but this means bigger challenges, as these are bigger changes. The not just add ons to the organisation – such as a website, but actual behavioural and sustainable changes. It is similar to the challenge of adaptation, many of the solvable cosmetic challenges have been overcome, and it is only now the real test comes into view. So far I feel I have done ok, as well as the work at BNKS I have done some good work for the VSO main office which provided me with some good experience and increased understanding of the development industry. Whilst I cannot claim Bangladesh is an exotic crazy fun place, the learning here for my career feels massively useful. Overall, it’s like pulling teeth at times and is going to be a long slog, as any real change often is. If it works it will be worth the frustrations, if it doesn’t well I have 6 months to ensure something does happen, so lets see how my patience holds.

 All I wanna do is dance

I do crave a bit of my usual social activities – this is when the Dhaka vs. Bandarban question arrives. Whilst Dhaka is a real brut of a city which leaves you very few places to hide, the places is does offer are rather nice – coffee bars, embassy clubs, restaurants and most notably there are a larger number of foreign workers to relax and share a moan and a joke with. Whilst Bandarban has the peace, the beauty and the bonus of giving me the full immersion in Bangla life with the invaluable understanding that gives, it does lack options to fully ‘let go’ and relax with so few familiar experiences to be had, the experiences you need every now and then just to keep you sane (tracked down some cornflakes the other day and listening to the BBC World Service is as close as I’ve got). When you are somewhere so different with frustrations occurring, you need an understanding person to talk to and then joke with. Especially working within development. With so many hard issues – deaths of children due to preventable diseases, women forced to live in fear, peoples’ culture and heritage being lost – unless you have an outlet, a place to ‘let go’ of the issues they can end up just building up and taking over you.
The place I’ve found where I can get the most relaxation is Bangladesh’s answer to Butlins. Not that there are red coats and organised ‘family fun’ in Khagrachari, but the three VSOs there – Miriam, Morrish and Margarita plus Lusana a former VSO now at UNDP. Also, the wonderfully hospitable local indigenous staff members at their organisations all speak good English and enjoy a drink and dance, hence, you can relax, enjoy the differences here and interact with people on a more personal level. This provides me a great release from work and life tensions. Life here is more like the experience I had expected. Above and below are a few pictures from Miriam’s recent birthday party.
A strange occurrence is that as I have now started teaching English to staff members I have got to know more of them much better and will soon do the same to another local organisation Toymu. I hope this will provide me with more of a social scene, not like the one I’m used to, but like most things in Bangladesh, completely bizarre and, fingers crossed, beneficial.