RMMRU - my home for the last 20 months

I get emotional!


My boss Dr. Siddiqui gets emotional


Prozzal, Rashid and I with my gift from RMMRU


The RMMRU crew

Today is my last day in RMMRU - the Refugee and Migratory Movements Unit for those of you who still don't know! I arrived here in November 2005 not knowing what to expect of a country I know little about and an organisation I knew nothing about. My initial eight months as a research intern were both challenging and rewarding to say the least. I then decided to stay a further year in the capacity of research associate and project coordinator. My time here has been one of the most wonderful experiences of my life. I have worked with wonderful people and learned so much. There have been trying times and there have been good times, but RMMRU will stay in my heart for ever. As I head off to study for a another four years, I have come to the realisation that this little Dhaka University institution has given me the background and the drive to pursue my interests in migration.
On Thursday afternoon the office hosted a small farewell party for me which was lovely and incredibly emotional at the same time. I will miss everyone here so much, but will keep them with me always as I head off to 'conquer' the world.

A change

Having spent a lot of time in Dhaka with several vegetarians, and putting a lot of thought into the eating of meat, I have decided to make a life change. No I am not becoming vegetarian - or at least not in the true sense of the word; this is mainly due to the fact that I have a major weakness: BACON! Therefore, I have decided to invent a new dietary term which involved eliminating all meats except fish and BACON. I know I am not alone in this category, I know of one other person with my weakness, but I will let them step forward and admit it themselves. This new state in my diet with be know as bacotarism and I will be known as a bacotarian.
The picture is from the site: http://www.aboutorganics.co.uk/organic_food_drink/organic_meat.htm

A day of rain in the desh

I am in the process of preparing an entry on climate change and how it will affect Bangladesh; however, the rain which has consumed Dhaka for the last couple of days deserved a special mention! It started Thursday night with a fantastic thunder and lightening storm followed by a massive downpour. The rain continued on and off over the weekend, but nothing in anyone’s wildest imagination could prepare us for Sunday!
I woke up to rain which isn’t unusual as we are in the Monsoon Season; however, this was endless rain, and it rained and rained. My presence was required at a RMMRU workshop, which although it was located only 20 minutes rickshaw ride from my home, was made very difficult by the severe traffic and constant downpour. Needless to say, by the time I reached the Brac Inn I was ‘slightly’ wet. The initial speeches of the day were interesting and informative, but after tea I began to think of all the work I needed to be doing before my rapidly approaching departure. With what seemed to be a break in the rain, I set off from the workshop in search of a rickshaw. I found one after a 15 minute walk and jumped on thinking I had escaped the worse, little did I know…
As my rickshaw wallah and I made our way down the foot deep water logged back streets behind Gulshan Avenue, the skies once again opened and let it all out. The rain bucketed down upon the streets and within seconds my raincoat and umbrella were of little use. Cars passed by without slowing and with their passing raised waves of water over us. All around people were wadding knee deep in water, some trying to find escape or shelter from the fury of the water, some having resolved that being wet was the only option left to them. I reached my destination wet and cold, but I was there and for the rest of the day I at least had shelter and a dry form of transportation. The rain continued for the remainder of the day, and Dhaka woke up this morning to some incomparable pictures in the newspapers and on the news channels – people driving their cars down main roads with water up past the windows, children being carried on their parents backs through rivers of water, and general destruction left behind by the unforgiving and unrelenting water. People have begun the cleanup, but the threat of more rain lingers on the horizon and in the sky above, continuously taunting us.
The pictures are from: www.thedailystar.net

Where one choses to live

Although I am leaving the desh in 25 days, I have chosen to live here for nearly a year and eight months. I chose to come here, and it is a decision that I most certainly do not regret or ever have second thoughts about. This morning I came across a BBC article about a survey on which are the best cities in the world to live in, and my city of birth Vancouver it would seem is top of that list. The city where I have chosen to live is ranked third from the bottom of the 127 cities analysed in the survey. It just made me stop and think for a moment about why we chose to live where we do. I realise that the vast majority of the world's population do not have the luxury of choice as I, and many of my friends have, but it is an interesting question. Have a look at the article, and come to your own conclusions.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4306936.stm
The pictures are from: www.virtualbangladesh.com/bd_cities_dhaka_pictures.html

Cultural afternoon

The process begins as the wax is shaped under a hot light


A wax elephant


The clay moulds


Just out of the fire


Filed to perfection


A finished chess set


The grounds of the memorial are lush and clean


The memorial

On Friday the 1st of June, Chris, Melanie, David, Anna and I decided to take an afternoon trip out to Dhamrai. Located about 30km outside of Dhaka city, Dhamrai is a predominantly Hindu village which is home to the ancient art of brass statue making. We visited the workshop of a very nice man whose family has been trying to revive the art for the past 100 years. The task of making brass statues was originally purely for religious reasons; the task was to fill the temples with all the ornate and beautiful statues. Today, this still exists, but the workshops here also make the statues and other brass items for marketing purposes; although our host stressed that as each piece is unique and involves an immense amount of work, money is not their main objective.
We were given the grand tour of the workshop where we saw the whole process: this begins when they make the item out of bees wax, followed by a clay cover to form a hard mould around the item; then the item is filled with molten metal and placed in the kiln. Once it is fired the clay is broken and the metal item inside is filed and coloured according to need. A small statue takes about a month to make, but a larger item can take up to nine months. We finished a tour with a visit to the showroom where there was a beautiful chess set inside; I was tempted by so many beautiful things and had to keep reminding myself that I am leaving in 3 weeks.
On our way back to Dhaka we stopped at the National Martyrs' Memorial, which pays homage to the millions who died during the struggle for independence at the beginning of the 1970s. The area is a popular place with Bangladeshi tourists, and we had the usual crowd of starers surrounding us as we walked around.