The current political situation in Bangladesh is very tense. A general election has been scheduled to take place in January. Prior to the general election, a neutral caretaker government takes the place of the political party in power. This practice has been established in order to ensure free and fair elections. Under Bangladesh's unique system, when an administration comes to the end of its term it hands over to an unelected interim government which has 90 days to organise elections. The opposition has been demanding a say in choosing the "chief adviser", as the interim prime minister is known.

The 4 party coalition that is currently in power is lead by Chairperson and Prime Minister Khaleda Zia the BNP (Bangladesh Nationalist Party). The main opposition party is a coalition of 14 loosely affiliated parties, which is lead by the Awami League (AL) President Sheikh Hasina. Bangladeshi politics is especially bitter because of the personal rivalry between Sheikh Hasina of the Awami League and Mrs Zia. They have led the country in alternate terms since 1991 but have not spoken for years. Parliament has been boycotted regularly by whichever party is in opposition, and a culture of street demonstrations has developed.

The current tension and violence is a result of the BNP and AL not being able to agree upon who will be the lead the caretaker government. Former Chief Justice KM Hasan was the name put forward by the ruling BNP party, however the AL feels that Hasan is partisan, and that a caretaker government under Hasan's control would not be neutral. The AL and BNP have had the past 2 years (of a 5 year term in office) to resolve this issue. There has been increasing pressure on the political parties to reach a peaceful solution, as well as pressure on Hasan from the AL to step aside to avoid potential conflict.

The transfer of power from the BNP was to take place yesterday, however yesterday morning's paper claimed Hasan wasn't available at the last moment due to illness. The headline of the paper this morning reads, "KM Hasan steps aside for the 'sake of the people'". Perhaps it was wise for him to step aside to prevent further conflict between the BNP and AL, and/or to save face before being asked to step aside. However, I have to question his timing. If he was truly concerned about the democratic process and the Bangladeshi people, then why didn't he step aside a long time ago? If he had removed his name for consideration, then the past 2 years could have been spent searching for a mutually agreed upon leader rather than each party obstinately sticking to their current position.

Yesterday political acitivists vandalized offices and residences of rivals. There was violence in the city and the countryside that resulted in at least 18 people killed and 2,000 wounded as activists of the outgoing BNP coalition government and the Awami League-led 14 party opposition clashed just hours after the curtain fell on the BNP coalition government. Since there is no agreed upon leader for the caretaker government, Bangladesh finds itself in a very unique and awkward position.

The position of President of Bangladesh is primarily a figurehead position, that is, (s)he does not wield much day-to-day power. However, in this situation the President has called for the AL and BNP to quickly come to a resolution as to who will lead the caretaker government.

Breaking News:
It has just been announced on the BBC that the Bangladeshi President Iajuddin Ahmed has said he will become caretaker prime minister after the main political parties failed to agree a candidate. The announcement came after Mr Ahmed held separate talks with party leaders. The decision for the President to take the job himself without opposition approval is the last constitutional option available, and could trigger more protests.

It has been very sad to watch these events unfold. The entire country was buoyed by the exciting news that Dr. Yunus had won the Nobel Peace Prize. There were jubilant headlines in the papers pronouncing wonderful things ahead for Bangladesh. Those headlines have now been replaced by news of death, injuries and corruption. In a country that has been rocked by natural disaster, do we really need to add to already existing hardships?

Today all Muslims in the country celebrated their biggest religious festival of the year, Eid-ul-Fitr. The sighting of the new moon last night heralded the end of the month-long fasting observed by devoted Muslims during the month of Ramadan. During the month of Ramadan Muslims are permitted to eat before the sun rises, and again after the sun sets. This practice must be extremely difficult to adhere to for those many people who work at physically demanding jobs. The evening meal that breaks the fast during Ramadan is called 'Iftar'. The manager of our apartment building organized an Iftar party one evening on the roof of the building. It was a wonderful opportunity to socialize with our neighbours. Here is a photo taken from that party:

Eid is a very festive time when Muslims offer prayers seeking divine blessings and eternal peace, progress and prosperity for all people. There is a large influx of beggars during this celebratory time. The majority of the beggars are day labourers who do not have enough consistent work to survive the entire year on their meagre wages. These people come into Dhaka from the surrounding countryside to take advantage of the generosity that is associated with this festive time.

The feast of Eid-ul-Fitr is seen as a celebration and reward for abstention during Ramadan, when devotees observe daylong fasting. Families traditionally gather to offer meals, as well as to give treats and gifts for children. They also pay visits to relatives and friends, and thousands of people leave Dhaka to go to their home villages on every means of transportation available. This has resulted in the streets of Dhaka feeling relatively quiet, and it has been a lovely time to go out for a walk with Clara and Mark.

Clara is doing very well. She has started to roll over from her back to her stomach, although, she isn't sure what to do when she gets there!




She gives us lots of smiles, and has just started to put her feet into her mouth. We had a bit of a struggle with naps this past week, i.e. she wasn't napping, but that is starting to get better now. She is still sleeping well during the night, so we all feel refreshed and ready to play the next day!




She has started to play with objects. One of her favourites right now is a soft book that has different textures, as well a page that makes a *crinkle* sound when touched.



We hope that all is well with everyone, and we look forward to your continued email!
Love,
Brenda, Mark & Clara

It has been a very exciting time to be in Bangladesh! Dr. Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank were awarded the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize, "for their efforts to create economic and social development from below"http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2006/ The wonderful news about Mr. Yunus and the Grameen Bank winning the Nobel Peace prize has been a source of much joy and pride for all Bangladeshis. The newspaper has been filled with advertisements congratulating Dr. Yunus on his achievement. There is a palpable sense of pride as Bangladeshis are recognized for something other than flooding, corruption, cyclones and poverty.

Upon hearing that Mr. Yunus and the Grameen Bank had won the Nobel Peace Prize, I was interested to find out some of the specifics of this banking system.

The Grameen Bank is a specific form of Microcredit. Microcredit is the extension of small loans to enterpreneurs too poor to qualify for traditional bank loans. The Grameen Bank was started over 30 years ago to provide small loans - micro-credit - for the poor. The primary tenents of Grameen Credit are the following:

a) It promotes credit as a human right.
b)Its mission is to help the poor families to help themselves to overcome poverty. It is targeted to the poor, particularly poor women.
c)Most distinctive feature of Grameencredit is that it is not based on any collateral, or legally enforceable contracts. It is based on "trust", not on legal procedures and system.
d)It is offered for creating self-employment for income-generating activities and housing for the poor, as opposed to consumption.

Grameencredit is based on the premise that the poor have skills which remain unutilised or under-utilised. It is definitely not the lack of skills which make poor people poor. Grameen believes that the poverty is not created by the poor, it is created by the institutions and policies which surround them. In order to eliminate poverty all we need to do is to make appropriate changes in the institutions and policies, and/or create new ones. Grameen believes that charity is not an answer to poverty. It only helps poverty to continue. It creates dependency and takes away individual's initiative to break through the wall of poverty. Unleashing of energy and creativity in each human being is the answer to poverty. (http://www.grameen-info.org/mcredit/)

What I found interesting was the connection that Dr. Yunus (and the Nobel Prize committee) made between peace and economics. The following is an excerpt from "The Daily Star", which is the primary English speaking newspaper in Bangladesh.

Asked if the prize is appropriate for peace, Dr Yunus said, "I was not astonished to get the Nobel prize in peace because economics and peace are interrelated--economics influences people's life.
"Hunger is one of the main reasons of anarchy. If poverty can be reduced from the society, peace will prevail on earth," he added.

I have been very fortunate thus far, but yesterday it struck -- the culture shock. I have had my good days, and my not so good days, but yesterday was a bad day.

Clara and I headed out of the house with the simple task of finding some film for our camera. I had mapped out my route, and knew what the store looked like because Mark and I had been there previously. Clara is a wonderful traveler, and promptly fell asleep once we got out into the heat. The walk the shopping area is about 20 minutes, and I had already experienced the gawking and heat during other walks/errands.

The walk started out in a fairly typical manner. The streets are full of rickshaws and cars, each of them tinkling their bells or honking their horn when they pass (on either side of the street), just to let me know that they are there. Thanks.

Then there are the stares. They range from "hmmm, she looks a bit different", to having an entire family stand up and turn around in their rickshaw to gawk as they passed by. Most of the time people will stare, and then try to catch a glance of the pale baby as we walk by. It's OK if you know what to expect, and it isn't done in a threatening manner...all the same, it can get a little tiresome.

One of the other facts of life that you need to get used to very quickly when living here, is that you will be beckoned (madam/boss) for money (backsheesh) by beggars when walking down the street. It is an extremely uncomfortable, awkward, sad and frustrating situation to be put in. I haven't been here very long but have already been witness to a wide array of physical deformities, varying degrees of mental handicaps, as well as starving mothers holding their equally malnourished infants. Each time I walk by I feel staggering guilt and sadness. Sure, I can justify why I'm not giving them money, but it is only by the grace of God (and some pure, dumb luck) that I ended up being born into a loving, secure family in Canada.

Anyway...so I'm walking down the busy, noisy street in intense heat (about 33 degrees, plus humidity). Occasionally, I will pass by an area where the stench of sewage and/or rotting garbage is particularly bad. On top this, there are irregular 'sidewalks' to wrestle with while pushing Clara.

We live in a relatively quiet part of the city, and as I approached the shopping centre there was an increasing number of rickshaws, cars and people to negotiate. Dhaka is an intense place. After crossing a street and weaving my way through a crowd of rickshaws, I popped the front wheels of the stroller onto the sidewalk. Unfortunately, the sidewalk was very battered, and my front wheels happened to get momentarily stuck in one of the cracks. That was just enough time for a group of beggars to gather around the hapless western woman. So there I was, wrestling with the stroller in the heat, surrounded by stench, and a growing crowd of humanity who were thrusting various deformities and emaciated children in my face. I finally got myself unstuck, and proceeded as quickly as possible to where I thought the camera shop was located. I walked past where I thought the shop would be, but didn't see it. Still determined, I resolutely turned around and retraced my steps to see if I could find it. I still didn't see it. Rather than keep walking up and down the same block, I decided to cut my losses and head home.

The ultimate defeat of the morning came when I got the stroller stuck in the same place, in front of the same group of curious on-lookers.

Argh.

Once I was back on a more quiet street the tears started. It's a good thing that I always wear sunglasses, because otherwise everyone who stared would have seen a CRYING Western woman. I felt frustrated, humiliated and angry with the situation. My most coherent thought was, "What are we doing here?".

Rather than go back home to our apartment, I took a short detour to the International Club (IC). The IC is open to expatriates, and is a wonderful enclave. I ordered a Diet Coke and flipped through The Economist. Yes, there no other quicker, more effective way to feel like an expat than to sit under whirling fans, and sip a diet coke. I felt much more stable when I exited the IC than when I had entered.

So I had a tough morning, but everything seemed much more manageable once we arrived safely back at home. I WILL be searching for some film again soon! ;-)

Today has been much better. We had our drapes and upholstery delivered and installed last night. Now our lovely apartment seems much more permanent and 'homey'. Clara and I went out again this morning...this time we went to a toddler music group. We sat around with rattles, tambourines, castanets, drums and music books and sang children's songs. Tomorrow we will go to a gathering of women with babies, and on Thursday I'm going to lunch with 3 other youngish, first-time moms.

I think that the key to being happy in Dhaka is to have an excellent husband who will listen and empathize, to have a beautiful baby daughter, to develop a social network, and to moderate the inevitable ebb and flow of emotions.

We are all healthy and coping well as a family. Clara is discovering her feet, as well as the fact that she can hold things in her hands...and everything that gets into her hands makes its way to her mouth! ;-)

I will be posting more photos very soon.

Before signing off, I would like to post some heart-felt congratulations on behalf of Mark, Clara and I. Congratulations to James and Diana on your recent engagement - we are looking forward to celebrating you marriage with you in February. Congratulations to Andrea on your promotion - I guess this means more perks at the Fairmont! Congratulations to Stephen and Natalie on your recent engagement AND to Stephen for successfully defending your thesis and completing your Masters.

I hope that this finds everyone well. Take care, much love from Brenda, Mark and Clara

Bangladesh quick facts

Welcome back! The Muslim Bangladeshi greeting is Assallamu alaikum (Peace be upon you). The response is Waalaikum assalaam (And peace be upon you). I have recently started to review some of the information that was given to us during our Intercultural Training course that was presented by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) while we were still living in Vancouver. I would like to share some background information about Bangladesh to provide some context .....


Land and Climate:
Bangladesh is approximately 144,000 square kilometers (about the size of Wisconsin);
The mostly fertile delta is broken up by hills in the east;
Rivers and channels run throughout the country; the three largest rivers are the Padda (Ganges), Jamuna and Meghna;
Winter (October-March) is cool and mild, summer (March-June) is hot and humid.
The monsoon season (June-October) brings most of Bangladesh's yearly rain;
Floods, tidal waves and cyclones are common;
Many areas are rich in resources such as natural gas & timber.

Population:
In 2005 Bangladesh's population was 138.4 million, and is growing at an annual rate of 2.06%;
Bangladesh is one of the world's most densely populated countries;
Approximately 20 percent of its residents live in cities;
Most Bangladeshis live in thousands of small villages;
Bangladeshis consider themselves a homogeneous people;
They have an Indo-European heritage, with some Arab, Persian and Turkic influence.

Religion:
Bangladesh has one of the largest Muslim populations in the world;
Approximately 83 % of the people are Muslim;
The average Bangladeshi is very religious, and most are Sunni Muslim;
Muslims pray five times daily, the midday Ju'mma service on Friday is the most important prayer time;
Muslims accept the Qur'an (Koran) as scripture revealed to the prophet Muhammad by Allah (God) through the angel Gabriel.

General Attitude:
A calm and serious face is considered a sign of maturity;
While Bangladeshis might not smile in public, they are not being unfriendly;
Bangladeshis value the group more than the individual;
Family needs come first;
Being connected to someone in power is highly valued;
Class is still an important factor in the choice of a marriage partner;
Fatalism play an important role in people's lives.
(www.culturegrams.com)

We were honoured to have Steve & Rosemary organize a 'going-away' party for us. It was a wonderful opportunity to say hello and goodbye to a terrific group of friends. Our preparation for life in Dhaka has been quite a long process, and it all suddenly seemed much more real. Vancouver was our home, and it was difficult to leave the beauty of BC, our family and friends.

On September 7th we started our journey to Dhaka as a family. Mark and I were anxious about how Clara would travel, in particular, how she would deal with the ascents and descents. We were delighted to find that she was so calm during the entire trip. We arranged to have a bulk-head seat so that we could set up a bassinette for Clara. Here is a picture of Clara in her bassinette somewhere over the Atlantic.






I'm sure that she was the least jet-lagged of all of us! At the end of the journey we were all ready for a good sleep.









After almost 24 hours spent on planes (and almost 48 hours in transit), we arrived in Dhaka late on the evening of September 9th. We were pleased to note that all of our luggage arrived in one piece, and on the same plane as we did. Our driver was waiting to pick us up, and he ferried us to our temporary apartment. Mark's company, the Ontario Centre for Environmental Technology Advancement (OCETA), had rented this apartment to provide accomodation for expatriate employees and contractors working in Bangladesh. We spent one week in the OCETA apartment prior to moving to our new apartment. The first week was spent catching up on sleep and getting the details of our new accommodations worked out.

We were fortunate to be able to use much of the furniture from the OCETA apartment for our new home. The two apartments were quite close, but still required moving quite a bit of heavy furniture. Mark arranged for some local transportation as well as some help (ten people in total showed up!) for the move. Here is a photograph of the truck and furniture....see if you can spot Clara and I!





We are very glad to be in our permanent home, and are in the process of getting our household set up. We bought some cane living room furniture, which we are getting upholstered, and getting some drapes made. The apartment itself is lovely. We are on the top storey of a brand new 5 storey building. There are no footsteps overhead, and we are above the treeline so we get lots of natural light. It certainly is quite a change from our basement suite! The apartment has 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, a separate drawing room and small living room off of our dining area. There are also 2 balconies. It feels really good to be making our home in such a lovely apartment, and I will be posting some photos once we have everything in place.

We have been having lots of fun with Clara. She is sleeping extremely well in the evenings (going to bed around 7:00pm, and getting up at 7:00am with one feeding in between), and she has discovered her hands. She sucks on her hands quite a bit now, and when co-ordinated enough she will manage to suck her thumb. I have tried a soother, but she only seems interested in the 'real thing'. She has outgrown her 0-3month outfits in the length...oh well, we know she comes by that honestly! ;-) She is quite a happy child, and its a joy to watch her develop her personality. She is also starting to hold up her head quite well, and I managed to get a snapshot of it the other day: