A New and Different Dhaka

It’s been a while since I’ve written in my blog. The truth is, circumstances of our life here in Dhaka have changed drastically and because of it, I felt that I didn’t have anything to say, but it just turns out that I have something different to write about.

I’ve already posted some thoughts on Facebook about this, but I still felt the need to put this somewhere more permanent. To show the people who aren’t here how resilient we can be.

Bangladesh is a predominantly Muslim country, but unlike what most Americans have come to believe, not all Muslims are the same. You wouldn’t condemn all Baptists because The Westborough Baptist Church exists would you?

I’ve written about my Muslim friends before and I stand by everything I have said. Bangladesh has enjoyed relative peace in their religion being more moderate Muslims. They have stayed off the radar so to speak but recently things have changed. ISIL has reared its ugly head and made a stand; first against the presence of western non-believers within Bangladesh’s borders and then against other Muslims who do not share their violent beliefs.

On September 28^th an Italian was murdered in cold blood on the street walking home from the gym. A week later a Japanese man was killed several miles from Dhaka in the same manner. The choice of victims was apparently random. You know what the really bad thing about random killings is? Everyone is a target. ISIL claimed responsibility for the murders. If you are confused by the term ISIL vs. ISIS, don’t be. It’s all semantics and politics. They are one and the same.

ISIL upped their game a short time later when they bombed a Shiite Muslim celebration, killing a teenage boy and injuring at least 80 more people. Even other Muslims are not safe from ISIL’s attempt at domination, but I’m not here to argue politics. I’m here to tell you that terrorism has changed our lives.

For months I’ve been blissfully wandering the streets of Dhaka taking it all in. The colors, the noise, the crowds. I am energized by its chaos and while I know that Bangladesh has a lot of growing to do, I have come to love it. I reveled in hauling tubs of food through the slums to deliver to school children there. We explored the rivers and the countryside and I adopted this slightly broken country with an open heart.

Then with the pull of a trigger, life as we have known if ceased for embassy personnel and other expats around Dhaka. As surely as if each of us had been hit by those bullets, our freedom to explore our host country and lead normal lives died with the last breath of an Italian project manager named Cesare Tavella.

Embassies were forced to restrict the movements of those they are here to protect. Virtually every activity that I have loved has been taken away.

Embassy families are forced to stay indoors, rickshaws sit unused on the streets, the drivers losing money each day that expats are not allowed to roam the streets in anything but their vehicles.

There has been an evolution. The original restrictions were suffocatingly strict. In the beginning we were only allowed to travel to very limited locations and only by armored car. Eventually we could travel in our private vehicles but still only to limited locations. Restrictions have relaxed slightly as time has passed, but I am still banned from my beloved slum schools.

The reality exists.The face of terrorism is random and unruly. Everyone is a victim.

What matters now though, is the incredible strength that has been displayed by our community and that is what I cling to and revel in. In the face of sending children to school on buses with armed police, having others run our errands for us and asking local shop keepers to bring their wares to us, we have rallied to support each other. The ambassador and her staff have shown tremendous empathy while still having to make tough decisions in order to protect us.

The community liaison office has worked tirelessly to provide activities to bring us together and let us get outside of our own heads and our worries for a little while. We have developed a sense of community stronger than I have seen almost anywhere. 

I have seen our community rise above this as they open their homes to each other. The fun part is the creativity. Enticing stores to bring their goods with them, we have shopping parties. A local artist came and taught us paper mache art. We've had story time at the American Club. People are holding all kinds of interesting get togethers.

  Apartment buildings organized trick or treating within the building. People gather for game nights and movie nights. Anything to bring a sense of normality to our lives. Even the ambassador has joined in for many of the activities and her support has made a huge impact.

We don’t know what will happen next. We will continue to make life feel as normal as possible, but living under the constant threat of terrorism is not normal. We refer to where we are now as the “New Normal”.

My take away from all of this is that people are just cool. When faced with trials these people that I am proud to call friends have become their best selves and I am proud to be one of them.