Life is a fragile thing... In a world which engourages us to be rough, tough and independantly awesome, it's hard to remember that we are slaves to the bodies in which we live and prone to weakness (surely not!). On the streets of Dhaka, it is just as likely that you will see someone who has aquired a weakness of some sort. For some, this comes in the form of a disability, malnourishment, sometimes even the result of an angry husband (I've seen enough acid burn victims to last me a lifetime). More and more often, though, I'm finding that I encounter people who are weak from having their spirit broken. I'm not sure just what it takes to break a person's spirit, whether it is continued extreme poverty, disease...
One thing that I haven't managed to overcome living in the Third World is being amongst broken children and being able to do very little for them. It seems that the spirit of a child is harder to break. They often have a great joy, even though living in poverty, possibly haven't eaten for 18 hours and slept in a heap off the side of the road... But every now and then, you'll see a child who's just given up.
The children aren't on the streets at the moment. No no no no no, Bangladesh wouldn't like to display such povery and its lack of equality while there's such an important thing like the Cricket World Cup going on... Just wait and see, as soon at the merriment is over, the street kids, beggars and unsupported essance of Bangladesh will resume their places, hoping that one day, their lot in life will change. In the meantime, while I can't say I don't enjoy seeing the streets a little less congested, I hope those who have been temporarily ousted will manage somehow til their return.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Holiday time?!
Type 'Holiday in Bangladesh' into Google image search and this is what you'll see:
Luckily for me, my holidays in this Great Land have not been thus... yet. Having planned a lovely time away at a Guesthouse in March, I was already beginning to feel the ore-rest that comes from knwoing you will end up sleeping outside of Dhaka for more than one night. Imagine my sadness this morning at discovering that the guesthouse was already completely booked for that time (I KNEW I shouldn't have told people it existed!). This assumed problem, however, provides a number of wonderful opportunities to explore new parts of the country untouched by the wonder that is KIM!
Options at this stage are Srimongol and Syhlet. Both are considerably north of Dhaka(despite how close they may look on a map) and require a long-distance bus or train journey. Srimongol is a tea resort and looks amazing!! Fingers crossed!!!
Luckily for me, my holidays in this Great Land have not been thus... yet. Having planned a lovely time away at a Guesthouse in March, I was already beginning to feel the ore-rest that comes from knwoing you will end up sleeping outside of Dhaka for more than one night. Imagine my sadness this morning at discovering that the guesthouse was already completely booked for that time (I KNEW I shouldn't have told people it existed!). This assumed problem, however, provides a number of wonderful opportunities to explore new parts of the country untouched by the wonder that is KIM!
Options at this stage are Srimongol and Syhlet. Both are considerably north of Dhaka(despite how close they may look on a map) and require a long-distance bus or train journey. Srimongol is a tea resort and looks amazing!! Fingers crossed!!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Saturday, February 19, 2011
The life of a street urchin...
Life is a fragile thing... In a world which engourages us to be rough, tough and independantly awesome, it's hard to remember that we are slaves to the bodies in which we live and prone to weakness (surely not!). On the streets of Dhaka, it is just as likely that you will see someone who has aquired a weakness of some sort. For some, this comes in the form of a disability, malnourishment, sometimes even the result of an angry husband (I've seen enough acid burn victims to last me a lifetime). More and more often, though, I'm finding that I encounter people who are weak from having their spirit broken. I'm not sure just what it takes to break a person's spirit, whether it is continued extreme poverty, disease...
One thing that I haven't managed to overcome living in the Third World is being amongst broken children and being able to do very little for them. It seems that the spirit of a child is harder to break. They often have a great joy, even though living in poverty, possibly haven't eaten for 18 hours and slept in a heap off the side of the road... But every now and then, you'll see a child who's just given up.
The children aren't on the streets at the moment. No no no no no, Bangladesh wouldn't like to display such povery and its lack of equality while there's such an important thing like the Cricket World Cup going on... Just wait and see, as soon at the merriment is over, the street kids, beggars and unsupported essance of Bangladesh will resume their places, hoping that one day, their lot in life will change. In the meantime, while I can't say I don't enjoy seeing the streets a little less congested, I hope those who have been temporarily ousted will manage somehow til their return.
One thing that I haven't managed to overcome living in the Third World is being amongst broken children and being able to do very little for them. It seems that the spirit of a child is harder to break. They often have a great joy, even though living in poverty, possibly haven't eaten for 18 hours and slept in a heap off the side of the road... But every now and then, you'll see a child who's just given up.
The children aren't on the streets at the moment. No no no no no, Bangladesh wouldn't like to display such povery and its lack of equality while there's such an important thing like the Cricket World Cup going on... Just wait and see, as soon at the merriment is over, the street kids, beggars and unsupported essance of Bangladesh will resume their places, hoping that one day, their lot in life will change. In the meantime, while I can't say I don't enjoy seeing the streets a little less congested, I hope those who have been temporarily ousted will manage somehow til their return.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Holiday time?!
Type 'Holiday in Bangladesh' into Google image search and this is what you'll see:
Luckily for me, my holidays in this Great Land have not been thus... yet. Having planned a lovely time away at a Guesthouse in March, I was already beginning to feel the ore-rest that comes from knwoing you will end up sleeping outside of Dhaka for more than one night. Imagine my sadness this morning at discovering that the guesthouse was already completely booked for that time (I KNEW I shouldn't have told people it existed!). This assumed problem, however, provides a number of wonderful opportunities to explore new parts of the country untouched by the wonder that is KIM!
Options at this stage are Srimongol and Syhlet. Both are considerably north of Dhaka(despite how close they may look on a map) and require a long-distance bus or train journey. Srimongol is a tea resort and looks amazing!! Fingers crossed!!!
Luckily for me, my holidays in this Great Land have not been thus... yet. Having planned a lovely time away at a Guesthouse in March, I was already beginning to feel the ore-rest that comes from knwoing you will end up sleeping outside of Dhaka for more than one night. Imagine my sadness this morning at discovering that the guesthouse was already completely booked for that time (I KNEW I shouldn't have told people it existed!). This assumed problem, however, provides a number of wonderful opportunities to explore new parts of the country untouched by the wonder that is KIM!
Options at this stage are Srimongol and Syhlet. Both are considerably north of Dhaka(despite how close they may look on a map) and require a long-distance bus or train journey. Srimongol is a tea resort and looks amazing!! Fingers crossed!!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)