Bangladesh is a bit of a funny place. Firstly there are almost
no foreign tourists which is both a good and a bad thing. It is good as it means
that the locals are hospitable and inquisitive. This can become a little
overwhelming, when walking through the main bazaar in Dhaka (the capital) it
came to a standstill as the locals were so intrigued by myself and my friend
'Bones', the same thing happened in the ship breaking yards in Chittagong, where
work stopped. The people were all generous to a fault except for a couple of
tradesmen and beggars and it has to rate as probably the strangest place I have
visited.
There are few historical sites in this country, but one of
them is this old mosque in the south-west. As you can see from the picture the
boys were eager to be photographed. In some countries it is difficult to take
pictures of people without upsetting them, in Bangladesh one has to be quick to
take a picture without people posing in it.
All forms of transport are used in Bangladesh, colourful
rickshaws (photo 1), oxen (photo 2), cars, buses and aeroplanes, but the most
common is the boat. These come in all shapes and sizes and are almost always
precariously overloaded (photos 3 & 4) navigating the delta that covers most
of the country.
When I was there it was just before a general election and where
I was staying in Dhaka was just around the corner from where many of the
political speeches are made. As a result this is where riots regularly break
out. Between riots I took the opportunity to try and get to know the riot police
who all seemed very pleasant.
In Chittagong, the second city, which is in the south-east of
the country there is a ship breaking yard that breaks up supertankers, container
ships and cruise liners down to reusable stock. The only places this is done is
in Bhandavgarh - India, Karachi - Pakistan and in Chittagong. These gargantuan
boats are torn apart for everything possible (photos 1-4), from toilet seats and
foreign video cassettes to the steel they are built from. Much of this stuff is
then sold at the side of the road leading away from the area. The most amazing
thing is the lack of modern machinery used, the ships are stripped of everything
loose whilst still afloat, then intentionally run aground. Then the
workers cut the hulk to pieces using manpower and oxy-acetylene torches and a
thick steel cable is attached to the hulk which is dragged closer to the beach
by a massive winch. Many environmental and human rights groups have protested
these practices as the workers slave away in appalling conditions many
pollutants, particularly oil are washed into the local water. The saddest thing
I saw was a couple of children fishing in an oil slick, even if they did catch
anything it would most likely do more harm than good (photo 5). Not far from Chittagong on the eastern edge of the country
around the Rangamati area is a different ethnic group. These people are more
mongoloid in appearance as opposed to the Dravido-Arians predominant in the rest
of the country. They are also Buddhist as opposed to Muslim (photos 2 &3).
When I arrived in the area I was fortunate enough to witness a colourful Puja
ceremony, where flowers and fruit were given as offerings (photo 1).
|
