UP | uncultured project

[This is my first cross-posting, I was invited by the News Director at NowPublic.com to write an article for them regarding my thoughts on the impact of Cyclone Sidr and my first hand experience. If you would like to read this article on their website, click here. Your feedback is greatly appreciated.]

The biggest impact of Cyclone Sidr may be that it has shaken up the local complacency towards the plight of the poor. Bangladesh, a small country in South Asia with large a population of over 150 million people, is no stranger to tragedy. In the past six months Bangladesh has faced devastating floods, violent riots, military-backed curfews, and now a devastating cyclone. At present count, the death toll is over 2,000 with countless others alive but in desperate need of assistance.

If such a natural disaster were to happen in America, there would be numerous stories of neighbors helping neighbors and of people (such as nurses, EMTs, and firefighters) packing up and traveling cross-country to lend their services for free. Not so in Bangladesh. While the international outpouring has been immense – and many local NGOs have mobilized to assist – many Bangladeshis are surprisingly nonchalant about the crisis at hand. Much of this has to do with the division between rich and poor. With an estimated 80% of the country surviving on less than $2 a day, Bangladesh is sharply divided between those struggling to survive and those living it up. Being rich, in Bangladesh typically means being insulated and detached from the tragedies that fall upon the country.

The rich tend to congregate in Dhaka City where they live in up-scale apartment complexes and homes. These are strategically built on higher ground, in gated communities, with their own backup generators and reserve water tanks. Most of the urban rich do not have to worry about driving, cooking, or cleaning as it is relatively inexpensive for them to hire chauffeurs, cooks, and maids. Having lived in this country for the past six months, I have observed that the typical routine for rich Bangladeshis is to stay sheltered at home during floods, riots, and curfews and then – when it is all over – resume daily activities as if nothing has happened.

“Poverty of most Bangladeshis is viewed as an important – but not urgent – issue by the Bangladeshi’s elites” explains Dr. Noami Hossain – an employee at the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC) and author of the book “Elite Perceptions of Poverty in Bangladesh”. The rich in Bangladesh “do not feel threatened by the extent of poverty, or by poor people” Hossain explains in one of her research papers, rather they feel that poverty threatens “the wealth or international stature of the nation”. [full disclosure: this was cited from a pre-existing piece of literature, not a new interview].

Cyclone Sidr’s impact, however, may change that. For the first time in a long time, a natural disaster was of such a magnitude that it not only affected the rural poor along the coastline – but also the urban rich nestled near the heart of the country. Many city dwellers, such as myself, were greeted by Cyclone Sidr with exploding transformers as the national power grid ground to a halt. The sight was both scary and felt like something out of a movie. Sidr’s winds were powerful enough to topple the homes of many of the poor but was also strong enough to violently shake the windows of many urban apartment dwellers.

The rich and poor of this country, who virtually live in different worlds, are now united in their need to recover. Even luxuries such as chauffeurs, cooks, and maids now serve as personal reminders of the loss this country has faced. As many of these employees are now asking for time off as they have either lost their home, lost their roof, or want time off to search for a lost loved one. Long lineups at the gas station also serve as a reminder of more important supply and demand problems – such as the distribution of food and blankets to the poor.

Whenever the wind knocks something down, there is always a desire to build something stronger in its place. Perhaps, Cyclone Sidr can forge a more unified Bangladesh – where people care for eachother just a little bit more than before.

Bangladesh is actually on the leading edge of alternative fuel sources. Unfortunately, this has also caused supply and demand problems after Cyclone Sidr.

Unlike America, Bangladesh has already taken drastic steps to reduce dependency on foreign fuel sources such as those in the Middle East. Many Bangladeshi motorists now use Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) instead. CNG comes from natural resources within the country and is piped, processed, and distributed to Bangladeshis 100% locally. Unfortunately, Cyclone Sidr has resulted in supply and demand problems. After talking to family members with CNG retro-fitted vehicles, it appears that lineups at CNG stations are in the magnitude of several hours. Lineups have always been long – but this is at least twice or thrice as long as before.

CNG retro-fitted vehicles are basically just regular cars with the engine modified to be hybrid fuel vehicle (a vehicle that can alternate between petroleum and CNG fuel sources). This is a common choice for Bangladeshis wishing to save money from the ever increasing price of petroleum. My grandmother, for example, who still uses a diesel-only car has been hard hit in recent months by the ever increasing price of petroleum. The hardest hit by this CNG supply problem will, as with all tragedies in Bangladesh, be the poor. By law, all “baby taxis” (little 2 or 3 seater scooters also called “motor rickshaws”) have to run on CNG in Dhaka City. If Baby Taxis cannot fuel up, than their drivers can’t earn a living.

It seems the impact of Sidr will be felt for long after its faded from memory.

It took over 24 hours after Dhaka City lost power for the cellphone network to fail. And, it took less than 6 hours to bring it back up again. Now that’s reliable. This isn’t the first time I’ve praised Bangladesh’s cellphone network. I’ve said its cheaper and better than Canada’s (Rogers Wireless sucks), I’ve been able to use it to watch TV streaming live from Canada, as well as to blog during a military curfew, and to upload all my videos and photos that are part of this project. But, during the Cyclone, it became an important lifeline for many people.

After my laptop battery died (and I could no longer type blog posts), I used my cellphone’s built in web browser to get text-only updates about the current situation. I was also able to keep myself somewhat busy by being able to check my mail and log into facebook. But, this was also an important means of letting loved ones from far away know that they are safe and sound. As Bangladesh From Our View points out, some used it to let their friends and famiy in the USA know they were safe.

The cellphone network only died once and that was around 2 or 3 am. This was after the area I was staying had no electricity for over 24 hours. The cell network was running on backup generators and reserve power. Eventually they must have run out of supplies and so the towers in my area went offline. But, overall, it’s been more reliable than everything else around here. I am currently without power for the third time today. But I haven’t missed a beat when it comes to my EDGE network-based internet connection.

I really should be paid for such glowing endorsements.

The difference between Dhaka today and the same time yesterday is like the difference between night and day. The sun has come out – no more gloomy storm clouds casting their shadows over the city. But more importantly than that – the city is noisy again. Hammers banging away at nearby construction sites, street vendors yelling about the sales they are having, and the rings of rickshaws as they pedal by. The city is alive again.

I was awake at midnight last evening and what struck me was the utter dark and silence. I had only experienced this kind of dark and silence once before – when I was in the rural village of Modhipur. But in Modhipur, there wasn’t a soul nearby. But, last night in Dhaka, surrounded by tightly packed apartments with thousands of people – I couldn’t hear a peep and couldn’t see my hand in front of my face.

With things so bad now – I desperately want to make a difference. I brought certain items with me as part of this project – like water purification straws called “LifeStraws” donated to me by the manufacturer Vestergaard Frandsen. I also have insecticide treated sheeting that can be used for housing called “ZeroFly” donated by the same company. I also have recently purchased 70 blankets to give away. I don’t want to just give them away by the roadside – for they then maybe taken and merely resold (as I have been warned by many people).

I’ve been working desperately trying to partner with a reputable and trustworthy NGO or charity to help me distribute these items. NGOs and charities, having established a long-term presence here, are better able to assess genuine need and would best be able to help me direct my efforts. Unfortunately, to my surprise, many NGOs don’t want publicity. After about a month’s worth of negotiation, I had managed to secure assistance from a very big and prestigious NGO to distribute the LifeStraws. They would help me distribute them to a needy group of people in rural Bangladesh. I was even given permission to film the whole thing. But, apparently, they did not realize that I was filming it as part of a video blog. When they understood the purpose of the filming – the entire distribution got scrapped. A month of discussions, giving items for testing, and preparation all down the drain.

I’m left back at square one at a time when I should be on the ground making a difference.

I hadn’t made a separate post about this earlier because Cyclone Sidr kind of took precedence over everything else, but Episode Three of The Uncultured Project is now online at YouTube. In Episode Three, I talk about a kid whose just 15 years old but is in business for himself. He goes around collecting water bottles and gives people vegetables in exchange for them. He then recycles these bottles and makes a profit. The profit isn’t much though – it’s about $2 a day on a good day.

As amazing as this story is, I kind of felt sad because I know $2 a day isn’t enough to pull one out of extreme poverty. It’s very easy to fall back into extreme poverty if a catastrophe struck which would make it hard to work or add additional expenses. It looks like I spoke with an unfortunate bit of prescience – as Cyclone Sidr hit Bangladesh days after the filming of this episode was complete.

If you haven’t already, please consider checking out Episodes One and Two. If you like what you see please consider rating the videos, commenting, or subscribing to The Uncultured Project YouTube Channel.

I kid you not – people are cheering on the streets and in their homes nearby. The reason? The electricity has come back to my little part of Dhaka City. Power has been coming and going spoardically throughout the city today. I was in a part of a city called Mohakhali DOHS earlier today where the power came back for about an hour in the afternoon. Although, the place where I live didn’t have power restored at all until just now. I hope it lasts.

What surprises me is the determined nature for Bangladeshis – at least those in Dhaka City – for things to go back to normal. If this had happened in America – this would be declared a national emergency. TV shows would be pre-empted and this would be covered 24/7. But, for the brief hour I had electricity today, it seems that even local TV stations didn’t bother to pre-empt their programming to cover the damage from the storms. Anyone lucky to have electricity today didn’t have to worry about missing their “Natooks” (local versions of soap operas).

The same can be said for my relatives. One of my aunts lives in Mohakhali DOHS. When I was visiting her today, I noticed that my socks were getting wet from the living room carpet. When I asked why, she casually explained that the entire ground floor of her house had flooded because of the rain water. She had spent the entire morning cleaning it up and had forgotten to dry the carpets. She said it all nonchalantly – as if this was nothing more than having to wipe up some spilled milk.

Bangladesh just had a storm that killed at least 240 people (at current count). Why is everyone trying to get back things to normal so quickly and not mourn the tragedy that has come to this country? I’m still not sure if this attitude is callous or a way of coping.

Aaaand the power just went out again while typing this blog post. Well, guess things aren’t going back to normal just yet.

The sound of generators now fills the streets of Dhaka – power hasn’t come back since last night. I was kind of hoping that this would be like other blackouts I’ve experienced – where some regions would have power and others not. But, after talking to relatives in Shantinagar, Mohakhali DOHS, Gulshan/Baridhara – it seems like this is a city-wide blackout. That’s a first during my stay here in Bangladesh.

The BBC is reporting that at least fifty people are reported dead in the coastal regions of Bangladesh. Unfortunately, not many people in Bangladesh will have access to news – no electricity, means no TV. The cell phones and celluar internet connections still work though which is how I’m able to post this blog.

I plan on going out later today and hopefully will have some photos that I can share. Apparently, after talking to a relative in another part of town, exploding transformers like that one I saw yesterday was not an uncommon occurrence last night.