last day in dhaka and last blog entry

so, i woke up today after a really nice night out

i took the friends i had made over here all out for dinner at this authentic chinese restaurant called 'Cathay' which is on rd 133, gul-1.


mike, the canadian/chinese VSO worker ordered for us all. none of us minded this cause hey, he knows what the food is all we know are the descriptions. it was a nice collection of friends i had made. two of the were english VSO workers, of whom was is a guy called tom who actually lives in the same town i am going to be working in. and then i also had the bangali friends who i had made. in all there were nine of us. and like typical bangalis, we were all late for the 8.30 booking. but that doesnt matter, what matters is that it happened and now when look back on this amazing 12 weeks i feel nothing but a fist of despondency against my cheek.

3months ago, i hardly knew how to speak bangla, i didnt know anything about dhaka, and to be honest, i had no friends either. but i didnt allow this to get me upset, i am here because i am a bangali and i want to be involved in the creation of a better bangladesh.

for the past 4 weeks, since india, i had been working at square hospitals in west panthapath. i chose to work in a private hospital because i wanted to get back into swing of things in terms of hospital medicine. i agree i would have seen much more in dhaka medical, but the reality is, i wanted my last 4 weeks to be relaxed and jungle fever that is dhaka medical, doesnt really appeal to me.

my tutor is a doctor who used to work in london. in fact it was his old boss that put me in contact with him and then via a few exchanges of emails, i was at Square. square, is the most modern hospital in bangladesh. its posh, clean and most of the staff have worked abroad so they deploy a foreign work ethic, something to which i am much more familiar about and comfortable in.

square was a good experience, i saw patients with signs and met lots of nice doctors and on wednesday, i did a short presentation for them about what i have learnt which everyone said was really good, but i think it might be because i put loadsa photos into it. lol

today i am off to the aparajeyo safehouse to see the kids again for the last time in goodness how long. i dont know how i am going to react, i have a sneaky suspicion that i am going to be in tears, there is about 300 kids with so much potential and talent, but sadly, bangladesh can not accomadate them in its society and so its left for Aparajeyo to do the best they can. i am going to be going with a friend of mine who is a barrister. she specialises in human rights and she has an interest in these children as well. this is the 1st time she is going to see this part of society, i am just curious as to how she is going to react. but i guess i will know in a few hours time.

the weather in dhaka is getting warmer, the frequency of storms is more common and the fruit ripening season is looming. all these ingredients mean monsoon is on the horizon. im sad im not here for that but in a way i am glad i am. i dont like getting caught up in the storm, and since i public transport everywhere, getting wet is a consequence of it.

however, i must admit i have grown an affinity for dhaka. i know my region of bangladesh is sylhet, but like london, i really like dhaka. i am a stokie who loves london and i am also a syhletty who loves dhaka. i really hope that my plan to come back here someday as a this great doctor will be a reality. i want to invest so much into this city and country and to help right many of the wrongs that exist. this is a lengthy process, and i shall be on the ladder a junior doctor from august.

i will try to visit bangladesh every year, and i will make sure i stay in dhaka a few days at a time aswell. the only sad thing i have not done is go to the village and see my relatives. selfish i know, but i honestly didnt want to see them. i feel as though my independance would have been compromised as i know many of them would have reacted to me as somebody who has no idea about bangladesh, but to be honest i have surprised myself as to how easy i have fitted into this city. crazy shit eh?

my flights tomorrow morning, need to check in for 8am. i will be back in london and back in halls for around 11pm uk time. i get a suspicion that UK is going to be so mundane, and that all the problems people have are just so petty. bangladesh has really put things into such a good perspective for myself and i shall not see things in the same context as i used to before.

as a parting wish for bangladesh, i wish for more british bengalis, like myself, not necessarily doctors will come to bangladesh to get more than a snapshot about the reality here. the country needs the university graduates like myself to help in making the place better. for those who dont know, the country has no official government, and sadly, corruption is so popular, you can not live without it. thats why this country needs us foreign bangladeshis who have grown in systems where corruption literally doesnt exist. i dont want to sound naive and pretend that living in the UK that all is flowers and green grass, but at least, social class, and corruption are issues that are not holding back the people.

so my point is, if you are a british bangali, come to bangladesh for a few months or even a gap year and see what the country your parents left is really like and use the gift what god gave to you to share with those who need it.

shuwaib