6 month syndrome?
on Banlgadeshi Times (Bangladesh), 13/Aug/2010 09:18, 34 days ago
It’s been over a month since I’ve written anything for this blog and it would seem that’s the way things are going to continue probably up until my last month here.During the first few months I was really energised by writing, by the idea that I could bring my views of what’s happening in this country to whoever might take the time to read it. The aim of course was to raise a little awareness about the challenges facing developing countries in general but obviously Bangladesh in particular and of course to help me get my head around the situation in which I found myself. But, as my freshness has faded somewhat so too has my enthusiasm to write about things which are now part of my every day life. The mosquitoes and cockroaches, the weather, the people, the poverty and the human rights abuses are all now pretty familiar to me and on the level on which I was writing, I feel like I’ve exhausted much of my material.Of course there are still major themes which I want to address like Governance, Climate Change, the Garment Industry and Islam but I think after a certain period in a country, you begin to accept that things are so complicated and multi-layered that simple observations become an injustice to those issues and repetitive for both the reader and the author. While Governance and Climate Change seem pretty straightforward in so far as they can be explained in a sensible and somewhat neutral manner, I’ve lost the will to do that.6 months is a long time in Bangladesh. My work here has ensured that the time has passed quickly but being confronted with these issues again and again makes you question things at a much deeper level. And in the same way as the author of a book I’m currently reading says she needed 30years to find the maturity to write about colonialism, so too do I need more time to find myself and my own stand on matters which go way deeper than statistics or anecdotes. Faced with such an extreme situation, poverty and injustic;, proposing solutions such as say, the need for the amendment of the constitution to prevent future military coups, or funds to help people adapt to the impact of a changing climate is no longer enough. Rather it leaves you questioning the nature of humanity and the possibility of widespread just development ever happening.It makes you look at the individualistic foundations upon which western societies are founded and question the whole concept of religion and equality.If I am able to form personal views on these issues over the next few months, I’ll be sure to share them but holding one’s breath may not be a very good idea.