The day after I got to Char Fasson, I was invited on a trip to Dhal Char to hand out saris, lungis, and some cash to those people who had lost their homes and belongings during Tropical Storm Reshmi. Reshmi, in fact, was the reason I couldn’t leave for Char Fasson earlier. I agreed to go, not realizing how far away Dhal Char is from Char Fasson town; in fact, it is the last char (island) before you get to the Bay of Bengal. It took an hour bus ride (over a terrible, terrible road), then a 15 minute rickshaw ride to the river, then an hour and a half boat ride around the chars till we landed at Dhal Char. The boat ride came at the middle of the day, with the tropical sun beating down on us. It was hard to think of the Bay of Bengal as beautiful at that point!
Once we arrived, the members of the charity group went to the Union Parishad building to explain to people in the area what would happen that afternoon.l Then we rested, as Bengalis are wont to do, ate lunch, and the event began. It was mass chaos, as the charity group (all men of course) herded men and women into separate lines; the rest of the people who were not receiving anything all crowded in to watch. Each person in line was quickly given a sari or a lungi and then roughly commanded to go away (unless, of course, they were one of the lucky few picked for a photo op with the group). I sat there in disgust, knowing that this is probably what usually happens in Bangladesh. Poor people are looked down upon, and are only of use when one can use the opportunity to show one’s wealth and power.
Once it was over, we quickly headed back to the boat, reaching Char Fasson by 8 or 9, at which point I was completely unable to eat dinner. Thanks, Reshmi, for such an eye-opening experience.
