What do I really think about Bangladesh?

“What do you think of Bangladesh? Do you like it? Why did you come here? What was your perception of Bangladesh before you came? What do people in Europe think about our country?”

Kai Schmidtbdnews24.com
Published : 18 Sept 2017, 10:03 AM
Updated : 18 Sept 2017, 06:46 PM

Questions. Always the same questions. I am sitting with a colleague in a restaurant during our lunch break. I try to smile. “Yes, I like Bangladesh. It’s a very beautiful country and has an amazing culture”, I reply. “I did not expect that before coming here. You have a lot of talented and educated people."

“Ha”, my colleague says, seemingly satisfied. He starts talking about the culture, about the language, about the history. I am nodding. My colleague keeps on talking, he is so enthusiastic, but I am not really listening.

I have had this kind of conversation a hundred times. People ask me how I like it here and what I think of Bangladesh. I usually say what they want to hear so I can move on from the topic. I say that Bangladesh is an incredible country. I say that I really enjoy my time here. But is that true? Is that really true? Do I like Bangladesh? I don’t know.

It has already been two months since I arrived. It feels as I should know by now. But somehow I do not. “We are not good in marketing our country to the rest of the world” my colleague goes on. “People believe we are poor and not very educated.” I agree.

“Yes, you should try to create a better image of your country.” We are leaving the restaurant and going back to the office. It is a hot and humid day. The streets are full of people. Cars are using their horns. It is loud. So loud.

We are reaching the office. I am happy to go inside, to escape from the noise and heat. I start working again but cannot really focus. Something is different today. The question still sticks to my head. Do I like Bangladesh?  Do I like Dhaka, I ask myself. The truth is: I hate the traffic, I hate the dust, I hate the noise.

Colours and chaos: A busy day in Dhaka.

The workday is over. My colleagues and I are going to a café to talk about the day. I am not really taking part in the conversation.
Then it hits me.

Sometimes, when I cannot reach a decision I play a little game. I ask myself what I will think in ten years. Then I realise, in ten years, when I look back on this time, I will not think of the noise, the dust or the traffic. I will think of the people – the people I learnt to love.

I will remember their hospitality and their interest in me. I will remember sitting outside with my colleagues at night, listening to them play music. I will remember their strong voices, voices which had to tell a story – the story of Bangladesh.

Suddenly, my perception changes. I no longer see a suffering country. I do not see an overcrowded country. I do not see a poor country. I see a country that was once defeated, but then stood up again.

I see a country which is drastically overpopulated and yet welcomes refugees from Myanmar. I see a country where people might not believe in their leaders, but they believe in their nation and in their chance to escape poverty. Now I know. Noise comes with liveliness, traffic comes with development, dirt comes with growth.

A few weeks later I am having a coffee with a friend. She asks me if I liked Bangladesh. This time I smile.

Kai Schmidt is a young business graduate from Germany. He is employed in the Dhaka offices of a German investing firm and is currently working as a consultant for a leading e-commerce company in Bangladesh.