Blockades and Shutdowns

This morning I got up, exercised, made bacon and eggs to eat with that bread I made yesterday, then got dressed for a few hours out. About two hours after breakfast I had a hearty lunch! But wait this doesn't look like Bangladeshi cuisine, does it?


Well it's not! I attended a talk at the US Embassy by chef and author Adrian E. Miller who is a chef in the United States who has written several books on the history of Soul Food, black chefs in the White House and more recently one about black people and barbecue. He talked about the evolution of the term "soul food" which is now essentially used to describe southern food when cooked by black people. The term  gained popularity in the 1960's when black music was highlighting its unique sound known as soul and more black people moved out of the south and described the food they grew up on and continued to cook as soul food

That heavy lunch though, called for a siesta for real because by 2PM I was knocked out and slept for 3 hours! And it's just as well because we're on lockdown again in Bangladesh. As of yesterday, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), which is the opposition party to the governing party, Bangladesh Awami League (AL), lead by Sheikh Hasina Wazed has issued a hartal (strike) in protest of the election date being announced for January 6, 2024.  This hartal urges people to stay home, not patronize businesses, and basically shut down all businesses. Traffic has been significantly lighter today as a result.  But why would the opposition party protest and election? Isn't an election an opportunity for opposition parties to potentially win the vote and gain power based on democratic process?

As of now and since a few weeks ago, thousands of Bangladeshi rioters have been arrested by the AL  government. As an outsider looking in I don't have many details, but I do know AL has ruled with an iron fist, are known to be corrupt, and many constituents have no faith in their leadership. I can also infer that  there must be a desperation and hopelessness driving these riots and the desire to disrupt and destabilize the government including the election process is an extension of the sentiment. As Martin Luther King Jr. famously said, "A riot is the language of the unheard." I'm safe where I am and completely sheltered from the conflict.  In fact the US State Department is advising "limiting all but essential travel to the diplomatic enclave and nearby neighborhoods [within Gulshan Thana] of Baridhara, Gulshan, and Banani."  

Map of Gulshan's Thana's Neighborhood


Check google maps for a full map of Dhaka, this is just a small subset. 

Nevertheless, within these boundaries. I do have an interest in understanding more about the people here. What does BNP want the government need to hear? I hope to learn more about that in the coming week.  

  




 

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