Peace On Earth, Goodwill to Men (and women)
Asalamu-a-lekum
Peace be with you.
The holidays are in full swing here in Bangladesh. Lights deck the buildings, the evenings are packed with holiday parties, places of worship have special services, and every one is eagerly awaiting their holiday bonus.
No, it's not the holidays as you know them, the excitement is not for Christmas or the coming new year. Its Ramadan, leading up to Eid-ul-Fitr. Ramadan is the Holy month of Fasting at the end of which is the biggest religious festival of the Islamic Calender. Not unlike the Lenten Season that leads to Christmas.
Hordes of shoppers can be found everywhere, from the expensive department store to the footpath seller, buying Eid party saris, presents for their family and friends, and gifts for the less fortunate. And for everyone, there is someone always less fortunate. The anticipation of Eid has brought masses of beggars from the country side into Dhaka.
Hoping to receive a little holiday charity, every time my open-air cab stops at a street corner the most awful parade begins. An adolescent girl in dirty and torn clothing leads her blind father. Then an old women with a crippled, burn-scarred leg, hops over and pats my arm with one hand, pointing to her leg with the other. After she leaves a middle aged man wearing a prayer cap waves the pieces of his arm still left after an industrial accident. Just before the light changes, a tiny naked baby carried by it's thin mother is thrust toward me. "Asalamu-a-lekum" they say, "Sister, give something." "Maph korun. (Please forgive me)" seems to be the best reply. I feel like Scrooge.
Many Muslims fast all day during Ramadan. All Muslims, as well as most other Bangladeshi's, eat iftari. "Iftar" means "breaking the fast." Iftari - that with which the fast is broken. Technically this can be anything at all, but traditionally it's puffed rice snack, fried lentil balls, chickpeas, dates, and jellabies- fried dough squiggles drowned in syrup. Cynics say Ramadan is more about Iftar than fasting.
Here you can see some Iftari Vendors.
This food is always eaten communally. If I go out at 5:30, just after the sun has set, and walk into a shop or office, I will get invited to eat Iftari. I always refuse, kicking myself for bad timing, and walk along until everyone is done Iftar. Walking along I see pools of rickshaw pullers and street children gathered around tea stalls. Shop keepers and pedestrians alike stop what they are doing and share what they have. It's neat to see this busy city of poor people stop for a minute to pray and break bread together.
Work-wise Ramadan is an interesting month. Adult savings groups and literacy classes change from their normal afternoon meetings to morning ones, since the women need to cook Iftari in the afternoon. Many schools are closed, so it is a good time to have trainings for my adolescent group leaders and co-facilitators. However, since most of these kids are fasting, the training has to be done early in the day, as by afternoon everyone is hungry and distracted. The teenagers are usually pretty good natured about it, and the peer educators have figured out how to adjust the trainings so that they end on time.
Here is the last step of a training. The kids put their left hand in a stack and say one thing they felt could have been better about the training. Then they put in their right hand and say one thing that they most appreciated. At the end is a stack of hands that shows that everyone brings their own perspective and comes from their own side, but when they work together it becomes a tall tower that can symbolize their common purpose.
Peace be with you.
The holidays are in full swing here in Bangladesh. Lights deck the buildings, the evenings are packed with holiday parties, places of worship have special services, and every one is eagerly awaiting their holiday bonus.
No, it's not the holidays as you know them, the excitement is not for Christmas or the coming new year. Its Ramadan, leading up to Eid-ul-Fitr. Ramadan is the Holy month of Fasting at the end of which is the biggest religious festival of the Islamic Calender. Not unlike the Lenten Season that leads to Christmas.
Hordes of shoppers can be found everywhere, from the expensive department store to the footpath seller, buying Eid party saris, presents for their family and friends, and gifts for the less fortunate. And for everyone, there is someone always less fortunate. The anticipation of Eid has brought masses of beggars from the country side into Dhaka.
Hoping to receive a little holiday charity, every time my open-air cab stops at a street corner the most awful parade begins. An adolescent girl in dirty and torn clothing leads her blind father. Then an old women with a crippled, burn-scarred leg, hops over and pats my arm with one hand, pointing to her leg with the other. After she leaves a middle aged man wearing a prayer cap waves the pieces of his arm still left after an industrial accident. Just before the light changes, a tiny naked baby carried by it's thin mother is thrust toward me. "Asalamu-a-lekum" they say, "Sister, give something." "Maph korun. (Please forgive me)" seems to be the best reply. I feel like Scrooge.
Many Muslims fast all day during Ramadan. All Muslims, as well as most other Bangladeshi's, eat iftari. "Iftar" means "breaking the fast." Iftari - that with which the fast is broken. Technically this can be anything at all, but traditionally it's puffed rice snack, fried lentil balls, chickpeas, dates, and jellabies- fried dough squiggles drowned in syrup. Cynics say Ramadan is more about Iftar than fasting.
Here you can see some Iftari Vendors.
This food is always eaten communally. If I go out at 5:30, just after the sun has set, and walk into a shop or office, I will get invited to eat Iftari. I always refuse, kicking myself for bad timing, and walk along until everyone is done Iftar. Walking along I see pools of rickshaw pullers and street children gathered around tea stalls. Shop keepers and pedestrians alike stop what they are doing and share what they have. It's neat to see this busy city of poor people stop for a minute to pray and break bread together.
Work-wise Ramadan is an interesting month. Adult savings groups and literacy classes change from their normal afternoon meetings to morning ones, since the women need to cook Iftari in the afternoon. Many schools are closed, so it is a good time to have trainings for my adolescent group leaders and co-facilitators. However, since most of these kids are fasting, the training has to be done early in the day, as by afternoon everyone is hungry and distracted. The teenagers are usually pretty good natured about it, and the peer educators have figured out how to adjust the trainings so that they end on time.
Here is the last step of a training. The kids put their left hand in a stack and say one thing they felt could have been better about the training. Then they put in their right hand and say one thing that they most appreciated. At the end is a stack of hands that shows that everyone brings their own perspective and comes from their own side, but when they work together it becomes a tall tower that can symbolize their common purpose.
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