They still have Bureaucracy Halfway around the World

I am not sure if bureaucracy is the right word, but despite a very minimal legal system here, we still felt tied down by issues of liability and responsibility for the safety of the interns...

We had an interesting meeting with the general manger of the International Program. When we proposed our ideas she got very apprehensive. Even though they have no legal responsibility for the safety of the interns they still go to great lengths to protect us from harm. Very different from in Canada where The Unviersity of Western Ontario said that we were not allowed to go as a club to Bangladesh. For the sole reason that they did not think that they could escape the legal and financial risk of us travelling. In Bangladesh they have different reasons but the same outcome by the looks of it.

In our meeting we proposed the 4 changes listed in my previous blog post. She was not in favour of most of them since she wants the department to be able to control all information that goes out to interns. She especially did not like our idea about how old interns could answer emails and give presentations to new interns. Basically we are never supposed to walk any long distance, or take rickshaws, or auto rickshaws, or go sightseeing without a tour guide. We didn't even bother asking about going to markets.

If I had followed those warnings you could erase more than half of the pictures and stories I have posted. I never would have gone to Srimongal, no tour of Lalbag Fort, no river cruise, would never have had the chance to walk through the markets.

Dhaka may be an incredibly hard place to live because of the heat, pollution, garbage and traffic. But it is actually incredibly safe, I have never felt threatened or thought I was in danger. All the interns, guys and girls, feel the same way. Sure the driving here takes a little bit of getting used to, but after that it is ok.

I have had one instance where someone tried to rob me. It was starting to get dark and we were in old Dhaka, a little boy came from behind and put his hand in my back pocket – which had nothing in it. I yelled hey at the kid, and another man immediately yelled at him as well. Crime here is not tolerated. A couple of the interns saw a man get beat up for stealing on the weekend. 

So unfortunately it looks like our reforms to the internship program are going to fall on deaf ears. We are going to push ahead with our feedback form and suggestion to have one mandatory starting day each week. Then we will be forced likely to do our won thing and set up our own unofficial FAQ and forum separate from the bank.

 

Cheers,

Mike