Dating back to our joyous nursing conference…
We’ve become accustom to the ever
loathed, “PhD proposal”, and this trip was no exception. Day 2 one of the
attendants snuggled up to see if we were easy targets. The conversation always
goes the same way. “ What country are you from”? Answer- Canada, followed by “
I’d really like to do a PhD in Canada” -and then some semblance of “ could you
pull some strings and call up your buddies at UofT and hook me up”? We always
feel sorta bad with the follow up of “ Sorry, but it’s not that easy etc. etc.
etc”. After the abuse we suffered we
weren’t at all reluctant to tell him how it was. Something like, “ So let’s
back up a little. First, there’s a masters. In a masters, you choose a topic,
then gather OTHER peoples research on the subject to support your ideas. When
it comes to a PhD, it’s a BRAND NEW IDEA that NO ONE else has ever thought
about- totally unique. You have to come up with an idea like that, then find a
professor who likes your idea enough to work with you on it, and THEY will
invite you to their university- not us.
Afterwards he slunk away looking a bit defeated. Sorry buddy- guess it’s
harder than you thought hey?
In our previous blog written on
“insights” we had after the nursing conference, we made reference to our
increased empathy with those minority groups who struggle so much are so
despised. The Hijra are one such group here in Bangladesh.
The Hijra are physiological males
with female gender identity, women’s clothing and other female roles. Even from
antiquity they have been acknowledged in South Asia culture and history. Many communities have arisen with the sole
purpose of adopting young boys who have been rejected by and fled their family
or origin. The word Hijra comes out of the Arabic root, “ leaving ones tribe”
and is almost always used as a derogatory manner. Most Hijras live on the margins of
society at a very low status, often
using work in the sex trade industry as their only means of survival. They face
extreme discrimination in housing, health, education, employment and all
aspects of law. Violence towards this group is often brutal.
Since the late 20th
century, many advocates for this group have been lobbying for an official
recognition of the Hijra as a “third sex” or “third gender” –neither males or
female. At times Hijras perform- dancing
and singing at birth ceremonies and weddings. We have several Hijras in our
community- one had a baby with her and serves tea at a tea shack close by.
As you can see, just one more
example of a population that struggles so much due to discrimination and
disrespect.
Today on our walk to the market,
we strolled along our favorite waterway, which was more green usual. We learned that this was a special place
where young men and women went to date- a place a little more secluded where
they could be together without numerous and unwanted eyes watching them. We’ve
decided to call it “lovers lane”, and let’s be clear- dating, refers to these
adorable and shy guys and girls sitting side by side. They don’t touch each
other, and hardly even speak, but it’s so lovely seeing their budding romances-
even if they were arranged.
In Bangladesh they have betel,
just like in Canada, we’ve got coffee. Except for a few things. Coffee turns
your teeth only mildly brown, while betel turns them black and makes them fall
out.
In 2004, research done by the WHO
found that betel was chewed and consumed in southeast Asian countries world
wide. It’s this crazy combination of things that we haven’t really figured out
yet. It’s sold at many little side street vendors and at most tea stalls- which
is where we had our first introduction to it.
So they take a “betel pepper” leaf, and inside they place a
few “betel nuts”- the seed of the areca palm tree. They also throw in a little
bit of Tabaco, some spices and something sweet and roll it up. Then they give
the guy (or girl for that matter) a little bit of lime paste on the tip of
their finger.
The lime
causes salivation, which releases the stimulating alkaloids from the leaf.
Chewing it results in a heavy flow of brick read saliva and stains the lips,
gums and tongue red. These alkaloids increase the heart rate and induce a sense
of euphoria. It’s been linked to oral cancer- no figure. It’s really one of the
grossest things we’ve seen. We’ve already written about the horribly excessive
spitting happens non-stop. Now imagine it looks like blood! We figured that
everyone around us had Tuberculosis until we learned about Betel. Don’t worry,
we haven’t tired it and won’t ever.
And finally
we’ll tell you about the last guy that asked for our phone number. It is
actually amazing how liberal the guys here are with asking for our mobile
numbers. Haven’t seen them before in our lives and they think it’s an
appropriate question? A few weeks back as we were getting on the ferry, a guy
on a boat ACROSS THE WATER waved, and then formed his hands into a phone, put
it to his ear- asking for our digits. Yesterday on our way to school, with our
faculty tags around our necks, this guy comes up- regular looking kid- and
first (of course) asks what country we are from- Canada- followed by “ do you
use a mobile?” Well yes, yes we do use a mobile. Then he just goes right into,
“ can I have your number”? And we’re like, “no, no you can’t”. It’s almost
comical.
And with
that, we’ll close. Lots LOTS more stories to come!
Love Heidi and Ricki
No comments:
Post a Comment