The Blockade continues

On a more serious note - the Awami League political party has reinstated the blockade today. The Awami League is one of the larger (and more prone to violence) political parties in Bangladesh.

They demanded that the former president and current Election Chairperson -
1.) set an official date for the upcoming elections and
2.) complete several action items to prove his impartiality as Election Chairperson.

The blockade from last week was removed from Thursday to Sunday to allow commerce and day to day business to proceed. The streets were packed as folks rushed to get their errands done and catch up with life. Everyone suspected that the blockade would be resurrected at some point this week if the AL (Awami League) demands weren't met. Based on the Election Chairperson's current record - there was a high likelihood that these demands would NOT be met.

After a few days of normalcy, the country is once again plunged into a state of uncertainty and simmering violence. There were several warnings that this new blockade and siege would be more violent.

It's difficult to do business here in Bangladesh during this time. Living in the diplomatic enclave area ensures that we are fairly safe and shielded from much of the blockade and violence. We see the occasional protest and march - but these are mostly peaceful and are simply traveling thru the area to get to another part of town. When protesters march through this part of town - there is usually plenty of military posted along their route to "keep the peace".

What impacts us in the office is that several of the employees and interns cannot get into the office or have a difficult time getting here. Many of them live outside of the diplomatic enclave and may have to take several rickshaws thru the protests to reach the office. Cars and buses tend to be attacked, so everyone walks or sticks to rickshaws during the protests.

On one hand - it's not worth someone's health and personal safety to ask them to come into the office in such situations. On the other hand, it makes it very difficult to deliver on project deadlines when resources simply are not available. These are legitimate reasons for delaying project timelines, however, sometimes I feel that vendors use the situation as an excuse to justify delays. It's a very different perspective from doing business at home for sure!

The port cities and supply chains are the most impacted in these situations. Shipping freighters sit empty or half loaded/unloaded on the docks in major ports like Chittagong because business comes to a standstill during these blockades. Raw materials and food cannot be transported to their destinations because the roads are blocked. It's amazing how quickly the country can be brought to a standstill. Many of the businesses and tradespeople are speaking out against the political parties because of revenue lost.

On a side note - schools are usually closed during the blockades and protests. Children and students often have to go to school on Friday or Saturday (weekend days) to make up for missed lessons. The work/school week here is Sunday thru Thursday, since Friday is a holy day for Muslims and many go for morning prayers.

I've been told that much of this is due to the upcoming elections and things should settle down after the elections...so we'll have to see.