Am I a son of the soil of Bangladesh or am I an international nomad? Read my story and you can decide.
I was born in Dhaka in the late 1970s to well-educated parents who had established professional careers in the private sector. My father was a Chartered Accountant and my mother a primary school teacher, focusing on children with learning challenges. We migrated to the USA when I was 5 years old. My elder brother and I initially found the adjustment challenging, but with the support and care of our parents and teachers, we managed to adjust to the new life and environment.
I fondly remember the road trips to different states visiting relatives and the amazing vistas of the different cities and countryside. We also had a new member join our family, my younger sister.
Desh Ferot’s stop-overs
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- Age 0-5 Bangladesh
- Age 5-8 USA and UK
- Age 8-12 Saudi Arabia
- Age 12-21 UK
- Age 21-25 Australia, UK, Bangladesh, UK
- Age 25-31 Australia
- Age 31+ Bangladesh
- Age 43+ Bangladesh and Australia
After about 3 years, we lived for a brief period in the UK and then moved to Saudi Arabia. Once again, there was an adjustment period and we were able to adapt to the new culture and surrounds, reasonably quickly. Although we were living as expatriates, we still had a taste of the local culture due to the common Muslim heritage. During our time in Saudi Arabia, we used to visit Bangladesh during the school holidays.
As I had very little memory of my first five years in my country of birth, these trips were eye-opening and looking back now, it seems some seeds were planted, which would influence my decisions later in life. One enduring memory from this time is my brother and I playing on the roof of our Chacha’s house in Banani DOHS in the heavy monsoon downpour – coming from a desert country, it was an amazing experience!
My mother moved to the UK in 1989 with her three young children so that we could pursue our high school education. This was our fifth international migration and it was a big sacrifice by my parents for our studies. My father joined us in 1991. Over a period of nine years, I completed my schooling, college and university. My siblings and I are very fortunate for the opportunities we were given. During the summer holidays, we would still make the annual “pilgrimage” to Dhaka and Chattogram to visit relatives.
As I was contemplating a higher degree and career choice, working in the environment and water sectors became a strong theme. No doubt, the regular “refresher courses” in Bangali culture and language had an influence on my decision as it developed a deeper connection to those places and country. While at University, I availed the opportunity to complete my final year at the University of Melbourne, Australia. This would plant the seed to another chapter later in my life.
As a new century was approaching, I had just returned from Australia and was keen to forge ahead in my career as a graduate engineer in one of the reputable engineering companies in the UK. However, I had an itch that needed to be scratched. Within 12 months of my new job, I joined the company’s Dhaka office! It was one of the best decisions I made!
Can you recall Dhaka in 2000? She still had her beauty and innocence! Traffic was very light, Gulshan was still a residential area and the air was breathable. No doubt, I am recalling that time from a position of immense privilege and blessings. I had a good job, my Mama gave me a car to drive, I was staying and getting spoiled at different relatives’ houses, I fell in love with a beautiful young woman and I was having the time of my life!
Within a couple of years, I became a husband and a father and as a young family, we migrated to Australia. Now I am starting to feel like an international nomad. My Chacha sponsored my skilled migration and I began pursuing a PhD at the University of Melbourne. My wife also continued with her higher studies. We were blessed with another child. In 2008, I reminded my wife that we had an agreement to return to Bangladesh once our postgraduate studies had completed. I wanted my children to understand their roots and also, I wanted to contribute to the country’s development. So, we then embarked on our next migration – back to Dhaka.
Over a period of six years in Bangladesh, I developed my career as an engineering consultant working in the environment and water sectors. I had an amazing mentor and very friendly as well as professional colleagues at the Institute of Water Modelling. Remember, I had no school/college/university batch mates in Bangladesh, so there was a big void in my social network.
However, I formed and developed very close friendships and bonds with some very special people. Furthermore, through my involvement in different projects, I managed to stay and work in around 30 of the country’s 64 districts. This tremendous exposure and experience were very fulfilling and satisfying. The Bangladesh countryside is a joy and wonder to this day! I strongly felt that the young boy, who used to visit Bangladesh during the summer holidays, had been able to fulfil his dream of returning to his roots and contributing in a positive way.
Dhaka had also changed into this bustling mega-city and there were many challenges, especially for my wife and children. There were complications during my wife’s third pregnancy. So, we decided to move to Australia again and were blessed with a beautiful daughter. However, this migration was short. My father became ill and so I resigned from my job and we returned to Dhaka. Are you still keeping count of the migrations?
During this “second innings” in Dhaka, I took on different roles. I became a part-time teacher at a private university and I started my own consulting business. However, as you may recall, I did not have an extensive network of contacts that I could reach out to establish business connections. So, I approached my closest friends in Dhaka and we formed a partnership. To this day, we are still together and now we have an established company that has been successfully working in the engineering, environmental and social sectors for the past 10 years.
(2nd July, 2009)
You can probably imagine, running a consultancy business in Bangladesh has many challenges. The unethical business practices, skills shortages, political unrest, etc. However, despite these realities, there are still overwhelming opportunities to do good work with very talented, sincere and hard-working people in both private and public sectors. I strongly urge those of you who are reading this article and considering returning to Bangladesh, come and join the “desh ferot” group!
In closing, the many migrations, especially the last few have had a major toll on my children. Looking back now, I feel that I needed to be more thoughtful and sensitive to how they were adapting. Currently, I frequently travel between Bangladesh and Australia, where my family is currently living.
So, have you decided who am I – a Son of the Soil or International Nomad? Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below. I would be very keen to meet those of you who have similar stories.
Desh Ferot
Desh Ferot is the author’s pen name. Desh Ferot is an engineering consultant working in the water, environment and social sectors. He is also a part-time educator. Desh Ferot wishes to remain anonymous, but can be contacted through the Global Bangladesh editorial team.
Your brief biography says a lot about you, your emotion towards your home, your family and the passion for your work, ENGINEERING. In german they have a term “WANDERLUST”. Your travel record indicates to that term a bit. Nomad or Wanderlust doesn’t really matter as long as you are so attached to your homeland. The desire to come back home and the intent to help the people you belong with your knowledge and expertise definitely makes you a perfect Son of Soil.