More Than We Know

This young girl and the children around her all live by the river and are playing together in street. The look in her eyes and on her face is no accident, she really does know something about life that the rest of us are still trying to figure out. Let’s hope she grows up with strength enough to guide us all one day.

This old man has power over every conversation. You are at once captivated by his magnetic eyes and distracted by the reflections in the lens that magnify them. He reveals the world around you within his quiet gaze as though he were the sage of Bangladesh, the father of your fathers, the window to your soul. But he is not. He is an old man by the side of the road who has power over every conversation.

This young man goes to Islamic school. Along with an academic education and studying Arabic, he is also learning to be a good Muslim, which means he’s learning to be a good person, respectful and forgiving; to be sincere and live with humility; and to always be truthful to others and to oneself.

On this day, after school, something was troubling him. It didn’t go away when we gathered for photographs or when we walked together through the village streets. Whatever it was he just couldn’t shake it. He seemed so disappointed, in something or someone, or maybe in himself. – Being a good Muslim can sometimes be a tall order for a young man. Especially for an honest, sincere, determined young man.

On this quiet day in the month of March the pandemic arrived here in Bangladesh. As of today, everything is different —for you, for me, for our families and our friends. And everything is just as different for people everywhere, people we do not know or will ever meet or have ever once even thought about. It’s not that we don’t care about others, or that we’re too busy living our own lives, it’s just that we rarely have a chance to actually feel how big the world really is and how much we are all a part of it.

Today, in the small Bangladesh village of Deara, this young girl is more than likely feeling these very things, and she is probably closer than she has ever been to thinking about you.

This man works at the docks by the river, loading small boats with cargo for transport to neighbouring villages. He doesn’t carry as much of the load as he used to, but he still pulls his weight. The younger men that work here all treat him with respect, like for a father who raised them, or an older brother who paved the way for them.

The ironing table is on the left, the dining table is on the right. When customers drop off their clothes to be pressed, they will often bring tea and snacks and stay for a visit. The clock on the wall doesn’t work and so everyone has all day.

This old soul lives by the river on the far east side of the city of Barishal. No one knows where else her life has been.