I’m sorry to bore, but all I seem to be inspired to write about are the ethics surrounding my role as a development practitioner abroad. This entry is no different, but I’d like to focus on the impacts of what I choose to do outside the office, rather than within the internship itself.

I’ve been thinking a lot about how bizarre the development practitioner’s lifestyle is. In particular, I wonder about the assumption that if we’re to ‘rough-it’ in ‘hardship’ areas we expect a host of conveniences and pleasures. With the flood of foreign currency entering the country alongside the arrival of the aid industry, it’s not surprising that these demands are quickly met by an emerging market of upper-class services and products. You don’t have to look far for the evidence; just glancing out onto the roads you can see the parade of flashy cars owned by internationally-funded NGOs, or the islands of wealth where, as in Dhaka, embassies and NGOs congregate. It is in these neighbourhoods that you can find whatever treat you might be craving, like the dark chocolate or thin-crust pizza that I go looking for.

We easily rationalize these extravagancies because we know we would spend twice as much on something comparable in Canada. While it’s true that the cost may be insignificant to us, using Canadian prices is deceptive. How can I not feel guilty knowing that what I spent on one meal in an Italian restaurant was equivalent to 1/3 of the monthly salary of more than half of Bangladesh’s population? It’s particularly outrageous because our willingness to pay extra and to demand certain privileges also results in rising costs of living wherever expatriates amass. In fact, prices can go much beyond what is affordable for the average Bangladeshi, thereby economically squeezing them out of certain districts. In a densely-populated city where land is a prized commodity can we really justify that? Like with resort-based tourist industries, are we then promoting the concentration of wealth in the hands of a select few? Do we too easily validate the satisfaction of our material desires in the face of the inequality which they encourage?

I don’t know exactly where I’m taking this apart from simply offering an observation. I suppose it’s just once again been reinforced to me how complex the impacts of aid initiatives are, whether direct or indirect. It can make it difficult to keep rationalizing the value of our efforts when the ramifications seem so widespread, complex and inherently ingrained within the nature of the development industry. But where does that leave me? I guess I’m just offering another tormented blog that has a lot more questions than answers…

Category: Bangladesh, Category, Country, On location // Add Comment »