Security is tight in Bangladesh. Aside from its proximity to Pakistan and Afghanistan some of the most unstable places on the globe it's been embroiled in its own internal political chaos for a year and a half. A state of emergency declared then remains and the military is kind of in charge of government.
Soldiers with Kalashnikovs were the first thing we saw when we landed. They were on the roof of Zia Airport and in the knee-high grass along the runway. Guards at the Westin Hotel run bomb detectors under cars before they're allowed to pull up to the door. The field in front of Parliament once open and public is now fenced off. As in Africa, the wealthy and powerful here live behind gates with guards.
(Info on state of emergency: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1582121,00.html )
In the summer of 2012, I'm back in Sarajevo working with people who are good journalists and after all this time also good friends. My language skills are no better, alas, but I hang out with natives and internationals in the know. So I'm planning in this space to tell Bosnian stories to American readers, with my Bosnian friends free to call me out on errors or wrong headed interpretations. This is a fascinating area of the world and these are interesting times.
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