A member of the PASA community shared their personal experience in Bangladesh:
I had just walked 500 meters from the Grand Hotel in Chittagong, planning to take a stroll, when I saw countless homeless Bangladeshis lying against the walls by the roadside.
The following image shows a woman with seven or eight children sleeping beside a filthy wall. When the children saw me, three of them came over and surrounded me asking for money. I gave them a banknote, and on my way back, seeing the seven or eight children in such a pitiful state, I gave all the banknotes I had to their mother, amounting to a few thousand taka. Suddenly, several Bangladeshi men and a few mothers holding their children appeared out of nowhere, surrounding me and all asking for money.
I had no money left and just walked away, but several women holding their children desperately chased after me, pointing at their children, indicating they had many to feed. Several men also followed me with pleading eyes, begging for money.
I kept shouting: no money no money, while walking briskly. The women and men stopped chasing, but a little girl holding her brother still persistently followed me. She emitted a stench only found in garbage dumps, blocking my path and insisting on money.
She wouldn't let go of me, and a neatly dressed elderly Bangladeshi man passing by loudly scolded her not to bother foreigners. She didn't listen and kept pulling and tugging at me. I got a bit annoyed and scolded her loudly, but couldn't get rid of her. It wasn't until I reached the hotel entrance, where the security guard smiled and nodded at me, that the little girl timidly walked away.
As I type this, the foul smell from the little girl still lingers on me. I vomited for ten minutes in the hotel restroom to stop the nausea. I have traveled to many places around the world, but I have never seen a country more tragic than Bangladesh.
