Food Security in the Chittagong Hill Tracts for Helen Keller Interntional

Bangladesh: Country of Contrasts

I've never met anyone who left Bangladesh unchanged, the reality differs dramatically from outsiders' perceptions. With a population 25% larger than Russia compressed into a landmass the size of Iowa, the countryside's density is staggering. The incredibly fertile land supports enormous amounts of labor.

Everything shifts in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT). Suddenly there are hills and sparse populations. The people resemble ethnic minorities from Northern Thailand, Laos, and Burma more than Bangladeshis. Within 20 kilometers, you've left the subcontinent and entered Southeast Asia.

Documenting Food Insecurity

These images come from a project I did for Helen Keller International in Khagrachari District, northern CHT. I documented food security challenges facing the Chakma ethnic minority. We trekked to remote villages that appeared verdant and underpopulated but faced extreme pressures. One woman told us she didn't know how she'd feed her children the next day. Another, (standing in a stream carrying brooms), walked 10 kilometers each way to market weekly to sell $4 worth of products. As always, women and children suffer most.

Another pressure point: Bengali settlers encroaching into the region, themselves desperate for land due to food stress. It's an incredibly complex situation I don't pretend to fully understand. The heavily militarized area required numerous permits from Dhaka and passage through multiple checkpoints. I later learned that houses in one village we visited were burned shortly after we left, explaining why we couldn't stay overnight.

Bangladesh: An Underrated Travel Destination

Despite these challenges, Bangladesh is amazing if you want to escape the TikTok backpacker hordes. Visitor numbers are negligible (tourist-to-resident ratio of 0.4% versus France's nearly 150%).

Dhaka is fascinating and remarkably friendly, like the entire country. More than anywhere I've visited, people want you to leave with a positive impression. They've made remarkable progress, largely through women's empowerment. Women now graduate secondary school at higher rates than men, and female employment has nearly doubled in 20 years. Christopher Hitchens cited Bangladesh as “living proof” that "the only thing that has ever been discovered to work in the relief of poverty is the empowerment of women."

I also completed projects there for FHI360, CARE Bangladesh, and Save the Children Bangladesh, all equally fascinating. I'll post those photos too. Organizations needing a photographer in Bangladesh: my DMs are open.

Looking Forward

The country faces enormous challenges, but at least it's moving in the right direction, unlike some other parts of Asia. As they say: "Diplomats cry twice about Bangladesh: once when told it's their next posting, and once when told they have to leave."