Bangladeshi heroes and their hospitality...

for immediate assistance, while sanitation, drinking water, electricity, livelihood assistance and early recovery are urgently needed. It isn't very difficult to produce many more figures (some more, other less reliable) and I guess I could go on telling you about new tragedies as they continue to unfold, almost on a daily basis. Simply in view of the fact that some of the very remote villages are being unlocked only now. You don't have to travel far though in this country to be brutally confronted with reality of live. It's right at the step of your door, if you are fortunate enough to have a front door, that is. Also in Dhaka many poor are living in the streets of the city, trying to coop with their lives one way or another.

The TNT team here, and Ridzwan and I have been working together meanwhile to try and contribute just a little bit to helping those that are in the middle of the humanitarian catastrophy. Transportation of the first batch of 750 metric tons of rice was a success and is yet to be followed by another one.

Together with the management team here we devised a plan to procure and distribute family kits and housing material, funded from the TNT pledged $25000. During a morning ceremony here outside of the main office, affected TNT staff members were handed over their relief kits, which we packed the day before. A minute of silence was observed at the start of the ceremony. Just to think about the hundreds of thousands affected.

WFP here in Dhaka set up a so-called Logistics Cluster, in which most relief organizations and NGO were invited to take part. The objective of the meeting was to share information, identify logistics shortcomings and gaps and ultimately share transportation and warehouse resources to such an extent that amongst others price increases of service providers could be countered. We met well over 20 different organizations, all doing their own thing. This included the US Navy who anchored a large battle ship just out Chittagong port in the cyclone unaffected south- east coast. From there they started water purification activities, turning sea water into clear drinking water. Their fleet of on board helicopters for many days have been flying drinking water in 20 liter bags to the affected region.

We also participated in a Logistics Cluster sub group meeting to try and streamline the information about customs practices at Dhaka International Airport, where scheduled and chartered aircraft continued to bring relief material into the country.

WFP also asked us to try and update information about the capabilities of Chittagong Port. A number of UN agencies and the Red Cross in the Cluster announced that they expected and increasing number of  20 and 40 foot containers to arrive in the port, for a period of up to 6 months.

Turab ur Rahman, the Bangladeshi Country General Manager received a ‘thank you' letter from WFP for the excellent way in which TNT carried out the transportation of rice from Jamalpur, in north of Dhaka to the affected region. The letter was accompanied with a request of similar nature and size. Another 750 metric tons of rice to be transported into the region. Ridzwan and I agreed that Ridzwan would take part in the rice transport, together with 2 local TNT staff. This would take around 4 days. I would go to Chittagong port to review the capabilities of the port. Also I would visit Khulna, in the south on the border of the affected area to do an assessment on an empty factory, so that this could possibly serve as temporary warehouse for the Logistics Cluster companies.  

WFP unfortunately did not receive government approval to move the rice and as such Ridzwan could not travel to Jamalpur. It was decided to travel to Chittagong together, accompanied by TNT Sales Manager Jahangir Alam. The short early morning domestic flight more or less dropped us into the crowded traffic of Chittagong and we made our way to the Port, after having stopping over shortly at the TNT branch offices. The government controlled Port was a challenge to enter but we managed to meet with the assistant Port manager. We left with an updated document on the capabilities of the Port and in turn have provided this information back to the Logistics Cluster.

One of the ideas had come up with was to set up an exclusive Relief Road Network for the Logistics Cluster companies to make use of for their increasing transportation requirements from Chittagong to the affected area. As we needed a reliable trucking company to carry out 3 daily scheduled trucks and a facility with temporary storage facilities, we made a site visit to a few local truckers, including the former TNT Freight Management. We presented the Relief Road Network set up via email and telephone conference to the Moving the World Program office. They approved it on very short notice and made extra TNT funds available. This in turn allowed us to present it to WFP who cheered the idea and set up and who expects to start making use. But the consequence of the fact that they would do so only after two weeks from now, meant that neither Ridzwan nor myself would be able to assist implementation on site.

The local TNT crew has shown to be very capably and committed before so we agreed to leave it to them to carry out. Ferry Spaan, Emergency Response Team coordinator, committed to give additional ERT assistance if this would turn out to be required.

Day before yesterday, we had hoped that WFP would come back with a government approved dispatch plan for the second batch of rice. But they did not. Together with

Turab ur Rahman and the Moving the World office we concluded that our 2 weeks deployment here would thus be ended and that there was no longer any need to extend our stay here with another week. Pity but inevitable, I guess.

On Friday all offices in Bangladesh are closed and we had our first (and last) day off here since we arrived. As one of the TNT staff members would get married on Friday we were invited to attend. A long journey into the country side and very nice ceremony. The hospitality of the Bangladesh people is incredible, wherever you go, or whomever you meet. That was yesterday.

Today, Saturday December 8, we are packing our bags and making a final visit to the town office, amongst others for a small ceremony, to honor the TNT staff that have been involved in the relief operation sofar. And this will be followed by a farewell lunch. We are dressed in traditional local costumes for the occasion. And that is part also of the friendship that has been made.

Looking back to the last two weeks here in Bangladesh, it has been very worthwhile and rewarding, in spite of the fact that we haven't been that much hands-on as we would have wanted to be. But then again, we aren't front line runners. Our job here was to provide for background support to TNT and WFP; we have done exactly that. And together we'll continue to do that.

The TNT- ers we met and have worked with, without exception are great people who make for exceptional colleagues; all of them heroes in their very own way in this disaster prone but very hospitable country. It'll take a long time for the Bangladeshi to overcome the ordeal. But they will!