Bangladesh, not Bhanga Desh!

“Mom, can I go to Cox’s Bazar with my friends this semester break?” I made my ultra cute puppy-eyed expression and stared earnestly at my mother.
If only I could describe the traumatized and terrified expression on my mother’s face. It was as though I asked her if I could elope with a hooligan and get married. Déjà vu? Gone through the same experience? I would assume a yes. That is the typical exchange of words between people of my age and their guardians when asking for permission to go out of Dhaka. I am a twenty one year old woman, unmarried and studying BBA at NSU. I think my teenage years deserved more of Bangladesh and less of home confinement. Being the adventure-seeking me, I have seen and experienced nothing of Bangladesh— just a few family trips to here and there. Nothing to particularly boast about. Then again, when you look at the portfolio of places I have been to around the world, some would envy me but honestly, I feel ashamed. This is my country, and it is indeed a beautiful one. Leave aside the negativities and no country can compete with the beauty of natural Bangladesh. But what deprives us, youngsters, from experiencing the joys beautiful Bangladesh has to offer? Is it our lack of interest in our motherland or are there other issues?
After asking a few parents and their kids (when I say kids, I do refer to people of my age), I have come across mixed reactions from both sides. Some parents prefer not to admit to the security concerns they have about the trips outside the radius of Dhaka city. They won’t even allow them to travel alone in Dhaka, forget Bangladesh. So, we come to our first reason— security issues. And do mind it; there was no racial discrimination about security concerns of parents. In fact, most parents are more worried about their sons than their daughters. I cannot blame our parents. De facto, our security system is of such a standard that parents almost have a heart attack when imagining their offspring roaming about Bangladesh, unprotected and defenseless. Mugging, kidnapping, hijacking, and human trafficking are the first thoughts of a concerned parent. The so-called elite forces are deemed to be incapable of providing us with basic security, let alone security on the highways and rural areas. And it is needless to mention road accidents. There is not a day when the newspapers do not report an accident on the road. Most often, the perpetrators go unpunished. Plus, we youngsters are infamous for reckless driving ourselves. Getting behind the wheels without parental supervision is enough to make us lose our mind. This sudden freedom can make us impulsive at times. Keeping these considerations in mind, would parents really want their children to explore Bangladesh on their own?

Many people would argue and say that, if parents are so scared to let their kids wander in their national land alone, why not just go along with the kids? Now comes the tricky part with a simple question to answer the question. How many parents have enough time to go and travel around Bangladesh? Where traffic jams have to be tolerated on a daily basis, where official deadlines have to be met against all odds and where television is our main source of entertainment, traveling seems like a far fetched idea of having fun. Enduring long hours on the road, running out of gas and fuel, no proper place to rest and eat during the journey is a typical scenario of a journey outside Dhaka. With only a two-day holiday (sometimes just one) every week, parents simply grudge at the idea of wasting precious time of relaxation by traveling. Do parents really want to go through all that with their lives already being hectic enough? If I were a parent, I would just hand my kid an Ipad and watch him or her explore Bangladesh through Google Maps! 
Keeping aside all other factors like traveling costs (which is actually quite cheap in reality), lack of proper tour management companies, lack of traveling spirit and so on, I think the main culprit of this situation is the imprecise branding of Bangladesh. It is saddening to witness the what-is-there-in-Bangladesh-to-see look on the face of our youngsters. The rolling of eyes and the overwhelming sarcasm reflects not only their lack of curiosity but also a slight dislike towards their motherland. It is hardly their fault. That is how they see Bangladesh, a corrupted country on the brink of ruination. Most often, kids of an English medium background are blamed to be disinterested in their motherland because they apparently have no knowledge about our history and culture. I beg to differ most earnestly. Their syllabus is not their fault. The fault lies in the way Bangladesh is presented to them and us (I am included in that particular niche). When we live in Dhaka, we see a partial image of Bangladesh that is polluted, congested and too fast-paced for us to catch up. We do not see the part of Bangladesh that is majestic in all terms from its beauty to its history! For a country that is still in doubt about its war heroes, Bangladesh is lagging behind in national tourism. We cannot expect to attract foreign people if the locals have not yet taken the attempt to unearth the mysterious beauties in every nook and cranny of Bangladesh. 
Bangladesh needs to be branded. The outcomes of the branding efforts should instill enough thrill and curiosity in us to just grab a pair of clothes, a cell phone, a wallet and head to somewhere unknown. If our tourism board can come up with new innovative promotional ways to stir up enough emotions in us, I think it will give our tourism a huge boost. The young people need to know that there are enough places to boast about in Bangladesh. In fact, the next time they update a status on Facebook or Twitter about traveling; it should not be about Bangkok, Malaysia or Europe…it should be about the beauty of Bangladesh!