Part 2 – Faith in the new

Husain Amer, a friend from Montreal currently living in China, will be our guest writer for 4 little chronicles about Dhaka inspired by his visit in July.

.

What awoke me was something quite magical.  At 4:50, I get woken up by the Hazan, the call to prayer for the mosque on the other side of the lake.  “Allahwho Akbar …”

These were words I haven’t heard in a long time and it felt quite spiritual.  I haven’t prayed in a long time.  I do recite the only piece of the Koran I know “Al Fatiha” – the opening.  It relaxes me and brings me to rest when I am in fear.  I will probably sneak my way into a mosque during my trip and pray, at least once.

In the morning, Seb and Aude had to take care of their visas.  We went to the visa office, which was quite a mess.  There was no one really to give directions.  I saw Seb and Aude switch counters probably 6 times during our 1 hour there.  But they got what they needed and we were on our way!

What came after was something I was waiting for since I’ve heard about Seb and Aude’s project.  Evergreen is the reason Sébastien Rist and Aude Leroux-Lévesque came to Bangladesh in the first place.  In this country populated mainly with Muslim believers and practitioners, there is a small group called the Hijras who are shunned from this society.

To simplify, they are the gays, transvestites and transsexuals of Bangladesh who have formed a support group and 3 learning centers for others like them.  In this center, they get free STD and HIV education and testing.  Seb and Aude have been giving them free English lessons while getting closer to them and earning their trust.  Soon enough they will take out the camera and start following these fascinating individuals.

I arrived to one of the three centers expecting really rowdy, loud and extroverted people.  I was surprised when they first were quite respectful and quiet, curious about my presence, asking me common questions.

The class Seb and Aude had prepared was watching ‘Paris is Buring’, a film about  gays and transsexuals in New York during the 1990s.  A little bit into the film, we asked the class if I could film the class and they didn’t mind.  I took out the camera and started filming. This was quite a feeling.  To be one of the first getting coverage of this community and personalities but at the same time, I was thinking to myself “what will my Dad say…”

They loved the camera as most flashy personalities would.  I got flashed by one of them…  Afterwards, we had two of them dance for the camera.  They really enjoyed themselves.

I said my goodbyes but not without being invited to a spiritual event.  Can’t wait to see what happens there and Yes, I will be bringing my camera!

 

Three Hijras from the class Seb and Aude taught. The paper reads: "Plz coll me, I am gay" with a phone number...