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This is a personal account of a project coordinator working in Bangladesh for MSF (Medecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders), an international humanitarian aid organization that provides emergency medical assistance to almost 80 countries.

A Letter From Bangladesh

This is the story of my first few weeks in Bangladesh. I have been working non-stop since I arrived to try and learn the history of a project that has been ongoing for almost nine years. The departing project coordinator has spent two weeks by my side explaining issues ranging from refugee nutrition to Bangladeshi political strikes. It has been a crash course in everything from culture to politics to administration to human rights to public health, but the main issue we discussed, and the reason I am here, is the Rohingya refugees.

In 1992, more than 250,000 Muslims fled from Burma to Bangladesh. Since that time, MSF and other aid organizations have been working to take care of these refugees and to create an acceptable solution. Most of the refugees were sent back to Burma, but some have refused to go back, fearing persecution and abuse from the Burmese government. Over 21,000 refugees remain in Bangladesh. MSF manages the health care for the most vulnerable of the refugees, including pregnant women and malnourished children. We also run a vaccination program and a health clinic to deal with severe medical cases. At this point, the medical situation has stabilized and the concern has turned more to politics. The Rohingyas face numerous human rights abuses both in Bangladesh and Burma. My role here is to work with the local NGOs (nongovernmental organizations) near the camp to document cases of abuse and mistreatment of refugees and to work to change the situation.

Although this all sounds exciting, the majority of my work so far has consisted of dealing with horrible administrative problems that have nothing to do with the refugees. In my first few weeks here, I have had to fire one employee, suspend another, and visit a third employee in prison, where he stands accused of murdering his wife and daughter. Maybe this is all a way to test a new coordinator? In spare moments, I have been poring over the old documents here in the office to try and learn the background of these issues that are now all my responsibility. I have no idea what the next year will bring, but there will certainly be a lot of new experiences—what more could I ask for?

Getting Meaning from Context

Choose the best definition for the underlined word or term according to the context.


1	This is the story of my first few weeks in Bangladesh. I have been working non-stop since I arrived to try and learn the history of a project that has been ongoing for almost nine years. Non-stop means __.
		A)	without a break
		B)	on and off; sometimes


2	The departing project coordinator has spent two weeks by my side explaining issues ranging from refugee nutrition to Bangladeshi political strikes. It has been a crash course in everything from culture to politics to administration to human rights to public health... A crash course is __.
		A)	a quick, hurried lesson
		B)	a long, comprehensive course


3	In 1992, more than 250,000 Muslims fled from Burma to Bangladesh. Since that time, MSF and other aid organizations have been working to take care of these refugees and to create an acceptable solution. An aid organization __.
		A)	provides language classes to poor populations
		B)	offers help in the form of food, money, medical supplies, etc.


4	A refugee is __.
		A)	a person who moves from one country to another country
		B)	a person who leaves his or her country for religious or political reasons


5	Most of the refugees were sent back to Burma, but some have refused to go back, fearing persecution and abuse from the Burmese government. Persecution is __.
		A)	unwelcome or annoying attention
		B)	punishment or pain that is inflicted, usually for reasons of politics, religion, or race


6	Over 21,000 refugees remain in Bangladesh. MSF manages the health care for the most vulnerable of the refugees, including pregnant women and malnourished children. Vulnerable means __.
		A)	strong
		B)	weak


7	In spare moments, I have been poring over the old documents here in the office to try and learn the background of these issues that are now all my responsibility. Poring means __.
		A)	meditating
		B)	reading carefully

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