The last few weeks in Bangladesh have been rather tense. As you may know in the capital city Dhaka late in September an Italian man was killed. A few days later in Rangpur a city 1 1/2 hours from us a Japanese man was also killed. This happened in a country where violence is not uncommon but where we as foreigners always felt safe. It is still not clear if terrorists were behind this or the deaths were for another reason. The consequence of this is that the foreign embassies have advised people not to ride alone is cars or to use a riksja or other open transportation.

Currently at LAMB Hospital there are 6 police agents in addition to the security we already have. Since these 2 killings there have been no further incidents with foreigners. The question now is how long do we comply with the limited travel advice and when do we ignore the advice. The embassy's advice is always stricter that what we found to be reasonable but we do not want to act irresponsibly.

These restrictions have not affected my daily work. I live on the hospital compound and can always get to my work. The travel restrictions apply only to foreigners. Patients can come without any travel restrictions. Still this was a quiet week in the hospital. There was a hindu festival the whole week. Last year during this festival I visited staf but this year I did not do that. It is wise to avoid large crowds.

Here you see a picture of the doctors that work in the hospital. The picture was taken when we said goodbye to 2 of the doctors. You can see that there is about 1 foreigner for every 2 Bangladesh doctors.

About a month ago my help, Rani, became a grandmother. The mother of the child lives and works in Dinajpur, about 20 miles from us, but she still has maternity leave by her mother, Rani. This happens quite frequently. The child’s father stays to work and there is no help with the caring for the child. This way the mother gets help and also advice from her parents. The foto below was taken when I went to see the new grandchild!

Lastly a picture of a patient I currently have. Sumay is 3 years old. When she was 1 year old she burned her foot when she stepped into the ashes of the cooking fire. Now her big toe is not growing properly. This week I operated on her toe. She is a very friendly child that greets me (and everyone else in the ward) very enthusiastically. This is extra special because most children are not pleased to see me. I am associated with painful things and they begin to cry when I come. This is understandable because children with large burn wounds definitely have pain and have gone through a traumatic experience. That makes it extra nice when there is a child that likes me! Lastly a picture of a patient I currently have. Sumay is 3 years old. When she was 1 year old she burned her foot when she stepped into the ashes of the cooking fire. Now her big toe is not growing properly. This week I operated on her toe. She is a very friendly child that greets me (and everyone else in the ward) very enthusiastically. This is extra special because most children are not pleased to see me. I am associated with painful things and they begin to cry when I come. This is understandable because children with large burn wounds definitely have pain and have gone through a traumatic experience. That makes it extra nice when there is a child that likes me!