A tribute to Bangladesh

So, thank you to the rickshaw-pullers who always greet us with smiles and work so hard under the scorching sun or in the pouring rain to support their families. Your resilience should make some of us feel ashamed of our comfortable lives and unwillingness to help others in need.

Thank you the women and children who break bricks all day long to help ensure that there is enough building materials for roads and construction project. Knowing how much you earn each day breaks my heart but I admire your patience and your hard work. I hope that your working conditions will improve and that your rights will be properly protected.

Thanks to the garbage collectors who work day and night to ensure that our homes and streets remain clean. Thank you for risking your health to keep us healthy. I hope you will be provided with suitable protective working gear.

Thanks to the local people in many villages around Dhaka who always opened their homes, invited us in for a drink and climbed up trees to pick fruits for our children. Your hospitality and integrity should make Bangladesh proud. I hope you will benefit from improvements of basic social services such as health care, clean water and schooling for your children.

Thanks-you to the sari makers for producing this stylish and elegant fabric while helping to maintain Bangladesh's heritage. I will keep wearing my sari on special occasions and be reminded of your hard-work and diligence. I hope Bangladesh's trade can be better promoted so that your beautiful products can be enjoyed by many women outside your country.

Thank-you to the shopkeepers and traders who often go out of their ways to meet customer demands, from elegant pearls, antiques, teak-wood furniture, to ceramics. I hope Bangladesh can soon enjoy a more stable political environment so that you can open your shop each day and don't have to worry about hartals.

Thank-you to so many volunteers who are working hard to protect and provide for the educational needs of poor women and children living on the street or in slum areas. Your courage and commitment are changing more lives than you ever know.

To the common people of Bangladesh who have to battle regular floods and cyclones to survive and to earn a living, I admire your courage and I hope that your living conditions will soon improve. You deserve better and I hope to return one day soon to see your wonderful smiles on your faces again.