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Embassy
Open House: Bangladesh Embassy Attracted Over 3300 Enthusiastic
Visitors
Dr.
Faizul Islam
Several
embassies in Washington DC, including the Bangladesh Embassy
held its second Open House from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm today.
Over 3,300 enthusiastic people from different professions
and various parts of the country visited the Bangladesh
Embassy. Unlike any other embassy, all the visitors were
warmly greeted by Bangladesh Ambassador to the United States,
His Excellency Humayun Kabir at the entrance of the Bangladesh
Embassy. All the visitors were entertained with free and
delicious food.
The embassy
had four booths to present Bangladesh to the visitors. In
the first booth, all tourism-related materials, including
posters showing the Royal Bengal Tiger and places of historic
interest were displayed. Brochures published by the Ministry
of Tourism were distributed to prospective tourists. The
second booth displayed Bangladeshi-made products such as
handicrafts, dresses, and gift items. The female visitors
had their wrists colored with mehendi in other booth. Books,
musical instruments, maps and photos of flora and fauna
of Bangladesh were exhibited in the fourth booth.
A half-hour
cultural program consisting of Bangladeshi folk dance was
staged at 12:30 pm which was repeated at 2:30 pm. Bangla
music was played in the background at other times. Some
visitors liked the Bangla music very much and took information
from where to purchase it. They also noted down addresses
of restaurants where Bangladeshi/South Asian foods are served.
Most of the
visitors expressed keen interest to know about the geography,
history, economy, government, culture, religion and people
of Bangladesh, and their questions were answered by observing
the exhibits, talking to the hosts and watching a documentary
film. One of the visitors was surprised to know that all
the books displayed in English were written by Bangladeshi
authors. He thought the people of Bangladesh could not speak
or write English. The host dispelled the visitor’s
misperception. A University of Maryland professor is planning
to bring her students for orientation about Bangladesh to
the embassy next Fall.
The visitors
were handed a two-page questionnaire to comment about their
experience of the visit. Undoubtedly, they gave rave reviews
of their visit. Two oral comments that deserve worth-mentioning
are as follows:
Except for Bangladesh,
no embassy had its ambassador present at the entrance to
welcome the visitors.
Bangladesh Embassy’s
open house was the best among all six embassies located
at International Drive that had open house today.
(Writer’s
comment and plea: Many of the visitors flocked to the Bangladeshi
Embassy because of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus. They have
heard of him through print and electronic media. However,
they were looking for more information about Dr. Yunus and
his Grameen Bank but there were only three of his books
on display. They thought there would be an exclusive booth
on Dr. Yunus and his Grameen Bank, but it was not the case.
Bangladesh government,
irrespective of party affiliation, should be cognizant of
the fact that the Bangladesh’s image abroad has certainly
been elevated because of Dr. Yunus. In this context, Bangladesh
and Dr. Yunus are inseparable. By providing Dr. Yunus due
recognition at home and abroad, the Bangladesh government
will be doing a great service to the country. It is my plea
that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will work in conjunction
with the Bangladesh Embassy in Washington DC and elsewhere
in the world to well-publicize Dr. Yunus and the Grameen
Bank. As such, I hope the visitors will be immensely benefited
who plan to visit the Bangladesh Embassy's open house in
the years to come).
Dr. Faizul
Islam
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