Khulna University students, Bangladesh (Photo: JLewis) |
Today I spent the day following Manish and other students
during their normal activities. We started on campus again, where I was able to
interview Manish about his history and his career goals. While waiting for him,
I found a bench and sat to go over my interview questions. A group of young
students noticed me and began to ask what I was doing. I explained how we were
working to basically tell their story (the struggle to become and remain a
conservation biologist) as part of a larger story (the conservation of the
river dolphin). They are all going through the same struggles with their
desires to make a difference and the need to survive themselves. But they were
all incredibly enthusiastic and hopeful.
They were excited about their future and the future of the wildlife in
their country. Talking with them and
feeling their positive energy also gave me hope.
Manish and I travelled through the city to locations where
the students here spend free time and used those locations for further
interviews. Students in Asia are not very different from those in the US, going
where they can locate food and hang out to talk.
Manish sits to have dinner with a friend near the river in Khulna, Bangladesh (Photo: Jlewis, TDRF) |
Tomorrow Manish and I have decided to head back to the
Sundarbans. Manish is working to better understand the issues
between by-catch of dolphins and fisheries in the Sundarbans. To help answer his research
questions, he spends time interviewing and studying local fishermen. We want to
go back to spend time talking about this work while filming fishermen in action to help place his work in perspective for the film.
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