Behind the Bamboo Curtain: Student protest movement ignites Bangladesh

Bangladeshi quota reform protesters – Photo: Prothom Alo newspaper by Cynthia McKinney, PhD Cynthia McKinney represented Georgia in the U.S. House of Representatives for six terms and is currently a university professor in Bangladesh. – ed. Origins I first came to Bangladesh in 2014. I came to speak at a graduation ceremony and the Board of Trustees members gave me a tour of their facilities. They said to me, “No Bangladeshi student should have to leave Bangladesh to get a world-class education.” They toured U.S. university campuses often to see what new ideas they could bring to Bangladesh. And, they created an excellent English language institution. I wanted to stay, and so I did. With the exception of the COVID years, I have been here ever since. I have found Bangladeshis to be courteous to a fault; their food is scrumptious with lots of pepper, just the way I like it, and they have a sharing culture. One of the first things I noticed was how they share with each other. Made me realize just how selfish we are in the U.S. And, juxtaposed to attitudes in the U.S. and U.S. behavior as a state, I found Bangladesh to be...