Letter from Sadiya from UK to Satu in Bangladesh

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Sender: Sadiya Taher

Senders Location: Glasgow, UK 

Receiver: Sarifa Islam Satu

Receiver Location: Rajshahi, Bangladesh



Dear Sarifa Islam Satu,

I am Eva and I am excited to write you! You are actually my first pen pal, so this is a great new experience for me. I am currently doing my Masters in Journalism and hoping to work in a related field after my graduation. What about you?

I was in a local shop today, getting something to eat between my classes, when I had the strangest sensation- a spontaneous awareness of the unlikeliness of this life. I started to think about all the rest of the human population in Bangladesh- most of whom live in what you and I would consider poverty- who have never seen or entered such a shop. And this is all their life sustains. This lifestyle is for people like us! All the various brands of soft drinks in plastic bottles and all the pre-packaged lunch deals and confectionary in sealed bags and store-baked pastries- this is it, the culmination of all the labor in the world, all the burning of fossil fuels and all the back-breaking work on coffee farms and sugar plantations. All for what? A convenience store! I also pondered about materialism and how it promotes an unhealthy and almost unachievable hunger for wealth in people who already have enough to lead a peaceful life and how this notion is making the rich, richer and the poor, poorer.

This is a broad topic, maybe we can unpack it more later on- let’s move on to something fun. What's your favorite tv show? One of my favorite tv shows is Anne with an E and the reason why I love it so much is that it portrays the first wave of women's empowerment in the 17/18th century. My favorite character from this show is the protagonist Anne who is incredibly brave, talented, and mature for someone her age. She has a unique way with words, and she really knows how to express herself. She had a difficult childhood-not I resonated with her predicament, but how she managed to imagine the best of things when things were crucial for her really touched me. My second favorite character is Gilbert who is absolutely breathtaking and a kind person. He really sees Anne for who she is and not for where she came from and that form of love (to write something so pure like that) has created these unrealistic expectations in me about love. I did not know while watching it that it is based on a novel, and I am thinking of reading it soon. Speaking of novels, do you enjoy reading?

I hope you find my perspectives interesting and ignore the mistakes that I have made in this letter, and I am excited to hear from you!

Best Wishes,

Eva

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