Eid

Today I went out with our sponsor's driver, Vincent, to run some errands. The traffic here is horrendous so we had to go a different way to get home.  We went through some areas of Dhaka that I hadn't seen before, and it was very interesting.  As we are driving on the 'highway', Vincent slows down the car and points to the left.  I have no idea what he has said, but as I turn to look I see hundreds and hundreds of cows tied up within inches of each other.  I didn't know at the time, but what I was looking at was a 'cattle market' where cows are sold for the Eid holiday.  Traditionally Muslims buy a cow or goat to slaughter in remembrance of Abraham's sacrifice.  After slaughtering the animal, the meat is distributed among relatives and the poor.

After coming home, I started a conversation with Shanti about seeing the cattle market in Banani.  She tells me that there is a market a block away from our apartment with many, many cows.  After she tells me this, I ask her if she will come with me to see the market - which she is very happy to do.  I am usually pretty comfortable walking around our neighborhood by myself, but I was very happy to have Shanti around - I felt much safer as she is Bangladeshi and knows the language.  Not only that, but she is very motherly.  She kept reaching out and grabbing my hand to keep me close when crowds of people surrounded us. 

As we approached the market, I saw thousands (yes, thousands) of cows lined up next to each other for sale - and these cows were ENORMOUS!  As we dodged the flicking cow tails, I kept an eye on the ground to prevent myself from stepping in the copious amounts of cow dung. While walking along the alleys, groups of at least 30 men and children followed my every move.  They didn't say anything, just stared curiously at the white-skinned, blonde-haired foreigner.  I couldn't help but feel like a celebrity!

As I walked by, this cow almost kicked dirt in my face before mounting the cow next to him.  Shanti grabbed my arm and ran a few feet before laughing out loud.

While walking through these alleys, I couldn't help but think about the cows' unfortunate fate.  I can't help but feel sorry for the poor animals, knowing that their lives will be over in a couple days.  Don't get me wrong, I eat beef - and I LOVE beef, but it's difficult seeing the living, breathing cow days before it is slaughtered.  I guess it's a good thing I never lived on a farm!