VZCZCXRO0416
RR RUEHAST RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHDBU RUEHLH RUEHNEH RUEHPW
DE RUEHKA #0121/01 0411044
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 101044Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY DHAKA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0001
INFO RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE
RHHMUNA/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 DHAKA 000121 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SCA/INSB, SCA/PPD, SCA/EX, AND R 
DEPT PLS PASS USAID FOR ANE, FRANK YOUNG AND CAROLYN COLEMAN, COO, 
ALONZO FULGHAM, AND DESK OFFICER CARRIE MITCHELL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL EAID SCUL KPAO SOCI BG
SUBJECT: AMERICA WEEK 2009 - TELLING AMERICA'S STORY ON THE ROAD IN 
BANGLADESH 
 
SUMMARY 
-------- 
 
¶1. (SBU) Mission Dhaka made a splash in northwest Bangladesh with 
America Week Rajshahi, highlighting the U.S.-Bangladesh partnership 
and making key contacts outside the capital in this densely 
populated Muslim-majority country.  The three-day Mission-wide 
outreach program included a cricket match, film screenings, student 
advising events, visa information sessions, and a carnival-like 
interactive booth area. America Week brought together Mission Dhaka 
agencies and sections, USG development partners and American 
businesses.  Rajshahi is a divisional capital and the largest city 
in the under-governed northwest of Bangladesh, an area bordering 
India where the U.S. seeks to help the GOB counter human trafficking 
and transnational terrorists.   Mission Dhaka reached more than 
17,000 local inhabitants through visits to educational institutions; 
USG-funded development projects; and Mission-sponsored events 
throughout the greater Rajshahi area.  Our audience included 
politicians, local business leaders, students, academics, religious 
leaders, journalists, sports fans, development practitioners, 
children and members of the general public. 
 
ROAD SHOW TO RAJSHAHI 
---------------------- 
 
¶2. (U) Over 50 members of Mission Dhaka, led by the Ambassador and 
USAID Mission Director, participated in the December 8-10 America 
Week program highlighting U.S.-Bangladesh cooperation in 
development, trade, education, environment, and democracy.   The 
theme of this annual event was "Community," focusing on local and 
global community service. This was the second America Week in 
Rajshahi.   The local population had fond memories of the last 
America Week in 2004.  Mission Dhaka has staged previous America 
Week programs in Chittagong, Sylhet, Khulna, and Barisal. 
 
HOME SWEET PARJATAN MOTEL 
-------------------------- 
 
¶3. (U) The focal point of America Week was the GOB-owned Parjatan 
Hotel, which has seen better days. However, staff transformed the 
hotel, with its spacious lawn and accommodating staff, into a 
welcoming red, white, and blue venue for over 50 information booths. 
 Booths featured USAID partners, American businesses currently 
working in Bangladesh, and various Mission Dhaka offices and 
agencies.  The ever-popular characters from Sisimpur (the USG-funded 
Bangladeshi version of Sesame Street) contributed to the festive 
atmosphere.  The Parjatan also accommodated briefing rooms for USAID 
partners, the Embassy's Consular Section and the press. 
 
RAJSHAHI'S HARD ROW TO HOE 
-------------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) America Week's Chief Guest, Minister of Civil Aviation and 
Tourism Ghulam M. Quader, is himself from Rajshahi division, an 
impoverished area regularly hit by monga, or seasonal famine.  He 
advised the Ambassador how difficult it had been to promote economic 
development in Rajshahi.  Due to the lack of a gas pipeline, 
Rajshahi does not have enough electricity to foster industrial 
growth.  After nudging from the Ambassador, Quader said the 
government would look into expanding electricity generation by coal 
in Rajshahi. 
 
U.S. VISA OUTREACH POPULAR 
-------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) The Consular Section organized five diversity visa (DV) 
presentations, three business visa presentations, and two student 
visa presentations.  Most presentations garnered thirty to eighty 
attendees, with increasing attendance as America Week progressed. 
An additional student visa presentation was added to meet high 
demand.  The student visa presentations and outreach events received 
the highest numbers of attendees.  Audiences displayed a mix of 
enthusiasm and wariness; misinformation was rampant, and some 
attendees expressed concern that the U.S. did not welcome Muslims. 
For example, one attendee at a DV presentation said that a local 
agent claimed that applicants with beards would be ineligible for 
DV.  The Consul General subsequently visited the alleged agent, who 
denied providing false information to applicants. 
 
 
ON THE ROAD AROUND RAJSHAHI 
--------------------------- 
 
¶6. (U) The Mission reached various audiences throughout the district 
of Rajshahi.  Students were among the week's most enthusiastic 
participants.  The Public Affairs Section and the Consular Section 
teamed up for three student outreach presentations, including a 
 
DHAKA 00000121  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
standing-room-only event by the Ambassador at Rajshahi University, 
the second-largest university in Bangladesh.  Overall, students 
exhibited impressive English skills, a higher-than-expected level of 
knowledge about U.S. higher education, and anxiety over the visa 
process and the costs of education. 
 
LEADERS OF INFLUENCE PROGRAM REVERBERATES 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) The Ambassador and Mrs. Moriarty had an extraordinary open 
conversation with 30 alumni of the USAID's Leaders of Influence 
program.  Mrs. Moriarty gave a presentation on the role of religion 
within American politics, stressing that, even though the United 
 States does not have a government-sponsored religion, it is a 
religious country where our leader's personal religious, moral and 
ethical beliefs guide their thoughts and decision-making.  The 
discussion period yielded a welcome frankness by all attendees.  One 
imam whose congregation consists entirely of police officers and 
government employees said that, before participating in the Leaders 
of Influence program, he would only discuss religious matters in his 
Friday sermon.  During the program, he realized that the secular and 
the spiritual could not be separated, and he started telling his 
parishioners they may get away with corruption in this world, but 
God is watching and will punish you in the next.  Policemen have 
since come to him and told him that since he explained the religious 
consequences of their wrong-doings, they have stopped demanding 
bribes. 
 
ENGLISH TRAINING FOR MADRASSA TEACHERS 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶8.  (SBU) The Ambassador inaugurated a State Department-funded 
English training program for madrassa teachers and imams, which 
trains educators in communicative English skills while introducing 
them to American culture.  This Post-initiated program has already 
trained over 500 madrassa teachers and imams in Dhaka and 
Chittagong, the country's two largest cities.  The Rajshahi program 
will reach religious leaders in an area known for conservative 
ideology and a history of religious extremism. 
 
ANTI-CORRUPTION MESSAGE 
----------------------- 
 
¶9.  (U) Ambassador Moriarty and USAID Mission Director Rollins 
participated in a USG-sponsored event in Rajshahi celebrating 
International Anti-Corruption Day, along with the Chairman of the 
Anti-Corruption Commission as Chief Guest.  The USG-funded 
organization Rupantar presented a folk music and dance performance 
with anti-corruption themes, followed by rallies where USG partner 
PROGATI distributed 10,000 red t-shirts bearing anti-corruption 
messages to the general public. 
 
CRICKET DIPLOMACY 
----------------- 
 
¶10. (U) National cricket stars joined the Ambassador for a cricket 
exhibition sponsored by the local police and the U.S. Embassy. The 
event helped build bonds between law enforcement officials and 
average citizens. The Ambassador gave USG-donated cricket equipment 
to fifteen local schools, watched a cricket exhibition featuring 
police, students, and former and current National Cricket Team 
members, and swung a bat himself.  The Ambassador whiffed badly.  In 
addition to participating students and cricket stars, more than 
6,500 spectators lined the cricket pitch to watch the exhibition. 
 
HEALTH, ANTI-TRAFFICKING AND CULTURE 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶11. (U) Other America Week highlights included a visit to clinics 
providing basic medical care and shelter to populations at high risk 
for HIV/AIDS; educational performances encouraging communities to 
fight trafficking in persons; and programs focusing on family 
planning and healthy living.  Recognizing the region's rich cultural 
heritage, the Ambassador visited the Varendra Research Museum, a 
past Ambassador's Fund for Cultural Preservation grantee, which 
houses a priceless collection of Hindu, Islamic and pre-Islamic 
statues, manuscripts, coins, and other artifacts that highlight the 
rich history of North Bengal. 
 
COMMENT 
-------- 
 
¶12. (SBU) America Week participants - from local political and 
business leaders to the throngs of students who packed student visa 
presentations - welcomed the opportunity to meet Mission Dhaka staff 
and partners and learn more about the U.S.-Bangladesh partnership. 
America Week in Rajshahi and other cities around Bangladesh provides 
 
DHAKA 00000121  003 OF 003 
 
 
an opportunity for Mission staff to go on the road together to 
directly engage the 140 million Bangladeshis who live outside the 
capital.  America Week demonstrates U.S. focus on engagement beyond 
the Dhaka bubble, the locus of the over-centralization of 
government, business, healthcare, and education that impedes 
Bangladesh's development. Mission Dhaka appreciates the financial 
support from the South Central Asia bureau that made America Week a 
success. 
 
MORIARTY