Caught between the traumatic legacy of 1971, the political upheaval of 2024, and new global shocks, Bangladesh is walking a tightrope. As the country establishes itself as an economic player in the Global South, NGOs must navigate an increasingly rigid administrative environment and emerging identity-based tensions. The story of a 24-year commitment with Solinfo, where humanitarian agility is challenged by the complexity of a “laboratory country.”
Solinfo in Bangladesh: 24 Years After the Initial Vision
My early morning arrival in Dhaka this year was nothing like the three previous ones. After the familiar shock of the heat, even at 5:30 a.m., I was greeted by an unusual calm: an almost empty airport, as if suspended in time. The immigration process, surprisingly smooth, confirmed this strange impression.
I could have seen it as a symbolic sign of calm following the tension of the recent elections… But above all, it was the result of the sudden disruption to air traffic caused by the outbreak of the conflict in the Middle East.
How could I not think, that morning, of all my predecessors who learned before me to love this country, which is not easily approached. For the NGO Solinfo, which sent me here, has a special history with Bangladesh. It was even here, in Dhaka, that Solinfo’s story began, 24 years ago.
Since 2002, this original idea of training disadvantaged young adults in office software to help them find employment has remained unchanged: Solinfo continues to run a network of vocational training centers to give a chance to those who have the least—young adults, the most disadvantaged among the disadvantaged, girls and boys together, from all communities and religions.
Twenty-four years later, building on that initial momentum, Solinfo has grown into a small NGO operating in several countries, running emergency aid and development programs. In Bangladesh, Solinfo has remained true to this original commitment, as well as to the local team, led from the very beginning by Sultana Afroage, our country director.
This long history creates a special bond—between the teams in France and those in Bangladesh, between successive country directors, and, more broadly, with a country that remains largely unknown to many French people.
Humanitarian work thus holds this kind of surprise: sending you to countries that mean nothing, or very little, to you. For many French people, Bangladesh is one of those countries. It is not part of our collective imagination and appears in our media only when the monsoon season highlights its vulnerability to the effects of global warming.
Yet, in many ways, this country is emblematic of the fractures in the contemporary world. Poor, landlocked between powerful neighbors, and a global powerhouse of the textile industry, it faces considerable demographic, climatic, political, and economic challenges. It must tackle these in an increasingly unstable international environment, marked by growing geopolitical and identity-based tensions.
This country, which was also an early testing ground for emergency aid and development, has just weathered events whose implications remain uncertain, particularly for the NGOs operating there.
The Legacy of 1971: Between Resilience and Democratic Fragility
Bangladesh was born in blood in 1971, following a particularly deadly war of independence against Pakistan. This war of independence was accompanied by mass killings of civilians, targeted eliminations of intellectuals, and the systematic use of rape as a weapon of social destruction. Hundreds of thousands of people were killed, and millions fled to India.
For many historians and legal scholars, these events constitute the first genocide since World War II. This foundational trauma continues to shape the country’s political life today, marked by coups and political violence.
From Sheikh Hasina’s Stability to the Break in 2024
As leader of the Awami League, Sheikh Hasina came to power in 1996. For nearly three decades, until her downfall in 2024, she shaped modern Bangladesh by embodying a form of stability in a country marked by decades of chaos.
Under her leadership, Bangladesh is opening up and striving to firmly establish the principles that guided its founding: institutional pluralism, a form of secularism, and a generally peaceful coexistence between the Muslim majority and religious minorities.
But it is elsewhere that the change is most visible: in the streets and factories, young women are now working everywhere. Girls’ widespread access to education and their integration into the textile industry have profoundly transformed society, offering millions of them their first income and a form of autonomy.
In half a century, Bangladesh has been transformed. From a state bled dry at the dawn of independence, it has become a major economic player in the Global South.
Yet, as power consolidated, it inevitably closed in on itself. Accusations of authoritarian drift multiplied, political space shrank, and a growing segment of the population began to feel excluded from the system.
2024–2026: A Youth in Search of Change
The student uprising that erupted in 2024 was the culmination of frustration that had been building for years among a large, educated, and connected youth population—one confronted with unemployment, political gridlock, corruption, and a sense of injustice.
The violent crackdown hastened the regime’s collapse, marked by Sheikh Hasina’s flight to India and the beginning of a transitional period led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus. Under his leadership, the interim authorities drafted a constitutional reform plan to strengthen democratic safeguards.
But alongside this democratic protest, another dynamic gained strength: the rise of a more structured political Islam. This movement asserted itself not only through religious discourse but also as a moral alternative to a system deemed corrupt. In certain segments of society, particularly among young people, political Islam appeared to embody order, integrity, and social justice.
Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami thus hoped to capture the protest vote stemming from the student uprising. However, despite an intense campaign, this dynamic did not translate into a significant breakthrough for the party in the February 2026 elections, which were won by a wide margin by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).
Despite its electoral failure and the choice of a more traditional alternation with the BNP, the Islamist party retains real influence by shifting the public debate toward identity-based and conservative themes.
More than ever, Bangladesh is torn between two conflicting visions of its society and its future.
The Local Context: A Barometer of Intercommunal Tensions
It was against this backdrop, just after the elections, that my plane landed in Dhaka on March 8. This political context quickly faded into the background as I interacted with the young people in our centers in Dhaka, Chittagong, and Cox’s Bazar. In our training rooms, it is not concepts or geopolitical balances that are discussed, but individual life paths—always fragile.
These young adults, soon to leave the school system, come to Solinfo’s 10 centers seeking something concrete: access to work, a place in an economy that is rapidly transforming—though not always for them. Above all, they come seeking a means to make a living: an income, a start in life.
This opportunity is even more crucial for young women. Access to employment allows them to exercise a certain degree of freedom in a country where the weight of tradition—regardless of religion—often bears more heavily on their future than on that of boys. Aged 17 to 20, most of our female students envision themselves in very modern jobs and life choices.
One of them, a student at one of our training centers housed in an orphanage, asked me: “I’m torn between joining the civil service, working at a data processing center, or doing freelance digital marketing…”. None of these choices would be possible without the openness and opportunities offered by our centers.
By establishing our centers at the heart of the communities with which we partner, we have the opportunity to observe a wide variety of situations: Buddhist, Hindu, and Muslim communities, as well as private and public centers. This presence gives us a very concrete glimpse into the reality of the country.
It has also allowed us to gauge the fear that has spread during this period of transition, often resulting in communities turning inward.
We were thus forced to close one of our centers, located within the Damma Oejaya Buddhist temple, in the heart of a very isolated community of 81 families from the Rakhine ethnic group, originally from Burma. Despite the importance of this education for their children, the community rejected our principle of religious coexistence and chose to withdraw into itself.
This decision was difficult to accept, but it reflects the very real fear of intercommunal violence that marked the transition period.
This episode served as a wake-up call for us. For the first time, we clearly perceived the risks that could threaten our presence. The possibility of Jamaat-e-Islami coming to power cast doubt on the very principles that underpin our centers: the mixing of genders, religions, and communities.
During this period, our country director regularly reported pressure regarding the wearing of the veil. The director of a cultural center in Dhaka also told me a year ago: “In two months, 90% of the women working here started wearing the veil to avoid problems on public transportation.”
Nevertheless, during these nearly two years of transition, the country has continued to function, despite the security and institutional vacuum. And in fact, Solinfo has not faced any new constraints preventing us from carrying out our mission.
Solinfo: A Discreet but Well-Established Presence
Our position is undoubtedly also due to the very nature of our program. With ten training centers and approximately 300 young graduates each year—an equal number of girls and boys—Solinfo remains a modestly sized organization.
Our funding model also contributes to this stability. It is based on a balance between Solinfo France’s own funds, a strong partnership with Terres des Hommes Alsace—which has been in place for six years and has been renewed for several more—and support from local businesses.
This last aspect is emblematic of our approach. Wherever possible, we seek to build local partnerships—whether private or institutional—capable of co-financing or even gradually taking over our programs.
In Dhaka, we can count on a network of companies that support our work through in-kind donations, mentoring, and opportunities offered to the beneficiaries of our centers.
Since Bangladesh is one of the world’s major hubs for the textile industry, many French and European companies are based there. Over the course of my discussions with these stakeholders, I have sensed, for the past two years, a growing concern about the emergence of a regime that would undermine women’s right to work. The director of a textile purchasing office for a major French retailer told me directly: “If women can no longer work, the whole country comes to a standstill.”
But the relief sparked by the election results ultimately proved short-lived within the business community.
Bangladesh on a Knife’s Edge
Bangladesh is constantly walking a tightrope. Caught between dependence on globalization and regional constraints, between economic openness and identity-based tensions, every external shock further destabilizes an already fragile balance.
India remains a key partner, but the relationship is ambivalent, now marked by the rise of Hindu nationalism. With Pakistan, ties remain deeply scarred by the trauma of 1971: while diplomatic relations exist, the memory of the genocide continues to permeate political life.
At the same time, the country must contend with the growing economic influence of China, which seeks to establish a foothold in the Bay of Bengal, and the increasingly unpredictable stance of the United States, the primary market for its exports.
Caught between these dynamics, Bangladesh finds itself at the center of an unstable strategic game, subject to competing influences and constant regional tensions.
A humanitarian laboratory under pressure
These vulnerabilities have made Bangladesh, for over 50 years, a major field of intervention for NGOs.
Born out of war and the massive displacement of populations in 1971, it was one of the first major theaters of modern humanitarian action. Cyclones, floods, food insecurity: over the decades, NGOs have tested responses there that have since spread elsewhere. Some of the world’s largest organizations were founded there. The country has not only received aid but has also helped to redefine its methods.
Compounding these structural tensions is a major humanitarian crisis: that of the Rohingya. Since 2017, nearly one million refugees have settled in the southeast of the country, around Cox’s Bazar. Their prolonged presence places considerable strain on resources, local balances, and relations with host communities.
It has also brought Bangladesh back to the forefront of the international humanitarian response, while highlighting the difficulty of managing a crisis that is likely to persist. It is within this complex situation that NGOs are operating today.
Humanitarian Agility Put to the Test by the Administrative “Wall”
Despite the emergence and recurrence of crises affecting the country, working in Bangladesh is becoming increasingly complex. As the country has developed and asserted itself, it has tightened the framework within which these organizations operate. The main challenge is no longer so much access to the field as the ability to navigate a dense administrative environment.
Bureaucracy has become the central point of friction. Nothing is impossible, but everything takes time. Humanitarian action—whether emergency or development—must now contend with this reality that imposes itself on a daily basis.
It requires a long-term commitment, building solid relationships of trust with local partners and authorities, and accepting that every project is as much an administrative exercise as it is fieldwork.
For a small organization like ours, whose strength and legitimacy rest on agility, Bangladesh presents a particularly demanding challenge.
Everywhere else, Solinfo prioritizes this agility: a lean, volunteer-based organization, entirely local teams, rapid decision-making, and rigorous yet streamlined management tools.
In Bangladesh, we have to deal with extremely stringent administrative requirements: ten-year permits, five-year plans, annual approvals, and semi-annual authorizations for the use of funds… Each step involves highly complex approval processes.
Like many of my colleagues, I’ve lost count of the hours spent in the waiting rooms of various government agencies trying to speed up the process of getting that crucial stamp that will unlock our operations.
Without the expertise and experience of our local team, this administrative framework would be unsustainable for an NGO of our size. In fact, in recent years, it has contributed to the withdrawal of certain organizations that were far larger than ours.
Conclusion: Beyond Programs, the Imperative of Human Connection
Bangladesh has taken a step forward, but nothing is settled. The coming months will be decisive, both for confirming the country’s political trajectory and for clarifying the space within which NGOs can continue to operate.
Selfishly, humanitarian actors hope for a loosening of the administrative constraints that govern their work. But beyond these constraints, the key challenge remains that of peaceful coexistence among communities, which remains fragile following recent tensions.
These balances must now be rebuilt against the backdrop of a severely deteriorated global economy. For Solinfo, another major shift is already underway: the emergence of artificial intelligence, which directly threatens low-value-added jobs—the cornerstone of the Bangladeshi economic model and the employment prospects of our beneficiaries.
Bangladesh is moving forward, under multiple pressures, but driven by a resilience that is its strength. Paradoxically, the length of our presence in this country gives us the ability to adapt. It also imposes a form of loyalty upon us: loyalty to our history, but above all to our teams.
In development aid, we often speak of the need to avoid creating dependency and to hand the baton to local actors. This is essential. But the work we do also creates bonds. And these bonds matter. Because behind the programs are men and women who remind us that in “humanitarian,” “human” comes first.
As heirs to this history that began here in 2002, the successive teams leading Solinfo carry on both the programs and the bonds. Here, as in Syria, Iraq, Côte d’Ivoire, or Mozambique, we seek to strengthen local community organizations’ capacity to respond to young people’s aspirations for the future.
Gérard Payen.
Thierry Liebaut
An entrepreneur and travel enthusiast, Thierry joined Solinfo as an active member and was later elected secretary general. At Solinfo, he has found a way to combine work at headquarters with fieldwork, as part of a team dedicated to small-scale humanitarian projects, working directly with local partners and Solinfo’s beneficiaries. In the past, he has contributed to numerous humanitarian programs in Iraq, Lebanon, and Africa.
He oversees Solinfo’s programs in Bangladesh and Mozambique.
Solinfo
Solinfo is an international aid NGO based in Paris, chaired by Edouard Lagourgue, and run entirely by volunteers and experts.
Since 2002, we have been working with local partners in crisis-stricken countries to help young people survive, rebuild their lives, and shape the future of their region.
Our beneficiaries come from vulnerable groups, often located in neglected areas where humanitarian aid is scarce or nonexistent.
Our approach: building North–South partnerships to strengthen the resilience of the most vulnerable
To operate as closely as possible to the realities of the countries where we work, Solinfo relies on local structures and teams and supports them with financial, technical, and human resources.
Our initiatives are thus designed with and for the communities, respecting their culture and humanitarian law, in order to strengthen their capacities and autonomy.
>> To learn more about Solinfo
Discover the other articles of this edition :
You must be logged in to post a comment.