RESPONDING TO MURDER: The City as a Site of Compassion for LGBTQ Activists in Bangladesh

Abstract

Bangladesh has a large and expanding network of international and local NGOs, present since the country's founding in 1971. The number and scope of NGOs operating within the country has expanded greatly since their initial focus on emergency and disaster relief following independence. Development literature tends to focus on the efficacy of NGOs and their interactions with the state. In this essay, I employ ethnographic fieldwork focusing on the microscale and examine how these broad, international networks of NGOs intersect with the local: small, personal acts of kindness via networks that are facilitated by the space of the city, Dhaka, as illustrated by the aftermath of the brutal murders of LGBTQ activists Xulhaz Mannan and Mahbub Rabbi Tonoy. Immediately after the killings there was international condemnation, but domestically the government seemed reticent to hold accountable those who had committed the murders. As in-depth interviews revealed, many LGBTQ activists in Bangladesh went into hiding or left the country shortly after the murders. However, activists also described a broad network of local NGOs and individuals that ensured their safety. They included a range of local partners, such as local NGOs focused on human rights and advocacy, women's rights and public health, and even those broadly focused on development. These networks were made possible through the city as a site of compassion: a space that enabled local and international actors to come together and shield activists.