This week I caught up (Via zoom of course) with UNE PhD student, Sazzad.  You can hear our chat by clicking the link below:

Cultural Conversations – with PhD student, Sazzad Siddiqui 

Sazzad is an Associate Professor at the Department of Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Dhaka in Bangladesh and over the years being a nomadic academic has found him studying and researching in various contrasting areas across the globe. From the bustling dense alleyways of Dhaka’s riverside streets to the blistering artic winds of Bergen, Norway, Sazzad has set up camp and called a number of universities home. Now, he dwells on top of the rolling New England hills and for a man who has visited some of the world’s most populous places, he finds solace in the quieter but prosperous Armidale region.  

Under the guidance of Dr Bert Jenkins and co-supervisor Dr Tony Lynch, Sazzad is completing the final year of his PhD project titled,   

Post-liberal Hybrid Peace (building): Examining the role of peace infrastructure, positive peace and indigeneity in the post-accord Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh. 

Being a Bangladeshi citizen, Sazzad personally explains the violent past experienced by his fellow people and their country, and he further highlights the importance of understanding violence, in all its forms, before delving into peace. Sazzad continues to paint an image of hope for Bangladesh’s future and their post-conflict peace building efforts, a project and goal that Sazzad himself hopes to help improve on through his Research at UNE.  

Zooming in and situated in front of a virtual Golden Gate bridge, Sazzad talks about his PhD journey. He opens up about the UNE student experience and highlights the important and priceless relationships that UNE Students are able to build with their professors, something Sazzad avows is unique to our university.  

Sazzad’s optimistic attitude towards life, his passion for peace and his hands-on approach towards building a greater, more peaceful world is enlightening and it was a pleasure to be able to speak to such a character.  

*And, of course, towards the end of our talks, it would have been rude not to get Sazzad’s opinion on the current COVID-19 situation. So, he provides his thought on what the post pandemic situation might look like from a peace point of view.

Words and recording by Harrison Munday.