In the midst of injustice, discrimination and hatred against humanity around the globe, I recommend the world community to come and get inspiration from Missoula, Montana

“Why Montana?” Some of my U.S. friends reacted this way upon hearing the news that I, a business executive from Bangladesh, would be heading to the University of Montana for a six-week U.S. State Department-funded program on “Youth, Workforce Development and Closing the Skills Gap.”

On my way to Missoula from L.A. in July, I observed that many passengers were exchanging greetings as if they knew each other. “Are they relatives/friends travelling together?” The girl sitting next to me told me, “We are Missoulians — friendly and welcoming; inhabitants of the last best place.” The following four weeks of my stay in Missoula were a testimonial to what she told me.