"See how we live like a caged bird," Mahmuda Khatun said pointing to her 70-square-foot makeshift hut on the narrow embankment by the Kholpetua river at Gabura in Satkhira.
Mahmuda along with her husband, sixty-year-old mother-in-law and four children live in the tiny bamboo-made thatched hut, merely 400 metres off from their homestead, which is now under saline water.
She said her children have no place to move around or play. The families living on the embankment always remain worried about their children, who may drown anytime in a moment of carelessness. Many of the families have stopped sending the children to school.
"Most of the time I keep my children virtually confined to the hut. When they get extremely bored, I have to allow them to walk outside for a moment but not too far," Mahmuda said, giving a picture of a common fear in the entire floating community.
Hundreds of families from other coastal villages in Satkhira, Khulna and Bagerhat had the same fate since cyclone Aila ripped through the region on May 25, 2009.
Tidal surges have breached parts of the embankment, washed away houses along with all belongings, livestock and poultry, and displaced families from their locality.
Cyclone Aila, though, did not claim more than 190 lives because of precautionary measures. But it caused a huge loss to property killing 150,000 livestock and ruining crops on about 3.23 lakh acres of land, according to the food and disaster management ministry.
The Campaign for Sustainable and Rural Livelihood (CSRL) programme of Oxfam which has been working in the Aila-hit areas since the disaster occurred said, as many as 77,531 families were affected.
Citing a recent survey, Ziaul Haq Mukta, member secretary of CSRL, said 54,530 individuals from 10,906 families could not return to their own places and are still living on the embankment in certain areas.
During a recent visit to many affected areas, it was seen that the villagers who took shelter on the embankment are still marooned even after two years as saline water permanently inundated their homestead, cropland and ponds.
The normal village life that they had only two years ago seems to be lost forever as these people have no alternative means to earn a living.
Allegations are rife that the authorities concerned are not repairing the damaged embankments that once protected the villages from the waters of the Kabodak and Kholpetua rivers. Besides, there are allegations of misappropriation and inadequate supply of relief materials.
Thirty-year-old Habibullah Gazi who lives on the embankment said, "We got some food, drinking water, medicine and few other materials from the government and non-government organisations.
"But we did not get anything which could help us get back to our normal life," he added.
Everyone raised the same point that Aila came to their life for a day and was over two years ago, but the miseries it inflicted on them still persist.
What frustrates the victims most is the fact that there is no move from any quarter to restore their normal life.
Now they have become refugees or slum dwellers in their own villages where they once had their houses and everything.
The situation is even worse for the children who have no place to freely move around or play. Their life has been confined to the 10-foot-width of embankment by the river.
Sixty-year-old Sahara Khatun, mother-in-law of Mahmuda, still cannot believe how the catastrophe shattered their lives. She often thinks she is having a nightmare and everything will be alright when she would wake up.
Sahara was born in the village where her ancestors lived for generations and which is now under saline water.
"None of my parents and grandparents had witnessed such a devastating cyclone," said Sahara with a grim face and a blank look.
Recalling the serene pictures of the village during her youth, she said, "I do not wish to live like this anymore."
The marooned people live on a part of the embankment, which is also eroding and may collapse anytime due to the pressure of water from both sides.
They have no land to cultivate now, while cultivation may not be possible in near future due to salinity in the soil. There is no big or small fish in the river near their villages, and it takes a day to bring drinking water from the distant villages.
The only source of income for these victims is shrimp fry. All the men, some women and even children catch shrimp fry and sell it in the market across the river.
With the little money they get from shrimp fry sale, they buy rice, vegetables and potato. At times, vegetables turn too expensive and they are forced to eat only rice and potato.
Asked about protein in their menu, the villagers said it is now just a dream for them.
"We cannot even think about it in this present situation," said Sahara.
Md Abdus Samad, deputy commissioner of Satkhira, told The Daily Star that rehabilitation programmes undertaken for the victims include repair and reconstruction of embankments, food aid, money-for-work, house construction and support in agricultural activities, among others.
Most of the people in this region are farmers who cannot grow rice or any other crop as salinity in the soil remains unnaturally high since the Aila swept across the land, he said.
"So we are looking into shrimp farming as an alternative for crop," he added.
"But if you talk about giving them back their normal life, it will take a long time," the DC said.
The report has been taken from The Daily Star. Date- Sunday, May 1, 2011
Mahmuda along with her husband, sixty-year-old mother-in-law and four children live in the tiny bamboo-made thatched hut, merely 400 metres off from their homestead, which is now under saline water.
She said her children have no place to move around or play. The families living on the embankment always remain worried about their children, who may drown anytime in a moment of carelessness. Many of the families have stopped sending the children to school.
"Most of the time I keep my children virtually confined to the hut. When they get extremely bored, I have to allow them to walk outside for a moment but not too far," Mahmuda said, giving a picture of a common fear in the entire floating community.
Tidal surges have breached parts of the embankment, washed away houses along with all belongings, livestock and poultry, and displaced families from their locality.
Cyclone Aila, though, did not claim more than 190 lives because of precautionary measures. But it caused a huge loss to property killing 150,000 livestock and ruining crops on about 3.23 lakh acres of land, according to the food and disaster management ministry.
The Campaign for Sustainable and Rural Livelihood (CSRL) programme of Oxfam which has been working in the Aila-hit areas since the disaster occurred said, as many as 77,531 families were affected.
Citing a recent survey, Ziaul Haq Mukta, member secretary of CSRL, said 54,530 individuals from 10,906 families could not return to their own places and are still living on the embankment in certain areas.
During a recent visit to many affected areas, it was seen that the villagers who took shelter on the embankment are still marooned even after two years as saline water permanently inundated their homestead, cropland and ponds.
The normal village life that they had only two years ago seems to be lost forever as these people have no alternative means to earn a living.
Allegations are rife that the authorities concerned are not repairing the damaged embankments that once protected the villages from the waters of the Kabodak and Kholpetua rivers. Besides, there are allegations of misappropriation and inadequate supply of relief materials.
Thirty-year-old Habibullah Gazi who lives on the embankment said, "We got some food, drinking water, medicine and few other materials from the government and non-government organisations.
"But we did not get anything which could help us get back to our normal life," he added.
Everyone raised the same point that Aila came to their life for a day and was over two years ago, but the miseries it inflicted on them still persist.
What frustrates the victims most is the fact that there is no move from any quarter to restore their normal life.
Now they have become refugees or slum dwellers in their own villages where they once had their houses and everything.
The situation is even worse for the children who have no place to freely move around or play. Their life has been confined to the 10-foot-width of embankment by the river.
Sixty-year-old Sahara Khatun, mother-in-law of Mahmuda, still cannot believe how the catastrophe shattered their lives. She often thinks she is having a nightmare and everything will be alright when she would wake up.
Sahara was born in the village where her ancestors lived for generations and which is now under saline water.
"None of my parents and grandparents had witnessed such a devastating cyclone," said Sahara with a grim face and a blank look.
Recalling the serene pictures of the village during her youth, she said, "I do not wish to live like this anymore."
The marooned people live on a part of the embankment, which is also eroding and may collapse anytime due to the pressure of water from both sides.
They have no land to cultivate now, while cultivation may not be possible in near future due to salinity in the soil. There is no big or small fish in the river near their villages, and it takes a day to bring drinking water from the distant villages.
The only source of income for these victims is shrimp fry. All the men, some women and even children catch shrimp fry and sell it in the market across the river.
With the little money they get from shrimp fry sale, they buy rice, vegetables and potato. At times, vegetables turn too expensive and they are forced to eat only rice and potato.
Asked about protein in their menu, the villagers said it is now just a dream for them.
"We cannot even think about it in this present situation," said Sahara.
Md Abdus Samad, deputy commissioner of Satkhira, told The Daily Star that rehabilitation programmes undertaken for the victims include repair and reconstruction of embankments, food aid, money-for-work, house construction and support in agricultural activities, among others.
Most of the people in this region are farmers who cannot grow rice or any other crop as salinity in the soil remains unnaturally high since the Aila swept across the land, he said.
"So we are looking into shrimp farming as an alternative for crop," he added.
"But if you talk about giving them back their normal life, it will take a long time," the DC said.
The report has been taken from The Daily Star. Date- Sunday, May 1, 2011
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