| Constantly on the run
In just one year Mahe Alam
and Sona Khatun and their three children
have been forced to move three times. They
just added the finishing touches to their
brand-new bamboo hut.
"We don’t have
the money to buy our own piece of land.
We have to rent and that’s why we
are always given the piece of land most
prone to be flooded. It is only a question
of time before we will have to move again.
We are always worried, especially during
and immediately after the flooding,"
explains Mahe Alam. But even though the
family is constantly on the run Mahe Alam
never considered moving his family to the
mainland.
"I’m a poor
man and I will never be able to raise the
money to buy my own piece of land on the
mainland. I would not be able to take care
of my family anywhere else but here,"
says Mahe Alam.
Inhuman pressure
According to Mr. Nazrul
Ghani, who works as a Project Coordinatior
for RDRS (Rangpur, Dinajpur Rural Service),
the difficult living conditions of Mahe
alam and Sona Khatun are not rare in the
Chars.
"The Char people are
constantly subjected to an almost inhuman
pressure because of a violent Nature. In
RDRS from time to time we try to talk the
Char dwellers into moving to the mainland,
but usually without any luck. The Char people
are poor people and just like Mahe Alam
they don’t have the means to buy a
piece of land. In the Chars they can fish
in the river and their cattle can grass
in the wide-open spaces. Furthermore the
soil is fertile like no other place in this
country, especially after the flooding it
gives a good yield. Mustard, peanuts and
lentils grow with lightning speed. Among
the Char people this period is called "The
Golden Time". This is why in general
the Char people don’t want to leave
the area in spite of the dangers they face
year after year. To them the Brahmaputra
is a sort of a curse, but at the same time
it is their blessing," explains Nazrul
Ghani.
A question of life and death
Nazrul Ghani spends most
of his working hours in the Chars. In cooperation
with the local RDRS employees he tries to
prevent any possible disaster.
"We prepare the people
for the time of the flooding. We explain
them how important it is always to keep
some cash savings and to keep some blankets
and some food in stock. In that way they
will be bale to take care of themselves
or any needy neighbour during an emergency
situation. We help the Char people to raise
the ground on which they build their houses
and we teach them how to measure the water
level in such way that they will be able
to anticipate events. We put up posters
in the villages, arrange meetings in the
village halls and we have established local
drama groups performing on disaster preparedness
and other relevant issues," says Nazrul
Ghani. RDRS is also ready to provide the
Char people with relief when the floods
are rising and when it becomes a question
of life and death.
"When the flood is
rising the situation often becomes somewhat
chaotic and out of control. Trees, houses
and entire sandbars are covered by water.
Personal belongings and dead animals are
floating around in the river. It is difficult
to find one’s bearings and it takes
an enormous effort to organize the relief
work. To make the task more manageable RDRS
has established 12 camp offices in the Chars.
They all stay in radio contact. We also
keep in contact with other humanitarian
organisations and government relief initiatives.
In that way we try to organize and share
out the work. It is important that as many
people as possible get the help that they
need. The relief work often is a race against
time. But thanks to our speedboat we are
able to move fast in an area which otherwise
would be highly impassable. In that way
we have been able to save many lives,"
says Nazrul Ghani.
Flooding and erosion are
actually just a couple of the risks that
life in the Chars involves. Tornadoes and
cyclones from time to time cause havoc on
the sandbars. The Char dwellers lead a harsh
life where something which seems to be a
constant stream of curses passes by. But
against all odds they keep on blessing the
harassed soil and the merciless river that
maneuvers it. |
