My home country is Bangladesh which is located in South East Asia. Growing up I was privileged to spend half of my life in Bangladesh. Bangladesh is a country which is surrounded by river and oceans with beautiful seasons and natural beauties. But climate change has been affecting Bangladesh tremendously. Due to the geographical disposition, such as low lying geography which is flat, Bangladesh is more prone to climate change effects. According to the article “Climate Displacement in Bangladesh,” by Environmental Justice Foundation, Bangladesh is exceptionally vulnerable to climate change. Its low elevation, high population density and inadequate infrastructure all put the nation in harm’s way, along with an economy that is heavily reliant on farming.
Daily, thousands of people are losing their houses because of rising sea level. Climate change is bashing Bangladesh with many natural disasters. From another article by UNICEF, “Devastating floods, cyclones and other environmental disasters linked to climate change are threatening the lives and futures of more than 19 million children in Bangladesh, UNICEF said today.” Gradually lands in Bangladesh are going underwater and people are losing their home lands. The major element of climate change causing rise of sea water is the tidal floods. This does not only make people to lose houses, but it also giving birth to many health problems. The article “Climate Displacement in Bangladesh,” say that coastal drinking water supplies have been contaminated with salt, leaving the 33 million people who rely on such resources vulnerable to health problems such as pre-eclampsia during pregnancy, acute respiratory infections, and skin diseases. Children are our future generation, but climate change is ruining our future. Floods are causing displacement of people to cities which itself another disaster.
Bangladesh is overly populated, especially its main city Dhaka. After losing their homes people are bound to move to cities in hopes to survive. Stated by the article UNICEF, “when families migrate from their homes in the countryside because of climate change, children effectively lose their childhoods,” says UNICEF Bangladesh Representative Edouard Beigbeder. “They face danger and deprivation in the cities, as well as pressure to go out to work despite the risk of exploitation and abuse.” Every day is a struggle for people struggling to survive. We are so privileged that we are living in such a luxurious life here in the U.S., compared to people battling to survive.
Agriculture is the major anchor of the economic system of Bangladesh and because the country is devastated by these floods it gives rise to an abundance of salty water which damages the fertile soil and destroys the crop production. In the article by UNICEF, Gopal Munda a farmer, shared that, “Once this village was green with paddy fields. But now the water is salty, and the trees have died. We can only farm shrimp. I am devastated when I think that I will have to move.” Many of us might be able to relate to these situations, but how would we feel if we were forced to leave US which is our home? How would we feel if we had to stay in lands filled with water and gradually die? I’m pretty sure no one will choose to do so, we are lucky we have that option. The people in Bangladesh don’t have that option.
Reference:
- https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/climate-change-threatens-lives-and-futures-over-19-million-children-bangladesh
- https://ejfoundation.org/reports/climate-displacement-in-bangladesh#:~:text=Climate%20Change%20in%20Bangladesh,exceptionally%20vulnerable%20to%20climate%20change.&text=It%20has%20been%20estimated%20that,of%20sea%20level%20rise%20alone.
Image:
