Climate Change In Bangladesh
By Depa Saha
As my mother cut onions and garlic, she told me stories from her village explaining how floods were ‘normal’ as my father would chime in talking about how the floods would completely ruin his business. Bangladesh, one of the poorest countries in the world, emits only .3% of the actual emissions that are contributing to climate change. These sea-level rises are not normal. It is not normal for children to be struck by cyclones and suffer from droughts and flooding which then leads to displacement and a disruption in their education. It is not normal for people to be evacuated out of their own homes due to climate change which then leads to the migration crisis; we then wonder, “Where in the world do these climate refugees go?”
As a child that was born in Bangladesh, it is distressing to see the increasing radiation and higher sea levels causing people to be displaced and attempt to work with barren land to support their families. Bangladesh’s weak foundation along with its flat land makes this third-world country very vulnerable to this increasing climate change that Bangladesh is barely adding to. We all like to talk about the innovations and advancements that Bangladesh has gone through these recent years but we forget that climate change can backpedal a lot of these developments and gains, especially in disadvantaged communities. As I often communicate with my family back in my home country, I hear stories of their storm surges and cyclones disrupting the education and health services in their community, as they attempt to hold back tears and the aching in their voice.
It hurts that one day these waters will make my family’s land in Bangladesh infertile which will force them to move out and not be able to support themselves. I will then ask the same question, “Where in the world will these climate refugees go?” My family had moved to America just to see that people here are contributing the most to climate change but Bangladesh is the country that is suffering more from it.
