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The
Curse and the Blessing of the Chars
By
Maiken Skeem
In northern Bangladesh on the vast
Brahmaputra River the Char people live according to
Nature's laws. Flooding and erosion force them to lead
a nomadic life.
Slowly the boat cuts its way through
the whirling currents of the river. It is heading for
the horizon, which is drowning in an ocean of water.
The sky looks ominously dark but no wind is blowing.
The boatman takes a firm grip of the tiller. In a hoarse
and low voice he sings a song about life at sea. There
is no other sound to be heard except the water lapping
against the boat's hull. From time to time another boat
is passing by silently. Occasionally a moonlike sandbar
shoots up out of nowhere. We are not in another planet
though, but in the Chars in Kurigram area in the very
north of Bangladesh. This is one of the places where
man has not yet been able to wrest power from Nature.
From May to September when the melted water runs from
the nearby Himalayas into the arms of the Brahmaputra
River, the flood rises alarmingly. The river floods
the sandbars and forces the Char people to leave their
houses and their fields. When the tide begins to go
out, erosion greedily consumes the sandbars. The houses
and fields of the Char dwellers are drawn into the deep
of the river. In spite of these difficult living conditions
the Chars is the home of 230.000 people. They live like
nomads moving from one temporary sandbar to another
in line with ebb and flow.
Constantly on the run
In just one year Mahealam and Sonakhartoun
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 Mahealam. But even
though the family is constantly on the run Mahealam
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 Mahealam.
Inhuman pressure
According to Mr. Nazrul Ghani,
who works as a Project Coordinatior for RDRS (Rangpur,
Dinajpur Rural Service), the difficult living conditions
of Mahealam and Sonakhartoun 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 Mahealam 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 deathNazrul
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.
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Disaster
Preparedness
- DanChurchAid
will during 2002 receive 450.000 Euro for a
Disaster Preparedness programme. Funding agency
is ECHO (European Community Humanitarian Office).
- DanChurchAid
implements the Diaster Preparedness programme
in cooperation with its partners in Bangladesh
(RDRS), India and Nepal (Lutheran World Service).
All implementing organisations are members of
and work under the AZEECON network (Asian Zone
Emergency & Environment Cooperation Network).
- The
purpose of the programme is to enable to communities
to cope with the consequences of natural disasters.
- In
Bangladesh the major prpose of the programme
is to reduce the consequences of flodding and
erosion in the northwestern part of the country,
particularly in the Chars.
- In
India the programme aims to reduce the consequences
of flooding caused by hurricanes in Orissa.
- In
Nepal the programme aims at minimizing the destruction
caused by earthquakes, landslides and flooding
especially in the western part of the country.
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"When the river flooded….."
"Every year when the time of flooding is
approaching I get nervous and tense. I constantly
fear the river will affect my family's life and
me in a negative way. I often think of when I
was only eight years old. My two sisters and I
were playing in the peanut field when the river
started flooding. My parents took us to my father's
raft heading towards another Char. Suddenly my
sister lost her grip and fell into the black and
whirling water. We all panicked but fortunately
my father managed to catch her and get her back
on the raft."
Golapi Khartoun
"I remember everything as clearly as if it
happened yesterday. The terrible day in 1998,
when the river flooded. We ran like we have never
run before until we reached the boat. We were
22 persons on board clinging to each other in
the raging storm. We were surrounded by huge waves.
Personal belongings and dead animals were floating
around the boat. All of a sudden the boat started
sinking. Fortunately another boat passed by and
saved us all by throwing ropes in the water. I'm
still haunted by the sight of an old lady being
drawn down by the violent current. Her eyes were
full of fear."
Abdul Hossein.
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