Long precarious walks for water
During morning and noon, a long line of community members appear with water pitchers in front of the well of Barek Tila. Women and girls, bearing the burden of water collection, keeps moving up and down through the rocky path from their households to the Tila.
Image: WaterAid/ Drik/ Tapash PaulImage: Villagers collect drinking water at night from the only small well (Chora) in Barek Tila, Tahirpur-Sunamganj, Bangladesh. 24 March 2021
Image: WaterAid/ Drik/ Tapash PaulImage: A close up of filtering out iron from the water in Barek Tila, Tahirpur-Sunamganj, Bangladesh. 16 February 2021
Image: WaterAid/ Drik/ Tapash PaulImage: Khushnahar (24) and her family suffer severely from the water crisis and every day they have to go 4-5 times down a rocky path to collect drinking water from the only small well in Barek Tila, Tahirpur-Sunamganj, Bangladesh. March 2021
Image: WaterAid/ Drik/ Tapash PaulImage: Women and girls have to go at least 5-6 times a day to the only well in the area to collect water and often suffer from severe pain in their backs, hands and muscle. To reduce this pain they might take random painkillers. in Barek Tila, Tahirpur-Sunamganj, Bangladesh. February 2021
Image: WaterAid/ Drik/ Tapash PaulImage: A close up of a small well showing the decreasing level of groundwater in Barek Tila, Tahirpur-Sunamganj, Bangladesh. 17 February 2021
Image: WaterAid/ Drik/ Tapash PaulImage: A view of Jadukata river in Tahirpur-Sunamganj, Bangladesh. February 2021
Image: WaterAid/ Drik/ Tapash PaulImage: Amina Hazong, filters water through a cloth into a small jug. She has collected the water from a small well in the Tahirpur Border area, Bangladesh. 23 March 2021
Rebuilding castles in the sand
“We lost everything that night. Walls and roofs of our houses were broken; there was no safe water to drink; no food in hand; no sanitation facility and no place to stay. The entire surface of the land went underwater,” - Abdur Rajjak Molla (60).
Image: WaterAid/ Drik/ Suman PaulImage: A woman is cooking outside under the open sky at Hajrakhali village. Ward No. 6, Hajrakhali, Sreeula, Ashashuni, Satkhira. 24 February, 2021.
Image: WaterAid/ Drik/ Suman PaulImage: Abdur Rajjak Molla (60) and his family lost everything to Cyclone Amphan. Their houses' walls and roofs were broken; they had no safe water to drink, no food, no sanitation facilities, and no place to stay. They had to move out as the entire land surface went underwater.
Image: WaterAid/ Drik/ Suman PaulImage: As there are no other water sources, villagers buy water from the remote Mariyala area for drinking and cooking purposes in Hajrakhali.
Image: WaterAid/ Drik/ Suman PaulImage: Nasima (20) is the only tailor in the entire village Hajrakhali which was hit by super cyclone Amphan causing untold devastation. Despite surviving the ordeal, Nasima and her family suffered from extreme waterlogging for nine months.
Image: WaterAid/ Drik/ Suman PaulImage: A house damaged by Cyclone Amphan. Ward No. 6, Hajrakhali, Sreeula, Ashashuni, Satkhira. 24 February, 2021.
Image: WaterAid/ Drik/ Suman PaulImage: A sanitation facility that was damaged by Cyclone Amphan. Ward No. 6, Hajrakhali, Sreeula, Ashashuni, Satkhira. 24 February, 2021.
Image: WaterAid/ Drik/ Suman PaulImage: A cow wades through water within a large fish gher (farm) during the summer season. Due to the establishment of fish farms on a larger scale in the area, there are hardly any grasslands left for domestic animals. Ashasuni, Satkhira, Khulna. 24 February, 2021.
Image: WaterAid/ Drik/ Suman PaulImage: Md. Rejaul Karim (35)’s two-year-old son in Hajrkhali village. On the night of May 19, 2020, just three days before the Eid-ul-Fitr, the family were sleeping in their mud house. As dawn approached, so did super cyclone Amphan. Hitting the area, it destroyed their household.
Cyclone and life: Reshma
“See, I’m blind, but I’m not deaf.” “When I hear the thundering storm or the cyclones, I’m scared for my life. I hear people screaming, things falling apart. I know something terrible is happening, I can’t see it but I’m living it.”
Image: WaterAid/ Drik/ Suman PaulImage: Reshma (18) leaning by a wall outside her house. She has been blind since birth and is one of the 376 differently-abled people of Pratapnagar, Assasuni, Satkhira.
Image: WaterAid/ Drik/ Suman PaulImage: Portrait of Reshma (18) who has been blind since birth. Her mother is her guardian. Though she is blind, she wants to know what her mother and other things look like. So, she asks people to describe things to her. Now she can wave ‘Pati’ by the help of her mother. Her mother wants her to be self
Image: WaterAid/ Drik/ Suman PaulImage: Pratapnagar, Reshma's village is impacted by cyclones, tidal surges and the after-effects of disasters with rising frequency over the years.
Image: WaterAid/ Drik/ Suman PaulImage: Cyclone ‘Ampan’ destroyed a field and source of drinking water in Pratapnagar, Ashashuni, Shatkhira, Bangladesh. 23 February, 2021.
Image: WaterAid/ Drik/ Suman PaulImage: Cyclone ‘Ampan’ destroyed a bridge that was a vital part of communication for the area. Pratapnagar, Ashashuni, Shatkhira, Bangladesh. 23 February, 2021.
Image: WaterAid/ Drik/ Suman PaulImage: Every year the area is flooded and people use boats to travel around. Pratapnagar, Ashashuni, Shatkhira, Bangladesh. 23 February, 2021.
Image: WaterAid/ Drik/ Suman PaulImage: Due to his disability, Miraj (7) depends on his mother all the time. About 376 children with special needs live in the locality of Pratapnagar, Ashashuni, Shatkhira, Bangladesh. 23 February, 2021.
Image: WaterAid/ Drik/ Suman PaulImage: Aerial view of the fish and crab farms (ghers) in Pratapnagar, Ashashuni, Shatkhira, Bangladesh. 23 February, 2021.
Image: WaterAid/ Drik/ Suman PaulImage: The rivers embankment is repaired under the supervision of the Bangladesh Army in order to protect the locality from cyclone and flood damage. Pratapnagar, Ashashuni, Shatkhira, Bangladesh. 23 February, 2021.
The face of climate and survival
“I had to ensure our children’s wellbeing; do all the household chores, including collecting water to cook, clean, and drink from faraway sources; and work outside, all at the same time."
Image: WaterAid/ Drik/ Suman PaulImage: Nur Nesa (18) scoops water from the river. She lives in her paternal home in the middle of a fish farm (Ghers). Her husband works as a day labourer in a city that is some distance away.
Image: WaterAid/ Drik/ Suman PaulImage: Her house is in a disaster-prone coastal area.
Image: WaterAid/ Drik/ Suman PaulImage: Nur Nesa (18), a denizen of the Chandnimukha village. She uses an open-air toilet settled by a fish farm at her mother's house.
Image: WaterAid/ Drik/ Suman PaulImage: Nur Nesa (18) gave birth to her son just three days after Cyclone Bulbul hit the spot in 2019 at Chandnimukha, Gabura, Satkhira.
Image: WaterAid/ Drik/ Suman PaulImage: Kohinoor Khatun (42) with her daughters and grandchildren outside their house in Gabura, Shyamnagar, Satkhira, Khulna, Bangladesh. February 26, 2021
Image: WaterAid/ Drik/ Suman PaulImage: Kohinoor Khatun (42) outside her house in Gabura, Shyamnagar, Satkhira, Khulna, Bangladesh. February 26, 2021
Image: WaterAid/ Drik/ Suman PaulImage: Kohinoor Khatun (42) carries water in a pitcher over a bridge in Gabura, Shyamnagar, Satkhira, Khulna, Bangladesh. February 26, 2021
Image: WaterAid/ Drik/ Suman PaulImage: A woman carries water in a pitcher. Women have to travel long distances to collect water for drinking and cooking, such as to municipality water pumps and ponds, as they have no other choice. All the rivers are full of salinity, and most households and communities don't have any freshwater sources i
Image: WaterAid/ Drik/ Suman PaulImage: A woman carries a pitcher of water across a narrow bridge. Women have to travel long distances to collect water for drinking and cooking, such as to municipality water pumps and ponds, as they have no other choice. All the rivers are full of salinity, and most households and communities don't have a
Image: WaterAid/ Drik/ Suman PaulImage: Houses built along the river on the Gabura embankment, Shyamnagar, Satkhira, Khulna, Bangladesh. February 26, 2021
The never-ending burden
“That was the last year I attended school. We lost most of our land, and our house broke down. It was a calamitous blow to our entire community."
Image: WaterAid/ Drik/ Suman PaulImage: Rojina Begum (24) lost her home to Cyclone Aila in 2009. Since then, she has been staying on a broken embankment. Ward no. 9, Mora, Closure, Gabura, Shyamnagar, Satkhira, Khulna, Bangladesh. February 26 2021.
Image: WaterAid/ Drik/ Suman PaulImage: Rojina Begum (24) cooks on a stove. She lost her home to Cyclone Aila in 2009. Since then, she has been staying on a broken embankment. Ward no. 9, Mora, Closure, Gabura, Shyamnagar, Satkhira, Khulna, Bangladesh. February 26 2021.
Image: WaterAid/ Drik/ Suman PaulImage: Interior of Rojina Begum's (24) house. She lost her home to Cyclone Aila in 2009. Since then, she has been staying on a broken embankment. Ward no. 9, Mora, Closure, Gabura, Shyamnagar, Satkhira, Khulna, Bangladesh. February 26 2021.
Image: WaterAid/ Drik/ Suman PaulImage: Interior of Rojina Begum's house in Ward no. 9, Mora, Closure, Gabura, Shyamnagar, Satkhira, Khulna, Bangladesh. February 26 2021.
Image: WaterAid/ Drik/ Suman PaulImage: Rojina Begum (24) walks towards an open air sanitation facility made of ring slabs and a temporary rug by the riverbank with no roof and walls. She lost her home to Cyclone Aila in 2009. Since then, she has been staying on a broken embankment.
Image: WaterAid/ Drik/ Suman PaulImage: A villager is riding a bicycle on an under-construction embankment in Gabura, Shyamnagar, Satkhira, Khulna, Bangladesh. February 26, 2021.
Image: WaterAid/ Drik/ Suman PaulImage: Most sanitation facilities are made of ring slabs and temporary rug by the riverbank with no roof and walls in the Closure area. Ward no. 9, Mora, Closure, Gabura, Shyamnagar, Satkhira, Khulna, Bangladesh. February 26 2021.
Image: WaterAid/ Drik/ Suman PaulImage: Bilkis (35) cleans a wooden boat owned by her husband. Her husband uses it for fishing and travelling purposes. Ward no. 9, Mora, Closure, Gabura, Shyamnagar, Satkhira, Bangladesh. February 26 2021.
Image: WaterAid/ Drik/ Suman PaulImage: Bilkis (35) collects rainwater by connecting plastic drums and pipes to the roof or their house. She lives with her family in Mora. Her husband is a fisherman by profession. They are entirely dependent on the local rivers around Sundarbans for their livelihood. For cleaning and bathing, they use the
Story of displacement
“Even a month before, there was no adequate sanitation facility or access to clean water. We had to use dirty water for bathing and cleaning. Falling sick was a common scenario here”, says Sharifa (35).
Image: WaterAid/ Drik/ Farzana HossenImage: Portrait of Mst. Sharifa (35), who is a climate migrant from Jamalpur, inside her house in Outfhol Pora Basti (slum), Jatrabari, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Image: WaterAid/ Drik/ Farzana HossenImage: Mst. Sharifa (35), who is a climate migrant from Jamalpur, stands outside a toilet cubicle near her house in Outfhol Pora Basti (slum), Jatrabari, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Image: WaterAid/ Drik/ Farzana HossenImage: Mst. Sharifa (35) is a climate migrant from Jamalpur, currently living with three of her children in Outfhol Pora Basti (slum), Jatrabari, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Image: WaterAid/ Drik/ Farzana HossenImage: Mst. Sharifa (35) cooks on an open stove outside her house in Outfhol Pora Basti (slum), Jatrabari, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Image: WaterAid/ Drik/ Farzana HossenImage: Mst. Sharifa (35) washes dishes using water from a tubewell outside her house in Outfhol Pora Basti (slum), Jatrabari, Dhaka, Bangladesh..
Image: WaterAid/ Drik/ Farzana HossenImage: Mst. Sharifa (35) washes her face and hands using the municipal tubewell in Outfhol Pora Basti (slum), Jatrabari, Dhaka, Bangladesh..
Image: WaterAid/ Drik/ Farzana HossenImage: Portrait of Mst. Sharifa (35)'s daughter in their house in Outfhol Pora Basti (slum), Jatrabari, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
