Cyclical natural disasters that occur as a result of global climate change are creating a new category of internal displacement called climate displaced people. In Bangladesh, Cyclone Sidr in 2007 followed by Cyclone Aila in 2009 devastated the Southeast Asian country. Droves of people were left homeless and without access to clean drinking water.
Mohammad Rakibul Hasan, a photojournalist, captured the faces of Bengali climate displaced people in his series Climate Genocide, Hasan evocatively depicts the cyclones’ immediate effect on the local community of Bangladesh in a series of black and white photos.
“Cyclone victims have to leave their homes and migrate to other dry areas. In the coastal area, people have to gather safe drinking water from distant villages,” said Hasan.
Photo Credit: Mohammad Rakibul Hasan
In 2007, Cyclone Sidr was named the strongest cyclone in the Bay of Bengal ever. Damages totaled approximately$450 million. The capital city of Dhaka was severely affected by the cyclone. Electricity and water services were cut as a result of the disaster.
Agricultural projects were destroyed as a result of the cyclone. Rice crops were wiped out. According to Hasan, climate refugees migrated to Dhaka in search of job opportunities. But with the agricultural center, these jobs were likely not as readily available.
Cyclone Sidr claimed the lives of roughly 3,447 people. Entire communities collapsed. Post cyclone relief efforts in Dhaka required a fundamental society restructuring because schools and houses were lost as a result of the cyclone. But the climate displaced people had scant options when they were forced to relocate after the disaster.
Photo Credit: Mohammad Rakibul Hasan
Two years after Cyclone Sidr, Cyclone Aila hit Bangladesh, leaving even more desperation in its wake. Overall, 2.6 million people were affected by Cyclone Aila. The torrential rains that followed cyclone Aila resulted in approximately 179 casualties, 800 injured people, and over 400,000 people isolated from aid efforts. Roughly 500,000 people were left homeless.
In Hasan’s photographs, one sees the face of climate displaced people and the impact of global climate change in a new way. Global climate change does not discriminate against factors such as age or gender. Mostly, Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Small Island States (SIS) disproportionately bare the environmental consequences of ineffective climate policies of industrialized nations.
The work of Mohammad Hassan is crucial to the fight for effective climate policy because his images speak louder than words. Statistics and reports do not have a face or a name. However, photojournalism is a key element in raising awareness about the severity of global climate change on vulnerable populations.
A passive approach to global climate change is no longer a viable alternative to strict policy efforts by governments and the international community. Efforts can either be invested in long term sustainable solutions or in an ever present and ready emergency relief response.
Climate change is altering the world as we know it, and it’s starting with communities that are already struggling with poverty. For Hassan and other photojournalists, the works speaks for those who can’t speak for themselves. It’s up to the rest of the world to move towards effective decisions inspired by this compelling image, photograph by photograph.
The first photograph in this article was provided by Mohammad Rakibul Hasan.
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