Out in the ravaged fields, days after Cyclone Sidr hit Bangladesh, the devastation was everywhere. Flattened houses, crops, trees, dead livestock and, sadly, also people. Yet even more evident was the resilient Bangladeshi spirit. Traders had already started selling rice with little or no increase in price; villagers were salvaging what they could and rebuilding their fragile homes while children dried textbooks, unsure of when schools would restart. There before my eyes was the intriguing Bangladesh, resilient and vulnerable, secure and insecure, developing and retrogressing, all at the same time.
Dealt body blows in 1905, 1947 and 1971, the region’s history of the last century prominently records partitions and disasters. Cyclones, floods and famine have killed millions. In recent years the incidence of serious disaster has increased. The November cyclone follows massive flooding in July. Near-famine situations in the north are a perennial problem. The year 2004 saw almost fifty percent of land submerged for more than two months.
The future may hold more of the same, with poorly planned construction and urbanisation clogging the natural drainage systems and aggravating the localised droughts in the north and the north-west – exacerbating existing problems and adding new, such as expected subsidence in Dhaka due to the lowering of the water table. Even without projected sea level rises, predicted to displace 30 million within the next 40 years, Bangladesh is slowly sinking into the sea as the Himalaya mountains rise. The expected impacts from climate change worsen all of the above, affecting the basic food security and hunger status of a country that has struggled hard to attain near self-sufficiency in food production.
Things going wrong in Bangladesh should and would be of concern for all of us, as a country of almost 150 million people cannot be ignored. They will not simply disappear, but would present massive problems for neighbours in the region in addition to adding another country to the list of failed states that worry the world so.
But wait. Bangladesh has weathered every storm, reduced poverty, improved life expectancy and living standards and is performing well on many of the Millennium Development Goals. The frequency of disaster is increasing but the cost in lives is nowhere as high. Disaster preparedness and early warning has worked. Food security has improved. This cyclone has killed thousands. If it had hit thirty years ago it would have killed hundreds of thousands.
Far from being a basket case, Bangladesh should be held up as a model for poorer countries worldwide that will suffer from worsening global conditions. If this country can do it, with a massive poverty-stricken population, widespread corruption and a history of intermittent political instability, then surely any can.
But again it stands at the crossroads and needs more friends, especially those who are long term and will assist the country to deal with the challenges of geography, changing climate and human mistakes.
The methods and practices for effective disaster preparedness and disaster risk reduction are known and in part put into great effect. But erratic commitment and present-day needs mean that it is always at the bottom of pressing priorities like importing food grains and fuel, supplying electricity or expanding education. That future needs to be secured through planned, external assistance.
Seeing the damage, I realise that we in the humanitarian community have a hard road ahead. At the World Food Programme, we are well known for providing emergency food assistance in the aftermath of emergencies. What is less well known is the fact that we are working to expand programmes to help the population become less vulnerable to shocks and to start vital public works projects to secure both the short-term and the long-term prospects of these people as we have successfully done in the past.
But more is needed, Bangladesh has always had to improve on what existed before, it must swim quickly just to stay afloat. Like anything, this requires commitment and support. History shows that neither are squandered when given to Bangladesh – and the benefits could spread across the region and the world as a whole.
Douglas Broderick is the Representative in Bangladesh of the United Nations World Food Programme
