Sidr and beyond: perspective from Bangladesh

Daily Star (Bangladesh), by Captain Husain Imam: Sidr, a tropical revolving storm (TRS), commonly known as cyclone in this part of the world, that hit the country on the night of November 15 with a wind speed of more than 230 kph will probably be remembered for quite some time as one of the fiercest cyclones the country has ever faced….

The loss and suffering to the people of the south-western coastal districts have been colossal to say the least.…The country's economy is certainly passing through the most critical and challenging period since independence, as stated by the country director of Asian Development Bank, Ms. Hua du, while disclosing the quarterly ADB Report 2007 on Bangladesh in a press conference in the city last week.

Extensive damage by natural calamities, high fuel price, fall in external demand for garments, political chaos and instability, and a massive anti-corruption drive in the back drop of all engulfing corruption spread in every strata of the society, have made the economy critically vulnerable.

No wonder, Ms Hua Du said in the conference: "I have been here for 5 and a half years, and have studied about Bangladesh for several decades since independence, but I have never sensed such difficulties as the country is going to face this year (Daily Star November 27)."

It is heartening to see the spontaneous response of the world community at large, the donor countries and the donor agencies in particular, to help us in this particular period of national crisis. They have come forward with every kind of assistance -- in both cash and kind -- in the relief and rehabilitation program for the cyclone affected people. We are grateful to them. I am confident that, given the resilience the people of this country have and the response we are receiving from the people at home and abroad, we will overcome the crisis as we did on so many occasions in the past.

It may not be, however, out of context for Bangladesh, as a country among the ones to be worst affected by climate change, to draw the attention of our development partners to the latest Human Development Report released in the city on November 27, and request them to go beyond what they are doing in mitigating the sufferings of the people struck by natural calamities, which are not necessarily all natural. The report says: "Those who largely caused the problem -- the rich countries -- are not going to be those who suffer most in the short term. It is the poorest, who did not, and are not contributing to green house emission who are the most vulnerable."

It is now getting clearer every day that the natural calamities like flood, cyclone and tidal bore, that Bangladesh is frequently attacked with are not all natural. They have a definite relation with the much talked about global warming caused by greenhouse emission of the industrialised and developed countries. The warning that almost a third of Bangladesh will go under the sea in the next quarter of a century, if the global warming and the climate change continues as it is, can no longer be taken lightly. It is high time the matter is taken up in the international forum with the loudest possible voice.