Let's stand by flood victims with a sense of humanity

The recent floods have submerged 11 districts, including Feni, Noakhali, Laxmipur, Comilla, Sylhet, and the Chittagong Hill Tracts, leaving 5 million people stranded. Various organizations, associations, students, private institutions, and the general public have extended their hands to help the flood victims. Students of Dhaka University have set a remarkable example in collecting relief, which has been widely praised. However, some unscrupulous traders are exploiting this disaster for excessive profits.

According to news reports published on Saturday, August 24th, traders have increased the prices of dry food after seeing the surge in demand. Information indicates that over the past three days, there has been a growing need for products such as flattened rice (chira), puffed rice (muri), molasses, biscuits, candles, matches, oral saline, bottled water, life jackets, etc., for helping the flood victims. Additionally, many people have brought boats, motorized boats, trawlers, and speedboats to aid in the rescue efforts, and the owners of these vessels have also raised their rental prices exorbitantly. The question arises: Why should traders hike prices in such times of disaster? Do they have no sense of humanity? Why hasn’t the administration controlled this?

There is a saying in Bangladesh: “One’s gain is another’s loss.” We witness this during every disaster. A group of traders takes advantage of human suffering to make more profit. Such actions are utterly unacceptable during national crises. Increased demand does not mean that production costs have risen. Traders are selling pre-existing goods, so how does the price of a dozen candles increase by 20 takas? Why does the price of flattened rice and puffed rice rise by 5-6 takas per kilogram? This is nothing but a ploy for extra profit.

Another issue is that many people are photographing the helpless flood victims as they distribute aid and sharing these images on social media. Relief efforts are a humanitarian endeavor—why turn it into a showcase? Many dignified individuals may come for aid during such crises; they may not want to be portrayed in this manner. Why are they being presented like this?

Surely these pictures are published without the victims’ consent. We often see unpleasant images of women and children in these posts. We urge those distributing aid not to publish such photos without permission. If relief work becomes an exhibition, it ceases to be humanitarian and becomes inhumane. This is clearly a violation of human rights. We must remember that every person has dignity, and in providing aid, we should not tarnish that dignity.
There’s a saying that when you help someone, one hand should not know what the other is doing. But now it seems that relief work has become a public display for many. We hope their better judgment will prevail.

Meanwhile, the army and navy have been praised for their swift and efficient rescue operations during the current disaster. We hope their diligence continues during any disaster that befalls Bangladesh.

As a disaster-prone country, Bangladesh must remain vigilant. The current government also needs to be more aware of this. We hope that such unexpected disasters do not strike Bangladesh again.