Free displaced community from clutches of political corruption

Refugees have no place anywhere in the world—not even in their own homeland. Families rendered homeless by river erosion, who build new settlements elsewhere, are again evicted from those places through political power. According to news reports published on Thursday (9 October), Urirchar, a remote union on the ancient island of Sandwip in the Bay of Bengal, has become one of the major shelters for climate-displaced people. But now, this very settlement is also falling victim to political thuggery, forcing its residents to become refugees once again.

It is reported that around 1978, 25 landless families from Sandwip first settled in Urirchar. Over the next few years, hundreds more families who had lost their homesteads came to seek refuge there. Despite heavy casualties in the devastating cyclone of 1985, the landless people of Sandwip quickly began rebuilding homes. Around 2010, people from various small and large islands of Bhola, Lakshmipur and Noakhali—displaced by erosion in the Meghna estuary—came here to start a new life. Today, about 12,000 families live on this island, whose previous homes have vanished into the sea. But now, because of the booming land trade, plots meant for climate refugees are being taken over by wealthy outsiders. Allegedly, those involved in this land trade are closely connected to politically influential figures.

Even after almost 50 years, the landless people of Urirchar have not received ownership rights to their land. On the contrary, they are again at risk of losing it. The government’s Char Development and Settlement Programme (CDSP) was meant to allocate land to the displaced, which had raised hopes among the residents. But questions are growing over whether the project has turned out to be a curse rather than a blessing. Locals say the government has failed to ensure even the minimum civic facilities in the union. There has been no Union Parishad election there in 22 years. There is no Union Parishad office building; all administrative activities are run from local shops. The union’s only health centre is being used as a police outpost, and its only secondary school operates with just three teachers.

Residents of Urirchar said they have had to buy the same piece of land multiple times just to have a roof over their heads. Around 2005, new land emerged rapidly in the island’s north-west. In 2008, two pirates from Ramgati in Lakshmipur—Nasir Kerani and Nizam Dakat—started selling that land to the displaced people. In 2010, the island’s notorious bandit Jased, alias Jasu, cleared the forest and organised a “land fair” to sell plots to the landless. Jasu sold each plot (two acres) for two to three thousand taka. As a result, people who had lost their homes in Bhola, Hatiya and Ramgati settled in Urirchar’s north-west area, becoming known locally as “the landless.”

The question is, why does the government show such neglect toward these helpless landless citizens of its own country? Why are political goons snatching away the last refuge of the displaced? Locals allege that elements of the administration are linked with these land grabbers. Professor Abdul Bayes, a researcher on the political economy of land, believes that the crisis faced by the homeless people of Urirchar is no different from that in most other char regions of Bangladesh. The social and economic structure is such that these problems persist for decades. One key reason is that the affected people occupy the lowest rung of the power structure, and their voices are rarely heard. The government attempts to improve the condition of the poor through various social safety programmes, but the state remains unwilling to transfer real assets to them. As long as this continues, their socio-economic condition will not improve. To resolve land disputes and ensure good governance in regions like Urirchar, both government and private initiatives are essential. He also suggests adopting a separate strategy for all char areas under the concept of a “char economy.”

We too believe that the government must listen to the cries of these marginalised people. Such internal displacement of citizens cannot represent a civilised state. The government must take urgent steps to improve the living standards of all people in the char regions like Urirchar and to secure their land rights. They must be freed from the hands of political thugs and given a safe and dignified life.