By Priscilla Raj

[Editorial note: Priscilla set off to find the real impact of price rise in the most poverty stricken region of Bangladesh — the extreme Southern part of the country in the remotest of chars. This series, the partial cost for which is being borne by this blog, is a reflection on that trip. Hope you will find this series, the second of which is being published today, to be interesting and fascinating as this is a part of the country whose voice is often unheard in our conversations ]

After Part 1

With the two women

The local woman member and her husband also came with us as Bashir had asked them. I wasn’t sure why Bashir Member had asked the woman member to come. Later I realized it might be because here people are very much reserved about talking to women. When even being a woman you talk to a male, they would avoid your eyes and talk to your male companion instead. I knew with time they would be flexible and learn to cope with a woman traveler amidst them. After having tea I was almost forcibly sent inside the house of the hotel owner which was adjacent to it. The woman member also came with me.

We had been welcomed by the wife of the hotel owner. Now that it was a three-woman league, both of them became very relaxed and started talking freely. The hotel owner’s wife seemed to be a robust and happy woman. I forgot to ask her name. She is originally from Lalmohan, an area in Char Fashon to be married here. We had a long talk about the situation of women.

Education is probably the least touched sector in this economically rather thriving island. There is no high school in the island. Very few students studied as high as class VIII in the island who go to the only junior high school. As students interested in giving SSC examination increased recent years, the administration of this school registers the students in the schools at Char Kachchapia while teaching them here. These students go to Char Kachchapia later to sit for the examination. Girls are increasingly going to school but early marriage and post-marital negative environment is a big setback against their educational progress. “I was married when I had passed class VIII,” said the hotel owner’s wife. Then her mother died. The young Romeos of the locality started to disturb her on her way to and from school. Feeling insecure, her father got her married. “My two other sisters are more educated than me. My mother-in-law was a big bully. She didn’t let me continue my school. At that time no girl was here as educated as I am. The teachers in the local school entreated her to let me finish my school. They said so many women quotas were vacant in different jobs because there were no fitting women. But she didn’t move.”

The average age for both the males and the females for marriage still remain low. The hotel owner’s wife showing her maid, a thirteen-year old girl said that her elder brother was married when he was only fifteen years old very recently. Now he has a child of his own. However, the age of marriage for many social reasons is increasing although very slowly, as I had felt roaming around the island.

Veil for women is prevalent and rather compulsory for the women inhabitants of the island. The woman UP member after reaching the hotel unmasked her face although there were many males. This feature of traditional veiling custom in Bengali Muslim society particularly in the rural areas is quite curious. In a way veiling oneself would depend here on rather your geographic control and not upon the exclusive religious dictations about the matter. In short, you can lift your veil where you would feel that the people would not criticize you for not having a veil. Also, treading a path more distant than usual probably dictates a woman for veiling herself up. Anyway, the UP member seemed quite timid and her husband, an ex-UP member seemed to work on behalf of her. Probably it is a common scenario of many Union Councils of the country where the husbands act on behalf of the wife and the member’s position is enjoyed as a family privilege.

I needed to go to the toilet. The hotel owner’s wife showed the way inside the house. The slab latrine was in a separate place and at a lower level from the main house. I was extremely careful not to slip myself in the mud-smeared steps. This family owns a wooden two-storied building, has beautiful cup sets in the showcase, a television, electricity and their children are going to high school yet they don’t have a safe latrine. What would happen if a pregnant lady needs to use this bathroom?

The island like many other distant chars of the country is deprived of almost any health care services for the pregnant mothers. I learnt from the two women that there is only one health center in Dhalchar where a health worker gives advice to the pregnant women. Children are born in the hand of the midwives, a few of whom are trained, informed the female UP member. “I was very careful from the beginning of my pregnancy and so went to Char Fashon for checkups. But later during my advanced stage I could not go,” said the hotel owner’s wife. “I didn’t need any check up or anything for me,” said the UP member with a careless wave of her hand. She gave birth to two children by normal delivery. In this island any critical situation during delivery would simply mean death for the mother or the child or for both. It happened to a couple of cases recently, as the wife informed.

Dinner with Member Shaheb

Bashir Jamidar was determined to have us at his home for dinner. We have already got invitation for night-stay by the hotel owner couple and by Bashir. But I had preferred any office guest room. Afjal, the Bhola journalist ran havoc with phone calls to the senior officers of the forest department and the COAST office. The local authorities weren’t willing to let us stay because we didn’t have a prior permission. Eventually we got the night shelter at COAST. We had walked with Bashir. It was about twenty-minute walk from the bazaar. The whole island does not have any pucca road and feet are the only vehicle. The COAST office is among the very few brick buildings of the island. It is a cyclone center built by NGO Action Aid. NGO COAST (Coastal Association for Social Transformation) has been born of the activities of Action Aid and when the latter had withdrawn itself from the island.

Bashir left us at the NGO to collect us later for the dinner. We were received by Shaheen, the adolescent caretaker and ushered in a big room with many chowkis, wooden beds. The workers who come from outside the island reside here. Afjal stayed with them and I was given the dining room where there was another chowki.

Bashir’s house is five minutes’ walk from COAST. Mahboob, the COAST manager joined us. Waiving our much request Bashir had arranged a grand dinner for us. Sometimes it takes so much effort to avoid the grandeur of hospitality. Bashir had perfectly hosted us by giving more rice and curried on our plates and not eating himself. We were sitting in the verandah of his newly built tin house - a blessing of his UP membership?

Many issues came up over the dinner - his being called by the Navy officer recently, the ongoing housing project in his ward, post election situation in 2001, seasonal marriage, damage of Sidr and others. Bhola was the worst affected area of the post-election havoc. The attacks and rapes of the Hindu population as well as the Awami League workers remain among the darkest history of the country. Bashir kept silent for some time when Afjal asked him about the attack on the Hindu people in this island. Then he quietly said, “Attacks were there indeed. But both on the Hindu and the Muslim. I myself was marked as Awami League by my fellow BNP workers because I had sheltered the local Awami League workers.” Later I had learnt of a Hindu girl who took shelter in Dhalchar during that time but could not escape. She was caught and raped in this island. She was from Lalmohan, an area of Char Fashon where the Hindu people were most notoriously attacked.

Seasonal marriage of women perhaps is another issue Bashir felt uneasy to talk about. Research showed that women in some coastal areas are married temporarily to the fishermen who come from elsewhere and stay there for months until the fishing season ends. I had heard of it but am not properly informed of the social dynamics of it. According to Bashir seasonal marriage is a misnomer. The marriages are for permanent settlement but many fishermen do not return later. Afjal looked indifferent to the explanation Bashir gave.

Homeless occupy a housing project
Next morning we had walked to the new housing project built by the Navy in Bashir’s area. With this the government ministry of disaster preparedness has built four housing projects in this island. The coastal land is ever eroding and its inhabitants are in constant move. Dhalchar, although a part of it is now melting into the sea, has to shelter many families victim for its comparative stability. There were probably a hundred apartments in this housing called Barnali Abason Prokolpo. No more than 350 sq.ft each of the flat had two rooms and two small balconies. Bashir was angry because the families had invaded the flats while he was outside the island. He had caught an old woman stooping on the verandah, “Your son has house in another project, why are you here?” The lady lifting her blur eyes said in feeble but defiant tone, “That is my son’s house, not mine.” Afjal and I walked past keeping Bashir growling at her. There were girl children with their own children in their lap. Some of the husbands had gone to the sea ordering the wives to make the occupation. Bashir was listing the families in occupation. Allotting so few flats among so many homeless people would be a real challenge. We left him for the bazaar. Our boat was due in at one in the afternoon.

The Sea, the Moon and the Forest

Despite its stifling pressure of humans Dhalchar has its spectacular beauty combined with the many natural factors. However, only those with much endurance should dare the exhausting journey. There is a small “boarding” in the Dhalchar Bazaar, an abode seemingly fit for male travelers. For women travelers NGO COAST and the forest department guest house would be more suitable. The people of the island are much hospitable, so those with less priority for privacy may take shelter to the inhabitants. A prior booking to both the NGO and forest department guest house is essential before landing on the island. A journey ahead of the full moon would be ideal for the nature lovers.

Fishing - the lifeline of Dhalchar

Almost all the occupations derive directly or indirectly from the huge fishing activities in Dhalchar. The soil of the land is sandy and salty having only one crop season during monsoon when the salt layer go down with the fresh supply of sweet water in Meghna River. At the upper strata of the fishing occupations are the owners of the fish arats, i.e. the wholesale centers of fish and the owners of the fishing boats. The owners of the fish arats have understanding with the fishermen - the arat owners invest in fishing and the fishermen bring their fish to the partcular arats. The fishermen catch the fish, bring it to the arats, fix the buyers and sell them. The owners of the arat get commission from the selling. Yasin, a young arat owner said that it needs at least 50,000 taka for the initial investment. Later the profits add up to the initial capital. There are people who have investment of several million taka. The arat owners are supposed to take a trade license from the Union Parishad.

There are about 50 arats in Dhalchar of which 20-25 are owned by the locals and the rest by traders from outside like Char Fashon, Char Kachchapia, etc. The business seemed to be a complete matter of understanding between the arat owners and the fishermen. During Hilsa season a temporary committee is formed to solve the problems and disputes arising from the business.

In Dhalchar the business of Hilsa started more than 25 years ago. The fishing seasons are divided here in two main seasons - Hilsa and shrimp seasons. The Hilsa season spans from Baishakh to Kartik (From Mid-April to November) of Bangla year. From Agrahyan to Chaitra (Mid November to Mid April) is the season for the shrimps. Again catching of the jatka, i.e. the Hilsa younglings is banned by the government from Agrahyan to Chaitra.

Various types of shrimps are caught main of which are Bagda, Tiger and Harina. Jalangi, Dharma, Chakachali are some other varieties. Catching bagda fries is another important business of the area. Cultivation of Bagda, the brackish water shrimp is an important export-oriented economical activity for the country although highly criticized for the negative environmental impacts it has brought to the coastal region of the country. The fries of Bagda shrimps are collected from the natural waterbodies as well as produced in the hatcheries. The shrimp fry traders in Dhalchar said that presently the condition of the business is very bad because of the high death rate of the fries. Seemingly, there is not enough facilities in the island to keep the fries robust before they are sent to the Bagda cultivation areas in Khulna, Bagerhat and other places.

The Tiger and Harina shrimps are for export. After caught these are sent to Khulna. After catching the headless process is carried out in the island which is done mostly by children. They get 15 taka for cutting head of five kg shrimps. A laborer cannot do the work continuously as their fingers get injured during the work.

Apart from fish other sea fishes are also caught like Koral, Med, Goruchoikhya, Bholpua, Cheua, shark, etc. Dried fish is another source of income while fish and poultry feeds are made from the waste and rotten fish, another work for children. Making of fishing nets and boat building are the related occupations. We have found a few mechanical shops also in the bazaar equipped with lathe machines apparently for the repairing of the fishing boats.

None of these activities seemed to involve women as a man in the char said all them are carried out by men. Women with all their burden of work are most of the time invisible. Or, as the hotel-owner’s wife said, poor women leave for Dhaka to find work in the garments factory. Nevertheless, in this journey we didn’t have enough time to find them in work except for their huge responsibilities of home rearing.

Wanted: Security, a Bank and a Strong Mobile Wave

After landing on Dhalchar we came to a hotel accompanied by Bashir Jamidar, a member of the Char Kookri Mookri Union Council. Bashir came in the same boat with us. Entering the hotel he called a man and handed him a big bundle of five-hundred taka note. After handing over the money Bashir looked much relieved and I thought fearfully what an uncertain way of money transaction. Anything could happen on the way - robbery or a boat accident. Bashir said how desperately they needed a bank on the island. So much money is handled but all in hard cash brought and taken by the boat.

Next day in a talk with us the fish traders spoke about their three prime needs, security being the first. River pirates are a regular headache for the fish traders in this coastal belt. Md. Yusuf Dhali, the Hilsa fish trader from Chandpur is an old trader in Dhalchar. He takes trips to the area almost round the year. He was attacked by the pirates in 2000 when they snatched his fish and cash valued at seven to eight lakh (7 to 8 hundred thousand) taka. It would have been hard for him to recover the loss unless his peer traders had helped. “We gave him fish in credit. He sold them and gave our money back money,” said Jahangir Hossain, proprietor of Mayer Doa Fish Enterprise.

The traders and the local people said that after the caretaker government took over the river has much calmed down. Several notorious pirates have been caught, others remain absconded. The joint forces of the navy, coast guard and other regular law and order forces have reinforced their watch in the area. “The fishermen could not work in the river at this time of season last year. The pirates attacked them and snatched everything,” said Abdul Ali, a fish trader.

“We have talked to the government Krishi Bank at Char Fashon. They talk about their lack of manpower and logistics. Besides, they are also worried about their security if they have a branch at Dhalchar,” said a fish trader. The scanty amount of NGO loans is not accounted for these traders who need to invest several lakh taka in a season.

Probably in the city as well as in the rural area a fearful impression about this government and its law and order forces is active among the common people. Although in particular cases they enjoy benefits but that does not help lift the general ambiguity and fear. The same fish trader whose boat has better security in the river now laments that many people have lost their work due to the overall stricter situation.

People from all strata talked about the need of a stronger mobile communication as it is only medium of constant communication between the island and the outside world.

To Be Continued