An Appeal From Drishtipat to help the Arsenic Affected People of Bangladesh

Save a Pond, Save Lives:  

“HOTOBINAR CHAP, Bangladesh - The arsenic, a slow, sadistic killer, has just about finished its work on Fazila Khatun. She teeters now. The fatigue is constant. Pain pulses through her limbs. Warts and sores cover the palms of her hands and the soles of her feet, telltale of the long years of creeping poison.”

From the New York Times, July 14, 2002, Bangladeshis Sipping Arsenic as Plan for Safe Water Stalls
 

Arsenic contamination of ground water in Bangladesh, now recognized as it’s worst disaster, may surpass Bhopal and Chernobyl as the highest environmental cancer risk ever found. Over 35 million people rely on arsenic-contaminated drinking water. Many don’t even know they are at risk.
According to the Bangladesh-based Disaster Forum: “The Dhaka Declaration [on Bangladesh Environment, 2000] says a major portion of Bangladesh's groundwater is contaminated with high concentrations of arsenic. A large number of people, including children and women, continue to suffer from chronic arsenic poisoning, and more are expected to suffer in the future. The arsenic problem remains a major threat to public health and the social structure of Bangladesh. Supply of arsenic-free, safe water is the immediate need.” Disaster Forum, Fact Sheet on Arsenic #XII, June 2000

More than 97 percent of Bangladeshis drink water from 11 million shallow tube-wells sunk over the years to access groundwater. Only a fraction of those have been tested for arsenic, and for years inadequate testing by foreign and local agencies alike resulted in a false sense of security. In reality, 61 of the 64 districts in the country are now thought to have arsenic contamination. Since arsenic poisoning may take two to fourteen years to develop, there will be an increasing rate of arsenic-related fatalities in the future.

While the myriad government, local NGOs, foreign donor agencies and vendors offer different approaches & technology solutions, there is no consensus on a nationwide plan of action. Most major organizations have been promoting various water filters to be used with existing shallow tube wells. Some organizations, however, have come full circle to the indigenous approaches of our ancestors – rain and surface water preservation.
 
Drishtipat is supporting the pond preservation programs of one such organization, Brotee, which works towards social awareness and promotion of environmental rights in Bangladesh. Actively involved in the safe drinking water scheme since 1997, Brotee is currently implementing a Safe Water Program in the villages of Kolasgram and Char Aicha in Barisal district. These areas are highly arsenic contaminated and many people have already died from arsenic poisoning.
 

Key steps in Brotee’s Safe Water Program are:

• Form a local workforce to organize and mobilize the village, train villagers and protect the pond

• Select, clean, dredge and disinfect the pond

• Implement pond sand filtration method

• Connect (or newly install, if necessary) the filter to an existing tube well

• Monitor water quality

• Provide medical assistance to arsenic patients. The arsenic patients are organized into Arsenic Rugi Sangha (ARS), and are both project volunteers as well as beneficiaries of the program

Drishtipat, in conjunction with the Bangladesh Environment Network (BEN), is sponsoring a pond preservation project in the village of Paschim Shapania, Barisal. We need to raise the $3,500 necessary to preserve and maintain the pond in Paschim Shapania by September 25, 2002. It is imperative that the implementation work be completed prior to the end of the monsoon season in October.
 

We urge you to support this cause, one pond at a time. Please make your tax-deductible donations payable to Bangladesh Environment Network (BEN), fill out “Brotee” in the memo line and mail to:
 

Naeem Mohaiemen

266 12th Street, #2

Brooklyn, NY 11215

For more information on the arsenic crisis, ongoing remediation efforts and Brotee’s Safe Water program, please visit our website, http://www.drishtipat.org/campaign or email us at contact@drishtipat.org

We thank you for your continued support in our efforts to make a difference in Bangladesh, one step at a time.
 

Drishtipat is a non-profit, non-political expatriate Bangladeshi organization committed to safeguarding every individual's basic democratic rights, including freedom of expression, and is opposed to any and all kinds of human rights abuses in Bangladesh. We are based in the United States, and have members in every part of the globe. In early 2001, we successfully publicized and raised over $16,000 for the medical treatment of journalist Tipu Sultan. In 2002, we raised $29000 for the "Cheye Dekho" campaign to rehabilitate victims of post election violence in Annada Prashad, Bangladesh.

The Bangladesh Environment Network (BEN) was set up in July 1998 to facilitate communication about Bangladesh's environmental problems. Its membership includes both experts and activists from all over the world with a common interest in Bangladesh environment. BEN has been instrumental in uniting all pro-environment organizations in Bangladesh under the auspices of BAPA (Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon). In addition to extending both financial and technical support to BAPA, BEN has supported a small household waste project in the past and is in the process of publishing a BEN journal on environment. It is also soliciting young volunteers for BEN-Internship program, to place them in suitable projects in Bangladesh for short periods. To learn more about BEN, visit : http://www.ben-center.org

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