Published: The Buisness Standard
Date: 24 July, 2021, 07:45 pm
Bangladesh, a country that is extremely vulnerable to rising sea levels, has sprung a new wave of migration of communities forced to disparage their coastal homelands for the bustling city slums of Chittagong. Every year hundreds of homes go underwater due to soil erosion and sea-level rise and coastal residents are forced to move to the city. This short video piece by Asha Stuart and Shamsuddin Illius delves into the lives of climate migrants by exploring how they adapt to their new city life post-migration. Chittagong a city NASA estimates will be submerged underwater in the next 100 years, itself has its own struggles in adaptation to climate change. The ironic dichotomy between climate migrants fleeing unbearable weather conditions and a city struggling to keep the lives of millions afloat from sea level rise elevates the story from a unique perspective. Home to the second-largest city in Bangladesh, Chittagong is expected to receive the highest migration with an estimation between 15,000 and 30,000 climate migrants per year. This project was made in partnership with the Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting. Home to the second-largest city in Bangladesh, Chittagong is expected to receive the highest migration with an estimation between 15,000 and 30,000 climate migrants per year.