Climate-displaced slum dwellers place 13-point demands before prime minister, dialogue hears 70 percent were forced from villages

People who lost their homes to river erosion, cyclones, salinity and drought and took shelter in city slums have placed 13-point demands before the prime minister. On behalf of slum dwellers from Dhaka, Rajshahi and Satkhira, a memorandum containing the demands was handed to Prime Minister Tariq Rahman through Anisur Rahman Khokon Talukder, member of parliament for Madaripur-3.

The memorandum was submitted so that the head of government would raise these demands in negotiations to secure climate compensation at the international level, the dialogue was told.

The memorandum was presented on Monday (2 November) at a civic dialogue titled 'Climate change and the crisis of the urban poor' at the Tofazzal Hossain Manik Mia Hall of the National Press Club in Dhaka. The non-governmental organisations Bangladesh Resource Centre for Indigenous Knowledge (BARCIK) and Children Watch Foundation (CWF) jointly organised the dialogue, and the information came in a press release from the organisers.

The demands include ensuring an adaptation fund for climate-affected people in cities and villages and reducing carbon emissions by cutting fossil fuel use. They also demand crop insurance for farmers and increased financial allocations for environmentally friendly agriculture.

The list further includes a fund for housing for low-income urban people and money for the people of Bangladesh from the Loss and Damage Fund. It also demands easing the conditions for receiving climate funds, making climate finance easily accessible to local people, and separate allocations for women, children and people with disabilities.

At the dialogue, CWF chair Shah Israt Azmeri read out a concept paper presenting eight more recommendations on behalf of slum dwellers — urban planning centred on marginal people, strengthening city corporations and municipalities with separate budgets, and rehabilitating the displaced in their own areas or in nearby towns.

The recommendations also include improving the quality of slum housing, delivering early warnings of heatwaves and floods, and stopping evictions while guaranteeing permanent housing.

Citing the organisers' research, the dialogue heard that about 70 percent of slum dwellers were forced to leave their villages and come to the city because of cyclones, intense salinity and river erosion on the coast and prolonged drought and falling groundwater levels in the north. Cyclones Sidr, Aila, Amphan and Remal made coastal people homeless.

The dialogue was told that these people came from Lalmohon and Charfashion in Bhola, Barisal, Sunamganj, Kishoreganj, Rajshahi, Naogaon, Chapainawabganj, and Shyamnagar in Satkhira and Koyra in Khulna.

Representatives of climate-displaced families from various slums in Dhaka, Rajshahi and Satkhira described their experiences at the dialogue. They said that after leaving their villages they lost not only their homes but also a familiar life and culture built over many years, and in the city they must live in dilapidated houses with no safe water or sanitation.

The representatives also said they live with the risk of heatstroke during heatwaves, skin disease from dirty drain water in the rainy season, and dengue. Day labourers and rickshaw pullers have irregular incomes, and the fear of crime and social contempt are taking away their dignity, they said.

In his speech as chief guest, MP Anisur Rahman Khokon Talukder said marginal people from villages are being forced to come to the city for various reasons and the areas where they live are called slums. He expressed hope that the combined efforts of the government and non-governmental organisations could build a livable environment for these people.

In his view, converting slums into multi-storey buildings could house more people. He also hoped that low-income people in villages would become self-reliant through the government's farmer card and family card.

The dialogue also recalled earlier warnings from international organisations about climate displacement risk in Bangladesh. According to the World Bank's 'Groundswell' report, the number of people internally displaced by climate impacts in Bangladesh could reach 13.3 million by 2050. Another report by the organisation says that in 2019 alone, about 4.1 million people in the country were displaced by climate-related disasters.

Chaired by BARCIK director Md Kamruzzaman, the dialogue was also addressed by Bangladesh Bastibasi Surakkha Committee president Hosne Ara Begum Rafeza, Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (BAPA) treasurer Aminul Rasul, public health expert Lenin Chowdhury, Coalition for the Urban Poor (CUP) executive director Khandaker Rebeka Sun-Yat, journalist Nikhil Bhadra and Buriganga Bachao Andolon convener Mihir Biswas. The dialogue was moderated by BARCIK coordinator Md Jahangir Alam.