Dire Glimpses of What Pollution Is Doing in Bangladesh

Bangladesh is dominated by a vast river delta of rich, fertile and flat land no more than 40 feet above
sea level. That makes it especially susceptible to climate change. Scientists estimate that rising sea
levels will claim as much as 17 percent of the country by 2050, displacing as many as 18 million
people.
Bangladeshi photojournalist Probal Rashidwas born in the rice-growing district of Gazipur in 1979,
and has seen this threat first-hand. Hes made it his mission to document the threat industrialization,
pollution and climate change pose to his homeland.I have witnessed the change from the beginning,
he says. I noticed how a completely pristine rural area was swallowed up, how natural water
reservoirs became poisonous, how extremely fertile agricultural land became unproductive along
with the devastation of the natural forest.
Rashids riveting photographs document the lives of those in Gazipur, Narayangonj, Keraniganj and
Savar districts where mills and factories often pollute the air and water. I always had to play hide
and seek, so that I was not caught by any agent of factory-owners, he says.

The garment industry wields tremendous influence in Bangladesh, where some

4,200garmentfactories employ 4 million people and produce clothing for many western retailers. The
industry has been under tremendous pressureto improve safety and workplace conditions in the
wake of a building collapse that killed 1,100 people two years ago.

A woman heads home after

catching fish with a net at Shyamnagar in the Satkhira district. Probal Rashid
The photographer made a point oftalking to those who live and work alongside the factories.
Although the factories provide much-needed jobs, lax regulation threatens their health and safety. At
a factory in Gazipur, Rashid said he saw teen-age boys working with black iron oxideoften used as a
pigmentwithout goggles, masks, or other protective equipment. They often breath in pollutants while
earning between $7 and $29 per month.Others he met lived near rivers, streams and reservoirs so
pollutedthey couldnt use the water. Rashid heard of people sufferingfrom tuberculosis and cancer.
Bangladesh produces 3 percent of the worlds carbon emissions, but will be disproportionately
impacted by effects of climate change. As temperatures rise, summers will grow hotter and the
monsoon season more violent. The regular and severe natural hazards that Bangladesh already
suffers fromtropical cyclones, river erosion, flood, landslides and droughtare all set to increase in
intensity and frequency as a result of climate change, Rashid says.
Rashid already has seen the devastation this will cause. He was in Satkhira four years ago when
torrential rains caused the Kapotakka River to overrun its banks. His photos humanize the tragedy
by drawing attention to those directly impacted. He hopes his images raise awareness of challenges
his country cannottackle alone. If Bangladeshs government, along with the international community,
is proactive to force the Bangladeshi factory owners to properly maintain environmental codes,
industrial pollution will come down, Rashid says. Climate change is a global issue. Bangladesh is the
victim. So, to mitigate this problem in Bangladesh is the responsibility of the global community.
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