{"id":888,"date":"2017-09-19T11:37:21","date_gmt":"2017-09-19T10:37:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/deccma\/?p=888"},"modified":"2017-09-25T14:08:42","modified_gmt":"2017-09-25T13:08:42","slug":"the-lives-of-littoral-people-in-rehania","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/deccma\/2017\/09\/19\/the-lives-of-littoral-people-in-rehania\/","title":{"rendered":"The lives of littoral people in Rehania"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Tamanna Nazneen<\/em><\/p>\n

Rehania is\u00a0a coastal village\u00a0in Bangladesh on Hatiya Island, Noakhali.\u00a0 Cyclone, coastal flood and\u00a0water salinity are some of the common natural hazards in Rehania.\u00a0 Recently, a research survey led by DECCMA (Deltas, Vulnerability and Climate Change: Migration and Adaptation), under RMMRU (Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit), has been held in this area.\u00a0 For this reason, I had the great opportunity of going to Hatiya and observing the lifestyle of the people in the Rehania village.<\/p>\n

Most of the people of Rehania are the victim of natural hazards like floods, river erosion and cyclones. They migrated here from other coastal areas of Noakhali, Lakshmipur, Bhola and Sandhwip (Chittagong). They lost everything from river erosion and cyclones. The Government re-housed them on the two sides of river dam and gave them a small amount of land per family but\u00a0it was inadequate.<\/p>\n

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There is a lack of effective livelihoods. At first, people earned their livelihood by farming and fishing but the farming lands in the surrounding areas are also affected by flooding, more than three times per year. Flood water is very saline here and as a result the farming land has\u00a0become saline. During the\u00a0dry season, a white layer of salt is visible on the land so farming becomes difficult. \u00a0Farmers grow Aaush paddy (a variation of paddy which\u00a0grows in the summer and\u00a0is harvested during the monsoon), chilli and ground nut but in most cases crops are destroyed because of flood and water salinity.<\/p>\n

Due to global warming, sea levels are rising and salinity of the sea is entering up stream through rivers and feeder canals resulting in most of the farmers\u00a0changing their livelihood.\u00a0 In recent years, they earn their livelihood by fishing and doing other jobs through migration. \u00a0Seasonal migration is an important livelihood strategy to these families.\u00a0 More than 70% of their incomes are derived from outside the village.\u00a0 Most of the seasonal migrants work in brickfields in Chittagong under a contract and after a working season return home with their wages, of which a significant amount is spent buying fishing nets and boats (in share).\u00a0 They also send some remittances for their family. Fishing is their monsoon season job and during dry season they always migrate for other work (in brickfields).<\/p>\n

In Rehania, many women are self-employed doing animal husbandry.\u00a0 They lease cattle and tend. In exchange, they get some money and can sell milk after giving a specific portion to the cattle owner.\u00a0 When we went to Rehania village for the survey and wanted to interview them, at first, they thought we were government workers who had come to them for reporting about their life conditions, so that they could get their desired governmental help for\u00a0materials for building more sustainable houses and a\u00a0sanitary latrine. They were eager to take effective training about cultivation methods of flood prone areas and also wanted a\u00a0subsidy for agriculture, saline water tolerant crop seeds and fishing materials.<\/p>\n

When they came to know about our research and its aim, they became tamed, but most of them spread their helping hand and cordially responded to our questionnaire. Though their life is afflicted with lots of pain, they never give up their smiles and hospitality.\u00a0 Whenever we went to any respondent\u2019s house, they treated us with green coconuts, ground nuts, mangoes and whatever they had.\u00a0 We were amazed with their cordial behaviour and realised again the hospitable nature of the Bangladeshi people.<\/p>\n

We were also amazed with the children of Rehania. They were very interesting and\u00a0curiously stared at us with our tablets and questionnaire papers. They wanted to follow us around but we insisted that they\u00a0did not and instead go to their school. Whenever it was possible we offered them chocolates, biscuits and\u00a0juice to have with us. They also gave us red hibiscus flowers. This flower is available in every house and roadside.<\/p>\n

Natural disasters are a part of their life.\u00a0 They always have to face it and struggle against it just like other littoral people. Naturally, they are brave and have adaptational capacities in such a hostile environment. They know how to keep their house safe from cyclones by planting banana and coconut trees around their houses.\u00a0 For a better livelihood they migrate to other places and try to send remittances. They are optimistic about their life. They just want some help from the government to make their livelihood more sustainable. \u00a0The days may be hard, but their hopes and aspirations are never tamed. The always-smiling face is the symbol of their life spirit.<\/p>\n

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by Tamanna Nazneen Rehania is\u00a0a coastal village\u00a0in Bangladesh on Hatiya Island, Noakhali.\u00a0 Cyclone, coastal flood and\u00a0water salinity are some of the common natural hazards in Rehania.\u00a0 Recently, a research survey led by DECCMA (Deltas, Vulnerability and Climate Change: Migration and Adaptation), under RMMRU (Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit), has been held in this area.\u00a0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":271,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[6,18,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-888","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bangladesh","category-gbm-bangladesh","category-student-reporting"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8jyTh-ek","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":879,"url":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/deccma\/2017\/09\/26\/the-challenges-of-living-with-climate-change-in-noakhali-and-laxmipur-districts\/","url_meta":{"origin":888,"position":0},"title":"The challenges of living with climate change in Noakhali and Laxmipur Districts","author":"Carolin Bothe-Tews","date":"26th September 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"by Aysha Akter Akhi It is a nice opportunity to work with RMMRU on the DECCMA project. For the purpose of completing this work, I got a chance to visit the Noakhali-Laxmipur region of Bangladesh. This visit enabled me to talk with the people of this remote area. I visited\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Bangladesh"","block_context":{"text":"Bangladesh","link":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/deccma\/category\/from-the-countries\/bangladesh\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"image001","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/deccma\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/181\/2017\/07\/image001-2.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":254,"url":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/deccma\/2016\/06\/08\/migration-resettlement-river-erosion-and-cyclones-wp-3-fieldwork-in-bangladesh-may-2016\/","url_meta":{"origin":888,"position":1},"title":"Migration, resettlement, river erosion and cyclones; WP 3 Fieldwork in Bangladesh \u2013 May 2016","author":"Lucy Graves","date":"8th June 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Of all the countries in the world, Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change. The regular and severe environmental hazards that already batter the country \u2013 tropical cyclones, river erosion, flood, landslides and drought \u2013 are all projected to increase in intensity and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Bangladesh"","block_context":{"text":"Bangladesh","link":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/deccma\/category\/from-the-countries\/bangladesh\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"migration fieldwork in bangladesh","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/deccma\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/181\/2017\/02\/migration-fieldwork-in-bangladesh-300x296.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":333,"url":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/deccma\/2015\/12\/17\/findings-from-the-district-level-stakeholders-workshop-in-ramgoti-lakshmipur-bangladesh\/","url_meta":{"origin":888,"position":2},"title":"Findings from the District Level Stakeholders Workshop in Ramgoti, Lakshmipur, Bangladesh","author":"Lucy Graves","date":"17th December 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"DECCMA Bangladesh team organized 2nd District Level workshop at Ramgoti Upazila of Lakshmipur District on November 18, 2015. The objectives of the workshop were: i. To explore migration, adaptation and governance issues of Ramgoti Upazila related to climate change. ii. To compare the findings with the 1st District Level Workshop\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Bangladesh"","block_context":{"text":"Bangladesh","link":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/deccma\/category\/from-the-countries\/bangladesh\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"district level stakeholder workshop","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/deccma\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/181\/2017\/03\/findings-from-district-level-stakeholder-workshop-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2159,"url":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/deccma\/2018\/02\/19\/espa-deltas-holds-final-workshop-with-the-planning-commission-in-bangladesh\/","url_meta":{"origin":888,"position":3},"title":"ESPA Deltas holds final workshop with the Planning Commission in Bangladesh","author":"katharinevincent","date":"19th February 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"by Saiful Alam DECCMA builds on a project under the Ecosystem Services for Poverty Alleviation (ESPA) programme - ESPA Deltas. 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