In the heart of the picturesque Sundarbans, where the land kisses the sea, lies the Gabura Union, a place of unparalleled beauty and paradoxical vulnerability. Nestled between the lush mangrove forest and the swirling currents of the Kopataska and Kholpetua Rivers, this region is no stranger to natural wraths. Bangladesh, which has a tropical monsoon climate and unique geography, is a hotbed for cyclones and storm surges, with severe cyclones striking almost every three years.
Coastal areas such as the Gabura Union bear the brunt of climate change, enduring riverbank erosion, floods, cold waves, salinity intrusion, tornadoes, cyclones, waterlogging, and even arsenic contamination in groundwater. For Gabura, the past decades have witnessed a series of catastrophic cyclones –Aila, Bijli, Fani, Bulbul, and Amphan–which have etched their scars on the land and its resilient inhabitants.
In 2009, Cyclone Aila and Bijli unleashed their fury upon this coastal paradise, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake. The damage was not limited to buildings and homes but included the very lifeblood of the region–embankments. These protective barriers are essential for safeguarding communities, crumbling, and nearly 200,000 people have been displaced.
Fast-forward to 2019, Cyclone Fani and Bulbul felt their presence. While the loss of life was minimized, the damage did not. River embankments in Satkhira and other coastal districts have been breached by submerging fertile agricultural land and homes. Cyclone Bulbul, one of the longest-lasting cyclones in the past five decades, exacted a heavy toll, claiming 24 lives and displacing 2.1 million people. Homes, crops, and embankments bore the brunt of the wraths.
Then came the notorious Cyclone Amphan in 2020, unleashing a ‘great danger’ upon Gabura and its neighboring regions. The storm surge threatened inundation in several districts, and when the tempest subsided, it left behind a tale of tragedy–26 lives lost, thousands of homes damaged or destroyed, embankments breached, and infrastructure shattered.
Amidst these trials and tribulations, the resilient inhabitants of Gabura Union yearned for a robust solution – not just relief, but resilience. They dream of a Gabura that stands as a Martello, a term borrowed from history yet infused with a powerful vision of protection and safety.
In their own words, “We do not want relief or other financial or non-financial support, we want a strong embankment in our union. Our Gabura should be a ‘Martello’.”
The word ‘Martello,’ borrowed from the 19th-century British Isles, conjures an image of circular masonry forts designed to withstand attacks. In the case of Gabura, this term symbolizes their desire for a fortified region, where embankments rise like protective walls, keeping tidal surges and cyclones at the bay. They envision their village submerged beneath six feet of coastal earth, with embankments towering six feet above, thus offering resolute protection.
Their plea echoes the desire for not just physical barriers, but also an entire mindset shift. They want Martello, a fortified haven in which their community is resilient against the relentless forces of nature. A place where the spirit of Gabura Union remains unbroken, even in the face of the fiercest cyclonic onslaught.
As we look upon the plight of Gabura, we are reminded that their crying is not theirs alone. It is a cry that reverberates along the vulnerable coastlines of our world, where communities yearn not just for relief but also for the means to stand strong in the face of adversity. It is a plea for resilience for the chance to write their own story of a triumph against nature’s fury. At the heart of the Sundarbans, the Gabura Union stands as a symbol of hope, resilience, and unwavering human spirit.
