Shackled in motion: Following the harm-chain of climate migration
Extreme weather events haunt the lives of millions in Bangladesh. Socio-political stability and livelihood opportunities are threatened by floods, cyclones, river erosion, droughts, salinisation of water and soil, heat and cold waves, among other devastating conditions which force thousands out of their homes everyday. In Bangladesh, about 2000 migrants move to the metropolitan city of Dhaka to look for a second start at life everyday, a significant percentage of whom do so for reasons associated with environmental disasters and climate change, and find themselves living in one of many of Dhaka’s informal settlements. As high-temperatures and erratic rainfall reshape urban ecology, the climate victims whose livelihoods, land and community were snatched away are re- victimized to urban climate impacts: the harm-chain of climate change continues.
Utilizing a short photo-ethnography study to collect first-hand community insights, to ‘bear witness’ to the depleting conditions that millions are forced to grapple with, and to present their stories with the use of visual and written mediums, we present a photo-book titled: ‘Shackled in motion: Following the harm-chain of climate migration’. The photo-book is a culmination of 15 stories collected over a six month period, where the researchers used 20 in-depth interviews, 7 focus-group discussion, and self-reflective observation techniques to form data points. Data was then thematically analysed and grouped to strategically uplift key issues identified by respondents, such as, urban climate impacts, access to services, communal habitation, etc. The methodology does not seek to be perfect in application, but genuine and reflective of ground-level realities.
The 15 stories were transformed into a week-long exhibition at the heart of Dhaka city in March 2024, inviting myriad stakeholders to understand the lives of climate migrants more deeply and to participate in conversations, which would ideally lead to the mobilising of greater resources to support migrant lives. This methodology was always meant to serve as an awareness raising tool, where academics can freely engage with practitioners and their divide is challenged.
The stories are nuanced, echoing the lived-experiences of not solely the respondents, but millions more who are subjected to the same depravity. The photos are simple, yet provocative, as they add to the evidence of suffering plunged upon climate migrants in Dhaka. When brought together, they become that much more powerful.
LEAD RESEARCHERS
Tasnia Khandaker Prova
Tahura Farbin
PROJECT PHOTOGRAPHER
Ahmed Yasar Sameen
RESEARCH & PHOTOGRAPHY TEAM
Era Robbani
Shahriyer Hossain Shetu
Umme Habiba Sadia
Afrin Farin
DESIGNER
Rubab Al Islam