Eid just another day full of uncertainty

“We will celebrate Eid next year. I promise I will get you new dresses then. I will also cook shemai (vermicelli) for you. Lots of it…”

Rehana Begum kept on repeating the above to her three children.

Finally, her 13-year-old son nodded. But the younger ones kept on sobbing.

It was hard for her seven- and five-year-old daughters to understand why there would be no new dresses for them in this Eid.

Soon afterwards, her eldest son, already hardened by hardship, began to console his sisters. While the tired mother rummaged through the pots and jars left disheveled at a corner of the house to find something to cook for the family.

The 39-year-old said her husband, who used to be a tenant farmer, now worked as a day labourer. But work was hard to come by these days, she added.

Life was not always like this for Rehana of Bishwamvarpur village under Sunamganj district. They had rented three acres of land for cultivating paddy amid hope of a good yield.

But the April's incessant rain coupled with onrush of water from the hills in the bordering areas had triggered flash floods in the greater Sylhet region and adjacent districts, inundating vast areas of farmland.

“All my crops were damaged. All my belongings were ruined,” lamented Rehana.

“Now, there's no work. My children are crying for Eid dresses. But I don't know how I will provide food for them,” said the sobbing mother.

Not only Rehana, almost all the people of Bishwamvarpur, Radhanagar and many other villages in Sunamganj haor areas are now barely surviving.

Even the thought of Eid failed to bring any hope or joy to their lives. Rather, it only added to their woes. There are around 150 families who live in these two villages. Most of them are marginal tenant farmers.

Seeking anonymity, a mother of five said, “I collected some old clothes for my children from a well-off family ahead of Eid. How can I buy clothes when I don't even have enough money to feed my children?”

While visiting the villages yesterday, this newspaper saw that the collective mood of the villagers was that of hopelessness. Children were in tears, parents without hope. The elderly villagers sat in a corner wearing a blank look.

For the villagers, Eid was just another day full of misery and uncertainty.

Manruja Begum, 40, of Bishwamvarpur village, said, “We had cultivated paddy on 300 decimals of land in Korchar Haor. All of our crops were damaged.”

“I wanted to buy clothes for my four children. Also, my husband needed an eye operation badly. We were looking forward to the harvest. Now, all is lost.” She wiped her eyes. Her husband, sitting by her side, was too grief-stricken to speak.

Bindu Talukdar, member secretary of Haor Bachao Sunamganj Bachao Andolon, said, “Many are buying rice by selling their livestock. Some are surviving on rice under the Vulnerable Group Feeding programme.”

The flashflood not only affected the tenant farmers in the district, even the middle-income group was also affected by it. Most of their crops were also damaged, he said.

Echoing him, Ali Nur, a resident of Radhanagar village, said, “I'm faced with even a bigger crisis. I cannot work at someone's house or stand in the OMS line.” “I could not buy anything for my two children this Eid. Not just Eid, I'm worried how I will survive the year.”

Kamruzzaman Kamrul, upazila chairman of Tahirpur, said many were also asking for help from the solvent families.

Mafia Begum, 45, of Radhanagar said, “My family survives on the rice we get from the open market sale. When we can't get the rice, we starve. Many days we had to break our fast with nothing but water. Eid will just be another day full of struggle.”

Even the markets in the Haor areas that used to be abuzz with shoppers ahead of Eid wore a bleak look.

Abu Sayed, 48, owner of Nipamoni Garments at Bishwamvarpur Bazaar Market, said, “How could anyone shop on an empty stomach?”

Abdul Kaiyum, owner of Tushar Enterprises, and Nantu Barman, owner of Niloy Enterprises, echoed him.

Harunur Rashid, chairman of Bishwamvarpur Upazila Parishad, said, “People are barely surviving. How can they celebrate Eid in this condition? They need help.”

Nurul Huda, chairman of Sunamganj District Council, urged all to stand by the flashflood affected people in the haor areas. “Eid brings people together. It is our responsibility to share the joy of the festival with them.”