Earnings of Bede dry up

The life of Bede community members in Shariatpur has come to a halt as they are prevented from earning their livelihood by roaming around localities amid fear of coronavirus spread.

The local administration asked them not to go out of their homes without offering any financial assistance, said 35-year-old Bede woman Hasina Begum.

As a result, the day-to-day earnings have stopped putting the community members in trouble surviving, she added.

Showing snake charming, acrobatics of monkey, magic tricks, and selling herbal medicines, amulets, river oyster pearls and talismans in different areas are the traditional income sources of the Bede.

Besides, some males of the community work as day labourers. But all of these have now stopped due to the direction from the local administration.

Hasina said, "Our income sources have completely closed as we do not go outside. We even fail to ensure one meal a day to our families. We will not survive if the government does not help us."

Like Hasina, around 600 people in Domshar and Angaria unions in Sadar upazila of Shariatpur have enveloped their lives because of the crisis that occurred due to ongoing 10-day shutdown.

Abdul Sattar, sardar of a Bede community in Domshar union, said, "We have been isolated for the last 10 days without any help from the government or anyone else."

"We are extremely vulnerable and marginalised people. If we do not get assistance, we will not survive."

He said he contacted the Domshar Union Parishad seeking help, but the authorities did not respond.

Ziaul Haque, sardar of another Bede community in Angaria union, said, "We did not receive any assistance either."

"All our income sources are off and if the government does not help us during the pandemic, there is no chance for us to survive."

Contacted, Chan Mia Madbor, chairman of Domshar Union Parishad, said they helped 55 families with 10 kg rice each but could not help the Bede yet.

He promised that the Bede people would get assistance as soon as the government allocates further financial aid.

Asked, Anowar Hossain Howladar, chairman of Angaria Union Parishad, echoed Madbor's statement.

Mahabur Rahman Sheikh, upazila nirbahi officer (UNO) of Shariatpur Sadar, said, "We are making a list of 150 families of extreme vulnerable and underprivileged people including the Bede families for help. We hope we can help them soon."

Kazi Abu Taher, deputy commissioner of Shariatpur, said they helped 3,900 families in Shariatpur with 10 kg rice each and some essential products worth Tk 200.

"But this help is insufficient."

He also said that some HM Rasel Howladar, an expatriate in Spain, donated Tk 2 lakh for helping underprivileged people and the district administration was trying to make right uses of the money.