Rohima lives in a slum on the Goalondo Town protection Embankment. Her polythene-roof shelter looks like a cage. She is nearly 45 but looks more than her age. In front of her shelter, she is trying to make a fire to cook the day's only meal. Her weak hands tremble as she adds some fallen leaves and straw to the fire. The whispering wind from the river Padma makes the fire unsteady. The dancing of the flames reminds Rohima of the turmoil in her life.
Not long ago Rohima had everything - a family, cultivable land and cattle. The erosion of the padma consumed all her landed property gradually. It finally claimed her only shelter during the last monsoon. It look the river only a day to demolish Rohima's house,trees, vegetable garden and the bamboo bush. She had a happy family once. Over the years, she lost her husband and her family to diseases that cruel hunger and poverty brought to the family. Now, she is the only one left to live on with the loss and the pain. The greedy Padma has shattered her dreams and happiness.
There are thousand others waiting to share the same fate like Rohima. Bangladesh is a land of rivers that affect its people. Erosion is harsh reality for the people living along the river banks. During each monsoon many more villagers are threatened by the roaring rivers like the Podma, the Jamuna, and the Meghna. It is estimated that river erosion makes at least 100,000 people homeless every year in Bangladesh. In fact, river erosion is one of the main dangers caused by climate change. If we can't take prompt actions to adopt to climate change, there will be thousands of more Rohimas in our towns and villages every year.
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