'Climate migrants' in coastal Bangladesh live in vulnerable conditions

BARGUNA, BANGLADESH - APRIL 03: Mohammad Sohrab Khan, a 70-year-old man, was sitting beside the Buriganga River with his grandson on his lap.Old age has forced the former fisherman to spend most of his time with his grandchildren as he is no longer fit to take on the challenge of catching fish in the river or the sea.Sitting under a coconut tree on the riverside, he was seemingly searching for something in the river near the estuary of the southern Bay of Bengal in the coastal district of Barguna.“I have been living here since my birth. The river has grabbed our land, house and other properties two times. Now I along with my other family members live in a small tent along the roadside as floating people,” Khan told Anadolu, pointing to a place in the river where once he had a big house, cattle, poultry and croplands.Like Khan, the river in this area of Zintala under the subdistrict of Patharghata has swallowed the homes and properties of nearly 2,000 people in the last two decades.A small house made of wood and tin along the river was on the verge of collapse due to river erosion, while another small house was seen fallen below the broken riverside along with some fallen trees.At a close distance, a man with a black Panjabi lungi (traditional local dress) and a topi (Muslim prayer cap) on his head was standing in a gloomy mood.(Footage by Md Kamruzzaman/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)