Maybe we do not see the fire visibly, but those who had the heart to connect found eyes, and saw this fire spreading fast without much organised damage control.
When I heard about the Sundarbans oil spillage, the first thing I wondered about was, is this going to be another short-term damage control effort, or will anyone actually look at this mega problem with a long-term rehabilitation plan?
I am not blaming any bodies, but after living in this country on-and-off for a good number of years, I have realised how so many problems are “solved” with just a torn masking tape. I am afraid the same will happen here, without thought given to changing patterns of disaster response methods.
When I first went to the bon, it was 1986. I was a little girl, and I don’t have too many memories from that trip, except that we took a launch called Ostrich, and we saw deer in the distance and it took us a day and a night to reach our destination. We went to my maternal grandmother’s home, who lived in a village near Satkhira where tigers visited looking for chicken and goats frequently.
I went back to the bon many years later again in 2010. This time as an adult and for work. I came back with typhoid and wild dreams. Then I returned again the year after during pouring monsoon, ten days on a small boat connected me to all that I could see and feel. Women of Burigoalni village, who only got to boil potatoes for food, showed me the big holes in their saris, their barren gardens, told me stories of their sisters and brothers eaten by tigers.
I do not know when I started caring about the bon, but I know I am not the only one. There are thousands of people like me who have a deep personal connection with the Sundarbans and a lot of you who are taking the time to read this will also have similar stories as mine and many more.
What are we to do now? That’s what people are asking each other. Some are running to the spot, a few of them are conducting surveys, mapping the oil spillage, the forest department is putting in their effort, some popular personalities are going to understand the damage so that they can give support for the right cause.
Many so-called Sundarbans-friendly NGOs are already extending their hands to donors to help with disaster management without any proper plan. And then there are those who are just going for disaster tourism, the most damaging thing you can do to Sundarbans in the name of oil spillage.
If you have nothing to give to the bon at the moment, isn’t it best that you wait for the opportunity to help when a trusted body of people give good guidance? I know things move slow here, but have patience?
Some of the clean-up efforts are also harming the ecology, people are cutting through the mangrove, increasing further damage. Experts are finally coming together to figure out the best way of oil spillage clean-up for mangroves, which is very different from the oil-spillage clean up from other eco-systems.
Some specialists even recommend a no-action/natural recovery clean up, not to say that is the best solution here. But the need for selecting the best method of clean-up is extremely necessary at the moment and the government will hopefully figure that out without too much delay.
Because really, time is running out and the oil is spreading, due to natural reasons as well as human intervention (for example, if a tourism company illegally takes the route through the damage area instead of the designated alternative route, or if the disaster management group’s boats do not follow the specific guidelines of how to manouvre vessels without causing too many ripples and waves in the damaged area’s water).
What can we do now? If you are a scientist working with ecology, and think your skills can be useful, come forward. If you are a passionate Sundarbans lover, believe me, there will be a lot to do in just a few days where you will feel like you gave back to the Sundarbans, hold tight and take stock of your best skills, the ones which may be useful for recovery efforts.
Also, when using social media, Facebook, Twitter, please verify the source of information before promoting items which can also create a hype away from the constructive one. If you are a tourist who had planned a winter trip in the bon, please make sure your boat follows the alternative route (away from the damage area).
We can be slow learners and movers, but we are shakily hoping that this time the country will prove us wrong – if a united effort is given without power and ego play, or prior biases, or under political agendas, or in the hope of becoming famous through yet another cause (because this is really far more important than you and me).
Isn’t it time to come together as one? The tigers were already disappearing, the deer can’t drink the water, the birds do not dive and catch fishes from the canals, bodies are turning the colour of tar, and green is turning black. It’s time now to join hands, join efforts. Otherwise this will be another past we will lament over for years. Don’t we already have enough of those?