Sonadia is a small island in the Bay of Bengal, north-west of Cox’s Bazar, and there is every possibility that the dried sea fish in your last night’s dinner has come from there.
It is also known to environmentalist activists as a key breeding ground for endangered marine turtles and also the winter home of many different kinds of migratory birds.
But behind all these is the heartrending story of a lifetime of struggle for some 1,700 ultra-poor inhabitants of this 9sq-km island.
Because there is literally no healthcare facilities on this island, which has been historically neglected by authorities, even a simple case of diarrhoea often ends up claiming a life.
The pregnant women are “critically endangered,” particularly because there is only one midwife for all of them on the island. She too does not have any formal training for the job and hence several women die every year while giving birth.
A few days ago, Safia Akhter, mother of six, died from diarrhoea. Her husband, Shafique Mia, is into fishing – the predominant profession of the islanders. When Safia caught the disease, her husband was away on business to the nearby Maheshkhali Island, the nearest civilised human settlement to Sonadia.
“My mother would have lived if we could take her to a hospital in time. We could not do it because there was no water in the canals. We were late by about six hours,” said Kawsar, 13, her eldest child.
There is not even a village doctor on the island. Any health complication and the patient has to be taken to the Maheshkhali island which is the closest place to Sonadia to have a hospital – that too is at least a 50-minute journey by boat.
The only mode of communication out of the island therefore is boat, but Sonadia residents have to wait until high tide pushes water up through the canals twice every day.
“She vomited in the morning and we gave her home-made saline. But things did not improve. Still we could not take her anywhere as we waited for high tide. By the time the canals got watered and we set sail, it was already too late. She died on the boat while we were on our way to Maheshkhali,” Kawsar said, sobbing.
The island comprises two villages – the East Village and the West Village. There is no concrete structure and most of the houses are made of wood and bamboo.
Sayed Ahmed, head of the West Village, said: “We fall into deep problems when someone falls ill. A few days ago, a woman [Safia] died from diarrhoea. People here die from even the simplest of diseases such as fever, cough and vomiting.”
Maheshkhali island is an upazila under the Cox’s Bazar district. In terms of administration, the Sonadia island is an union of Maheshkhali.
Charaj Ahamad, the upazila family planning officer of Maheshkhali, said: “There is no establishment or clinics on the Sonadia island. We sometimes go there on crash programmes. But such initiatives barely help the community there.
“Even the NGOs do not want to go there and work because of security problem. There is no law enforcement mechanism in place in Sonadia,” Charaj said.
During his recent visit to the island, this correspondent came across a wedding party. The girl, who lives on the island, was being married off to a man who lives in Maheshkahli.
“I am very happy that I will be living in Maheshkhali from now on. If I got married to someone who lives here [Sonadia], I would also have suffered just like my mother and grandmother did, especially while giving birth,” said Razia Aktar, the bride.
In the last one year, at least three women died on the Sonadia island while giving birth.
Rubia Begum, 60, is the only person who provides midwifery services to the islanders. She has spent half her life helping her fellow islanders during childbirth.
She is a very shy woman and refused to say much when this correspondent tried to have a conversation with her.
“This is such a tidal life ... I have been living ... is bound to shake with it” is what could be made of the only remark she made.
