Abundant waters shimmer, thirst’s story untold.
A dance of contradictions, a watery domain,
Coastal beauty hides a truth, a bittersweet refrain.
As salinity seeps, drinking water’s bane,
Health’s silent toll becomes the refrain.
Nature’s orchestra plays, a symphony of strife,
Capitalism’s hand, climate’s grasp, merge into everyday life.
Neoliberal whispers play loud, development’s allure,
Yet its path often deepens inequalities pure.
From within this paradigm’s narrow keep,
Women bear the burden, their struggles run deep.
Let adaptation be shaped by a holistic embrace,
Where health, gender and nature interlace.
Through nuanced discourse and policies bold,
A resilient future for all shall unfold.
So, let’s reframe the coastal narrative’s song,
Where health and equality together belong.
In academia’s realm, let’s deeply explore,
A melody of progress, profound to the core.
Lieke Dortmans is a global health student at Maastricht University, Netherlands, doing her Master's dissertation on salinity in Bangladesh.
