“This is crazy. Where is the money for education? Health? Clean water?”
"The hospitals and schools are falling apart."
“The heat is killing us and it is not even summer yet. We can no longer survive in The Racket. We have to go.”
“It is not fair. What about school? My friends?”
“We have to get out.”
“School! School is the way out! Please!”
Dhaka is a hot city. Always has been. But the heatwaves and stifling humidity now make it dangerous for the millions of people who can’t afford air conditioning. Every day new climate refugees arrive in the settlement, but the flood waters threaten their homes here too.
“The Pig took everything. Everything.”
“We’re trapped. We could move north but the heat is deadly there now too. And how would we survive? The Bubble is closed to people like me.”
“A generous spirit? I have nothing left to give. Nothing left. Two children – lost to the pandemic. My husband, killed in the raid. No home. No security. Nothing.”
Over the years, millions of people had no choice but to leave their homes and move to the settlement camps. The annual flooding and the intense heat made Dhaka uninhabitable.
Dhaka is morphing into a sponge city to absorb water from monsoons and the rising oceans.
The waters help keep people cool in the unbearable summer heat.
“It’s the city on stilts. The floods come. We stay dry. We have aircon – running off solar on the roof. This literally saves our lives every day. I don’t know how we’d cope without.”
“We’ve found ways to grow more food here. This is a big industry now. Bangladesh is a world leader in this technology.”
“When the Pig hit, I will not lie it was terrifying. Some places flooded bad. But it could have been worse.”
“Our grandchildren will have a good future here. The government is investing in the right things.”
“I remember growing up in The Racket. We didn't have much except our community. That’s the only thing we kept. Thankfully.”
