About the Island of Bhola

What is it like? - the people

Bangladesh is one of the poorest countries in the world and Bhola is one of the poorer parts of Bangladesh. It is a subsistence-level agricultural and fishing society. As an island the Bholaya people are used to being self-sufficient – they need to be because Bhola is indeed the “forgotten place” getting little help from the central government.

The literacy rate is low. At the time of the census in 2001 it was 37 per cent.

Most Bholaya live in shacks made of tin and bamboo. These offer little protection in a cyclone but they are at least easy to dismantle and reassemble when erosion forces the family to move.

Bhola had a population of 1.7 million in 2001. The general trend has been for the population to rise fast as elsewhere in Bangladesh mainly due to the high birthrate. In addition there is inward migration drawn by the abundant river and sea fishing around Bhola and the fertile soil (until erosion became a problem). But now there is some emigration as some of those who have been made repeatedly homeless as the island shrinks have decided their only option is to leave the island. Tragically those who leave often end up on the streets of Dhaka which are already full of refugees displaced by erosion in other parts of Bangladesh.
There is an unusually high proportion of orphaned children on Bhola. Some parents are lost at sea or die in the floods and cyclones. Others die from illnesses and injuries which go untreated because of the lack of medical facilities on the island or because shame, local custom and medical ignorance prevent them seeking the help they need.

The Bholaya speak Bangla. Now roughly 90% are Muslim, 10% are Hindu and there are a few Christians. Many Hindus left Bhola and went to Calcutta in India at the time of partition in 1947. Since 1971 the remaining Hindus have lived at peace with the Muslim majority.

Even poor Bholaya usually eat fish and a little meat. So they tend to have a better balanced diet than poor people in the North of Bangladesh where the diet relies very heavily on rice. But the hilsa fish, which are the main catch, swim in polluted waters – not good for the fishers or the eaters. The price of rice, much of it usually imported from Burma, rocketed in 2008 and has since fallen back to a level still well above what it was before the rise.

Poverty and lack of education means there is a lot of ignorance about even basic medical matters and preventative healthcare.

Medical help on the island is very limited. The nearest hospitals are in the capital Dhaka and Barisal. Spending the night on the open decks of the ferries often results in those already sick catching colds or worse. Many simply cannot afford the boat fare.

The combination of poverty, pollution and lack of medical care results in many children on Bhola being born with disabilities or losing their parents at an early age. Many of the disabled are orphaned as well.

Other consequences of the land erosion are a spate of legal disputes about land and the usual social stresses when displaced people move into an already crowded area. Displacement also breaks up families if the breadwinner has to go elsewhere to look for work.

What is it like? - the people