Photobook depicts daily life reflection of people fighting climate change

Photo artist Noor Ahmed Gelal has brought out a photo book focusing on daily life reflection of Bangladesh people fighting climate change, depicting their “not saying the word”. The 156-page book “We – (AMRA) – living in the middle of Bangladesh’s fringes” has portrayed daily events including the suffering of people facing adverse impact of climate change and other natural disasters.

It has also drawn attention to the lives of the people in many of the hard-to-reach villages.

As part of his hectic efforts of three years’ journeys, Gelal has collected insights into the ever-changing landscape of the great river islands in the stream of the Brahmaputra and its tributaries.

He got to know people who are determined to change their villages and lives. The book has been published in cooperation with NETZ Bangladesh with financial support of German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). NETZ and the German Embassy in Dhaka jointly held a discussion giving an illustration of the book about life in rural Bangladesh virtually last week.

German ambassador to Bangladesh Peter Fahrenholtz, Executive Director Dr. Max Stille and Senior Programme Manager Aminur Rahman along with the photographer, NETZ partner organizations and 30 national, international guests including representatives of the UN, Plan International and GIZ joined the meeting.

In his remarks, the German ambassador said this photo book offers rare insights into the rural regions of Bangladesh.

Behind every picture, as photographer Gelal explained during the presentation, is a story and that is always emotional, he said. Human rights expert Dr. Meghna Guhatakurta said there are the strong messages of the photobook: “People have preserved their relationship with nature. We can all learn from this. After all, humanity has been able to develop mainly thanks to the nature around it”.

Shyamal Chandra Sarker, director of MJSKS in Kurigram, reminded the audience that the people “on the margins” should never be forgotten. Dr. Ahsan Ali from Ashrai appreciated the ethnographic lenses of the pictures, giving an encompassing view on the lives in the region. Akramul Haque, Chief Executive Officer of DASCOH foundation, agreed that while these people often suffer, there is a lot to learn from them: How to deal with crises, how to live in a way that conserves resources, how to learn from nature and how to protect it.