We followed the same procedure, with a welcome from the officials with an interest in the project. These included Upozila the Chairman (elected by the people) and Upozila Nirbahi, a government executive. There was also the Coastguard Commander, the researcher from the Fisheries Institute, an official from the Department of Fisheries and the local chairman, Union Barishad, who used to be a fisherman himself.
Darren and Sazedul distributed more sunglasses, and another 50 wound care kits went out to boat owners and fishermen – as you can see from the photos.
The word soon got out that we had sweets for the children and there were suddenly crowds of expectant faces hoping to get some. We were fortunate enough to look around the little school opposite from where we were working and interrupted their lessons for a while, giving out sweets and taking photos (no complaints there!).
Srita, our translator from World Fish, was helping Debbie and myself again today, making it possible for us to interview some of the fishermen’s wives from the village. Again, we heard many grim stories about terrible accidents at sea and staggering loss of lives. One young woman lost 5 close family members in the same trawler that was sunk in the recent cyclone Bulbul. She was pregnant at the time and now has a one month old baby to take care of alone. The boat owner has offered compensation but so far, she has not received anything. It’s stories like this, and many more that we heard today, that make you realise that safety is everyone’s concern.
