As storms hit Bangladeshis, Catholic nuns offer shelter and support

After severe cyclonic storm Remal made landfall in Bangladesh on May 26-27, more than a dozen people died, with heavy rains and strong winds affecting an estimated 3.7 million people. During this natural disaster – as well as another severe storm that hit in April – the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of the Missions organized shelter and provided food at their school to residents of the village of Bagerhat, in southern Bangladesh, one of the most disaster-prone regions. such calamities.

“For three days, my wife and I, as well as our two children, found refuge at the Saint-Joseph primary school in Basabari, in Bagerhat. The nuns and priests welcomed us warmly,” said Raton Banerjee, a 48-year-old shoemaker and member of Our Lady of Fatima Church, Bagerhat.

Like Banerjee, more than 400 Catholics took shelter in the nuns’ school in Bagerhat due to flash floods that hit their homes. The monthly income of people in this region is generally less than 100 US dollars.

Rojina Halder, from the village of Mariapolli, said flash floods engulfed her riverside house. “We were helpless. We asked the nuns to accommodate us in their school at the top, and the nuns agreed.” Halder told GSR. “They welcomed us warmly and also provided us with food,” she added.

The 45-year-old housewife remembers another storm that hit six weeks earlier, on April 9. “We had just returned from church after mass and were preparing food when a strong storm hit our house. It collapsed on me, my mother, my in-laws and my son,” he said. she recounted, adding that her husband had saved them.

During the same storm, Niva Halder was seriously injured, requiring seven stitches to her head. The 55-year-old woman recalls that “the strong storm hit our house and I was running away from our flimsy house. At that time, a tin can hit my head; later I discovered that my loved ones were taking care of me as I lost consciousness.”

The nuns then went to Mariapolli and distributed 5 kilograms (about 11 pounds) of rice and one kilogram of lentils (about 2.2 pounds) to the 18 most affected Catholic families.

Sister Sukriti B. Gregory, a member of the Sisters of Our Lady of the Missions and principal of St. Joseph Elementary School, told GSR that she was pained to see the situation of the people during the two natural disasters; many of the victims were students at his school.

“I immediately contacted our superior general in Dhaka and told her that we wanted to help the victims, and we got the support of the superior general. Later, we provided them with food items,” Gregory said. She also said that during the last cyclonic storm, Remal, the local priest, Fr. Dominic Halder and the Episcopal Justice and Peace Commission offered to collaborate with the sisters. “They provided us with money to feed flood victims while they stayed in our schools for two nights and three days,” she added.

Halder, the priest in charge of the Bagerhat Catholic Church in Mariapolli, told GSR that the people in his parish earn very little money, with most working as hairdressers and shoemakers.

“Every year they suffer from natural disasters and lose their homes,” he said. “Additionally, the salinity of the local water makes it difficult for people to find clean drinking water. They need brick houses to withstand these conditions. Halder added that he was trying to raise money for Catholics who need to repair their homes.

After severe storms like cyclones, the elderly and children of the coastal population are particularly vulnerable. Severe storms occur frequently in Bangladesh, and many people living in coastal areas have moved to the capital, Dhaka, or to other cities as internal migrants.