It is an odd thing to wish for more positive news coverage of a country’s socio-economics. On one hand, one is grateful for any coverage whatsover, particularly when the coverage is of an overlooked country like Bangladesh; on the other one wishes bitterly that the news on the ground were such that positive coverage were a fundamentally natural turn of events. The counterfactual stings; the world we seek is a world of bristling, desperate hope and fiction.
The excellent piece that the New York Times published yesterday on the refugees of environmental degradation in Bangladesh has done a remarkable job of focusing international attention on a problem that though now experienced in solitude will soon be experienced collectively by citizens and denizens alike of many countries the world over.
Joanna Kakissis’ reportage is important because it highlights precisely the human tragedy that climate change has already wrought. However it succeeds as a analytical piece, it points to the policy shifts that could well spell out an interim strategy to deal with the consequences of climate change in Bangladesh, and more broadly South Asia. Finally, it introduces some of the actors who are interested in seeking remedy, and only wish to pursue debate in order to bring forth the solutions and best practices that may yet remain hidden.