Life in tents

The tents have no flaps. It is very difficult to sleep when wind blows at night, said Taramoni Murmu, standing in front of her tent at a makeshift shelter in Madarpur village.

“Look where and how we live now. Two families have to sleep in this tent,” she said, showing the inside of the tiny tent. They use straws to put their heads down.  

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Nearly 2,000 Santals and a few Bangalee families were evicted from the land of Sahebganj-Bagda farm in Gobindaganj, Gaibandha, on November 6.

Their homes were torched and vandalised during the eviction drive, conducted by police and Rangpur Sugar Mills staff.

More than a thousand of them have since been living in makeshift camps in nearby Madarpur and Joypur villages.

“We need more tents to accommodate all the homeless people,” said Rafayel Hasda, an indigenous community leader, as these correspondents visited the areas on Thursday. 

Bangladesh Red Crescent Society provided 408 tents to them, he added. Those who didn't get any of the tents have to huddle together in makeshift ones.

None of the arrangements is enough in bone-chilling weather at night. 

“My two-month-old daughter Urmila has been suffering from cough and cold for the last 10 days. I can't afford to take her to doctor,” said 30-year-old Parvin Tudu.

It was noon on Thursday. Urmila was asleep on straws inside a tent with her mother sitting beside her.

Many other children are also suffering from cold-related illness, Parvin said.

Tetu Tudu, 60, approached one of these correspondents and asked, “Sir, can you please tell us for how long we have to live like this?”

The old man said they have got food from the government and some individuals but are facing an acute shortage of cash.

Meanwhile, a fresh panic has broken out among the Santals after the barbed-wire fence around the disputed land was found damaged on Tuesday morning despite deployment of a huge number of police in and around Madarpur and Joypurhat.

Santals fear they will be blamed for this and harassed by police again.

The mill authorities had installed 300 pillars and put up the barbed-wire fence. The Daily Star found around 30 of those pillars uprooted.

The Santals say criminals did this by using tractors.