Bangladeshi immigrants in the UAE are worried and troubled about their relatives in Bangladesh due to monsoon floods destroying their homes and communities, and with communication disrupted in many areas.
The disaster, resulting in almost three million people being stuck and causing at least 13 deaths, has caused fear among families in both Bangladesh and the UAE.
The recent days have been sleepless for 29-year-old Sharjah resident Akram. Akram expressed concern that he hadn’t been able to reach his family members at home for the past three days.
The latest update I received from them was about the heavy rain and the rising water level. From that point on, the calls have not been going through. We are constantly checking our phones for updates on the news, unsure if the people we are concerned about are still living.
Akram stated that the situation in his hometown is disastrous. Reading the news, I discovered that whole neighborhoods have been submerged, leading residents to evacuate with only the items they can transport.
Ashraful Mubarak, a 34-year-old resident of Deira, is eager to contact his family in Feni, a town heavily affected by the floods. Mubarak explained that on August 21, in the evening, his mother informed him that water had gotten into their house and they would need to relocate upstairs.
However, on the evening of August 23, when I attempted to reach out to them once more, their phones were out of reach.
Mubarak became more anxious as he kept calling numbers, only to be met with silence. “He mentioned that he attempted to contact all his acquaintances in Feni, but none of them picked up the phone.” I finally arrived at a grocery store close to my house.
He informed me that my family was out of harm’s way, however the entire area was flooded, and residents were moving elsewhere without any available alternatives. He also stated that the majority of the phones in the town were swept away by the water, making it impossible to communicate with others.
‘Addicted to TikTok, Instagram for news’
For a lot of people, social media serves as a crucial source of information when traditional news sources are lacking. Sattar Karim, a 42-year-old restaurant owner in Ajman, has been regularly monitoring TikTok and Instagram for news from his hometown of Cumilla.
Karim noted that while there is still mobile network in the town, the majority of phones were damaged by the floodwaters. Some residents with functional phones are sharing videos on TikTok and Instagram to give us abroad an insight into the situation. The news channels are also failing to give current information. I don’t know the state of my family’s well-being. I simply wish for their well-being.
‘Zero assistance’
Jasim Kabir, who works as an executive in facility management at a real estate company in Dubai, mentioned that his family, just like many others, had no choice but to take shelter with relatives due to their flooded home. Kabir mentioned that they were not receiving any assistance. “We have no food, and the water available is not safe to drink.”
My family’s house has been demolished, so they are currently living with my aunt. More than 20 individuals are squeezed into a small two-bedroom house. I am uncertain about their actions once the water goes down. Kabir stated that there was no more remaining.
