he real problem will be famine”, said to MISNA Father Gian Battista Zanchi, Superior General of PIME (Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions), missionary in Bangladesh for 20 years, from 1975 to 1995.
“Each year there is risk of flooding during the rain season, as also a cyclical risk of typhoons in the following part of the year, at the start of harvesting. The tragedy this year was the violence of the typhoon that hit at harvest time. This disaster destroyed rice crops of countless people, entirely destroying fish farms of the region and sweeping away the large majority of provisions. What will they eat this year?” he added.
Fr. Zanchi is a precious and rare witness: “I know what flooding means in Bangladesh… I was there in 1988, during the catastrophe that left millions homeless. The tragedy of that land is that the people are all massed near the sea and therefore
defenseless in face of natural disasters. Fortunately, since the 1988 floods they began building so-called ‘gathering
centers’, a sort of large reinforced cement hangars, which the surge can’t destroy and therefore serve as shelters. Many women, elderly and children took shelter in these
centers, while the men and boys remained home in an extreme attempt to save the crops from the fury of the typhoon. The population was warned in time this year and many managed to survive, though there are still many areas where the exact number of victims is unknown”.
Many women, elderly and children took shelter in these centers, while the men and boys remained home in an extreme attempt to save the crops from the fury of the typhoon
Fr. Zanchi added: “Our missionaries are mainly in the north, while the worst hit areas by this disaster are those where the Xaverian missionaries are widely present. We have a few communities of our fathers in those areas, along with Colombian ‘Fidei Donum’ associated with PIME.
“I hope that the international community mobilizes rapidly and efficiently, even through the Non-Governmental
Organizations (NGO) and the missions, to guarantee that the humanitarian aid directly reaches the people. There is need for food and medicine, as well as adequate access to drinking water.
The recovery of bodies is still a problem, given that it will take time and as soon as the water recedes there could easily be an outbreak of diseases. It is sad and terrible to see these poor people start from scratch each year!”
(From MISNA)