Bangla Vision has investigated an unbearable situation the fishermen and their families in Bangladesh face on a daily basis. It is an investigation that has inspired other reporters to do similar stories.
More importantly, it has made the social welfare minister promise to prioritize the widows who’s not getting the essential allowance when fishermen go missing on the sea. The series of short reports looks into several aspects of the fishermen family’s life and the story truly leaves a sense of unfairness.
Spending days and days on the sea catching fish is not a job without its risks and Bangla Vision shows how most of the profit ends up in the pockets of middle men. The lack of income makes the fishermen dependent on loan sharks to continue their profession.
“Once one takes loan from the loan shark one gets into the net of the debt cycle” one of the fishermen says.
Bangla Vision has taken the story further and investigated the situation for the widows whose husbands have gone missing on the sea. When fishermen go missing and there is no body, the widows cannot get the death certificate needed to apply for widow allowance. This leaves hundreds of women and their children in poverty. When Bangla Vision visited the social welfare minister he was surprised and promised to make this a priority and help these women.
Another challenge faced by the entire Bangladeshi population is the climate change. It especially affects the fishermen’s livelihood as natural disasters, high tides and rise of water level and salinity disturbs the marine life as well as their possibility to go on voyages. The “signal” is a hated word among fishermen as it means they are not able to go on their fishing trips. Before it could mean not going on the sea for 1-2 times per year but now it means 1-2 times per month.
Bangla Vision has with their short reports made an impact on the Bangladeshi audience as well as NGO’s and the Bangladeshi authorities. The fishermen and widows have received help financially from NGO’s and local representatives after the reports were broadcasted. It has also led the government to look at loan situation and thinking of establishing a bank only for fishermen.
Watch the stories by Bangla Vision and get an insight of why the situation for the Bangladeshi fishermen needs to be investigated.
- Imprest Impact on fishermen >>
- Fisherman migration >>
- Fish market system >>
- Climate change impact on fisherman >>
