Images of Sidr devastation

The recent exhibition of documentary photographs by Bayazid Akter at the Goethe-Institut was indeed passion-driven and bold. Akter travelled to the Sidr-affected areas in Southern Bangladesh, and depicted havoc and unmitigated lament over the recent cruel cyclone that swept over the country with merciless speed and ferocity. The wind and rain that ruined Bangladesh as a consequence, ripping houses, destroying crops, and killing men, beasts and birds are caught with marvellous depth of perception, and ingenuity through Akter's lens.
Speaking to The Daily Star at the Goethe-Institut café over a cup of steaming tea, Akter said that it was not easy for him to do the job in a few days, and have the coloured display in double-quick time to make it relevant. This, Akter said, was despite his experience as a photojournalist in various local vernacular dailies, and being in the process of making a documentary film on the sweepers of Dhaka's Hazaribagh tannery area. He is also a regularly contributor to a Japanese photo agency in Tokyo, and “Banglapedia”, which add to his forte, he added. Disaster and the underprivileged have always been Akter's main themes for his projects over the years.
“I went to Barisal right after the cyclone on November 16, and reached Patuakhali the next day -- going part of the way by bus and later on foot. The road had been blocked by large uprooted trees, and this is how the tale of tears through photographs commences. I crossed Faridpur, Madaripur and Gauronadi, and I reached the scenes of havoc, pain and hunger. After Barisal and Patuakhali, I covered Bhola, Golachipa, Charbangla -- the islands located on the south-west of the Bay of Bengal,” said Akter.
It was the lack of clothes, shelter and food that stirred him most, said Akter. What upset him greatly were villages where there was only lone survivor from families. The searching for corpses was heart rendering. “They didn't know whether to search for the dead, dear ones or seek shelter and food, or just indulge in sobs and endless rolling tears,” concluded Akter. The images are dated from November 16-21.
Akter graduated from the Beg Photography Institute, after his Masters in History from Dhaka University. He considers Dr Shahidul Alam and Anwar Hossian as his ideals.
Akter has done a splendid job of depicting disaster with alacrity, precision and empathy.