Fire survivors left in the lurch

It is heart-rending to learn that the survivors of a fire incident at the Sonaichhari fishing village in Sitakunda, Chattogram have been living under the open sky since January 28, when the fire ravaged their houses. It gutted a total of seven houses, where at least 22 families lived, along with all their valuables. An equally tragic development occurred when, after the fire, no one from the local administration came to their aid, except with a measly provision of dry food. Left to fend for themselves, these people are now struggling without food and shelter from the cold weather and are too poor to rebuild their lives on their own.

Our correspondent, after a visit to the spot, described how some of the survivors were sleeping on the unwalled portion of their charred homes, while others were seen living under trees. A victim narrated how he discovered fire in front of his room all of a sudden at the dead of night. It spread rather quickly, according to him, engulfing all the houses in the cluster. Another victim said their main gate was locked from outside and they were lucky to get out through an alternative exit. There are allegations of foul play as the name of a local trader and some anglers came up, who allegedly had a history of rifts with some of the fishing families over the use of a land area. These allegations deserve to be looked into, and we hope police will do that without delay.

If indeed there was any foul play, it would be just another proof of how some people, often politically linked, would go to any length to exploit the vulnerability of the poor, especially the minority population, to grab their land and properties. It has happened many times in the past. We have seen how the collusion of political and business interests brought unimaginable suffering to many minority victims who, not unlike the Sonaichhari survivors, had little power or support to protect themselves.

Our hearts go out to these latest victims, spending nights out in the open with their children and elders. We urge the local administration to manage alternative lodging for them with proper food and treatment if needed. Having lost everything they had, they also need cash assistance to rebuild their lives from the ground up. Meanwhile, the police must thoroughly and impartially investigate the incident and bring potential perpetrators to justice.