Flood Relief in Sirajganj

A road outside of Sirajganj, covered in water for 10 days, is now a temporary housing facility for people and animals.

Inside a tea shop in Sirajganj, you can see from the water mark how high the water covered the town.

This road had already been repaired, only a few days after the water receded. Many more roads still have gaping holes where the strong current from the flood waters washed them out.

If you've ever been in a line in Bangladesh, you would understand why there is a line for women and a line for men. If there is so much as an inch between you and the person in front of you, someone will squeeze their way in front of you.

Walking through water and wind to pick up their bag of food. Just another strategy to keep order & peace.

I went to Sirajganj last weekend, the water had receded from most main roads. A flood isn't just water floating in and out of your house. It takes down telephone poles, houses, and large sections of the road. Anywhere I went in Sirajganj I had to take huge detours as there were gaping holes in the road. Many people were using boats instead of rickshaws as there was still so much water on the sides of the roads.

The MCC staff told me stories of finding two snakes in the MCC truck, and how they made a path of tables in the office from the stairs to the kitchen so that they could cook. All of them are working around the clock, barely taking time to eat, sleep, or bathe. They were up at 4 a.m. on Saturday morning unloading a truck of soybean oil - rarely do Bangladeshis of their status do physical labor - but these are special times.

Then I saw how MCC distributes relief food. I went to the Sharp Training Center where they were giving out cera (the rice version of oats) and sugar for people who didn't have access to cooking facilities. All the people had been checked out before to see if they really needed the food. Then they got a ticket, stood in line, and one by one where checked off a listed, stamped, and given a bag of food. There is always the threat of a riots or of the middle man taking food meant for relief for his own profit. The MCC staff are experienced at dealing with these challenges, and it seemed like everyone who got the food really needed it.