‘My home was there between those trees’
When Shamsuddin was telling the story of his miseries due to the flood and how his family has been living on the rooftop with little to no food for the last few days, Khalilur Rahman was impatiently waiting for his turn.
"Come here," Khalilur took us to the edge of the road. "My home was there between those trees. Can you see it? It is not there anymore. My home has flushed away with the water."
Khalilur, a man in his late 50s, escaped with his life and the lives of his family members on Friday evening.
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"I have seen floods before. But I never have seen a flood like this before. The water came very fast. When the water came in, initially I thought it was like other regular floods. But before we even thought of leaving home, my house was in chest-deep water," he said.
That afternoon after the Friday prayer, it was torrential rain added with constant lightning and high wind.
The villagers in Borni of Companiganj – before realising what to do – were under the vicious wrath of nature. Lightning, flash floods, and high wind disoriented them at their core.
"We barely survived leaving everything behind coming to the highway," Khalilur said.
And soon, the highway also went underwater and Khalilur, his family and hundred others took shelter in Bangabandhu High Tech Park beside the Sylhet-Companiganj road.
Early in the morning on Tuesday when we visited, dozens of men and women like Khalilur and Shamsuddin were aimlessly walking near the shelter.
Among them, Zakir Hossain, a young man bereaved of his father of late, also lost his home in the flood. He is also from the Borni village.
"My mother and siblings barely saved their lives and we took shelter here. We have nothing – no food, no money. I have been taking eye treatment and most of the money we had has been spent already. I have more treatment to take. But now I don't even have a home to take shelter," Zakir broke down in despair.
Tajuddin Ahmed, another homeless man was listening to Zakir.
"I have a fever; my family members are also ill. People you see here, most of us have lost our houses and livelihood. I do not know what is waiting for us," Tajuddin said.
"You are here today. But other people will not keep feeding us forever. What will happen to us tomorrow?" he added.
Chandra Banu, a middle-aged woman with kids, was among the homeless crowd.
Chandra is a single mother who had a little house already dilapidated. She used to live on begging basically. She tenders to her children asking for food from people.
"My house has washed away," Chandra broke down in tears. "I have nowhere to live now. Who will build my home? Everyone lost their home and everything. Where would I even ask for food?" Chandra struggled to articulate sentences.
"The flood will go. But how will my kids survive?"
