Interview Transcript

Interviewer: Thank you for taking the time out to sit down with me today. Could you start by introducing yourself and telling us where you're from?

​

Interviewee: Of course, my name is Fatima and I'm from a small village near Shyamnagar, Bangladesh.

​

Interviewer: What led you to leave your home?

​

Interviewee: First, it was the flooding and every year the water would rise higher. Then came a cyclone which destroyed most of my village including my home. We tried to rebuild but we are a family of farmers and the salt water contaminated our soil. We had no choice but to leave.

​

Interviewer: That must have been a very difficult decision. Where did you move to?

​

Interviewee: It was heartbreaking. We had lived there for generations but we were no longer safe and had to move to Dhaka, which is the capital city of Bangladesh.

​

Interviewer: Could you describe your transition? What were some of the challenges you faced?

​

Interviewee: It was a big change. We went from farmers in a quiet village to a loud, polluted city. We moved to a slum area where most others from our village had gone to. My husband did physical labor while I cleaned houses. Our children struggled as well. Mentally and physically. The pollution and dirty water made them sick. People in the city didn't really understand our situation. To them we were just beggars that were crowding their city.

​

Interviewer: I'm sorry you had to experience that. Did you recieve any aid to help you settle faster?

​

Interviewee: They looked at us as migrants not refugees. We didn't know how to explain that everything we had was destroyed. We didn't move by choice.

​

Interviewer: Is there anything you would like people to know?

​

Interviewee: I wish they knew that we didn't choose this. The world acts like it doesn't care and like this is not their problem. It's not yet their problem. We need help and we need people to care. You may not be able to help personally, but talking about this can convince those with power to.