Susannah Savage is a journalist and photographer published in The Economist, The Washington Post and others.
Millions of people could lose their livelihoods DHAKA |For many Westerners, the cycle rickshaw (also known as the cyclo or pedicab) is an iconically Asian form of transport. In fact, most Asian cities have long since abandoned them (and a few European and North American cities have taken them up). But in Bangladesh the cycle... Continue Reading →
But climate change displaces farmers and factories lure them MONGLA | Industrial zones, residential developments, clinics and universities—the mayor of Mongla’s ideas for his town’s expansion seem a bit ambitious. Mongla has a mere 40,000 people; his office is in a crumbling building hemmed in by forest. But in five years, Zulfikar Ali insists, Mongla... Continue Reading →
Farmers in Bangladesh are adapting to climate change, and it’s having an impact in faraway places—including on restaurant menus. DHAKA, Bangladesh—Here at Binni, a slightly run-down restaurant in one of Dhaka’s trendier neighborhoods, beef, chicken, and mutton dishes are slapped down on the table with a mere murmur. But when the waiter brings Hash... Continue Reading →
DHAKA | As Bangladesh recovers from another cyclone, an internal migration crisis is deepening in this country, one of the most vulnerable in the world to the effects of climate change. At the start of May, Cyclone Fani hit eastern India, killing 42 people, before moving into Bangladesh. Some 17 people were killed here – a relatively... Continue Reading →
Get off the beaten path in the Bangladeshi Sundarbans From above, the Sundarbans mangrove forest is an impressive labyrinth of colors and textures. The clear blues of the Bay of Bengal run into the murky waters of criss-crossing river systems lined by emerald foliage. “Drifting down the river for a few days is like escaping into... Continue Reading →
Episode 1: Why Women with Kristen Bell Kristen Bell says women are an untapped solution to today’s biggest problems. And: we hear from Rohingya women who are building a case against the government of Myanmar. We take you to the world’s largest refugee camp in Bangladesh, where a group of Rohingya women are building a case against... Continue Reading →
In small villages along the eastern coast of Bangladesh, researchers have noticed an unexpectedly high rate of miscarriage. As they investigated further, scientists reached the conclusion that climate change might be to blame. Journalist Susannah Savage went into these communities to find out more. "Girls are better than boys," says 30-year-old Al-Munnahar. "Boys do not... Continue Reading →
To solve them, interpreters must grasp cultural differences as well as linguistic ones Sitting on a muddy floor beneath a tarpaulin roof, Nabila, a 19-year-old Bangladeshi, fiddles with her shoelaces as she listens to Tosmida, a Rohingya woman in her mid-30s. Both are crying. Nabila, a student-turned-interpreter, says awkwardly: “She had it from all of... Continue Reading →
They share a common language, a shared Christian heritage, and hundreds of years of history. But for more than 20 years, Ethiopians and Eritreans were separated by a bitter conflict and militarised frontier sealed as tightly as the Berlin wall or the Korean demilitarised zone. Now, Eritreans and Tigrayan Ethiopians are mingling again - in what has been hailed... Continue Reading →
How a shampoo bottle is saving young lives ON HIS first night as a trainee paediatrician in Sylhet, Bangladesh, Mohamad Chisti (pictured above) watched three children die of pneumonia. Oxygen was being delivered to them, through a face mask or via tubes placed near their nostrils, using what is called a basic “low-flow” technique which... Continue Reading →
WHEN a judge in the high court of the Indian state of Rajasthan recently acquitted a man of rape, he noted of the accuser, “Her hymen was ruptured and vagina admitted two fingers easily. The medical opinion is that the prosecutrix may be accustomed to sexual intercourse.” The implication was that only a virgin can... Continue Reading →
DESPITE the fact that its team has never qualified for the World Cup, football fans in Bangladesh are adopting other country's teams as their own, stoking bitter rivalries. Last week, rival supporters of Argentina’s Lionel Messi and Brazil’s Neymar fought with machetes in the town of Bandar. One man and his son were critically wounded... Continue Reading →
SINCE August, more than 680,000 Rohingya have fled Burma’s Rakhine state. To escape persecution, they crossed the border into Bangladesh, where they now occupy about 24 refugee camps near Cox’s Bazar. For years, the Rohingya, an ethnically distinct Muslim minority, have clashed with the majority Buddhist population in Burma, also known as Myanmar. The Burmese... Continue Reading →
IN Dhaka, Bangladesh, two-month-old Sammiya flops lifelessly in her mother’s arms, her eyes glazed over. She is suffering from diarrhoea. This may not sound life-threatening – for most of us (in the West) diarrhoea is unpleasant, it might ruin a holiday or mean a few days off work at worst – but for many people across the... Continue Reading →
UKHIA, Bangladesh — For the thousands of Rohingya refugees who fled a violent crackdown in Burma, a new crisis looms: The babies conceived in rape are due soon. Doctors Without Borders has recorded 160 cases of pregnant rape victims between August 2017 and February 2018 in the vast refugee camps in Bangladesh. That number is expected to rise... Continue Reading →
AID agencies have warned that Rohingya Muslims living in Bangladesh's squalid refugee camps are facing yet more destruction and death due to an impending monsoon. Since August last year, 700,000 Rohingya have fled from Rakhine state in Myanmar, where, as a Muslim minority, they were persecuted by the Myanmar army and police. They have... Continue Reading →
It will help Bangladeshi mothers who work in factories FOR the feeding of babies, everyone agrees that “breast is best”. It is not, however, always convenient. Textile workers in Bangladesh, who are mostly women, are entitled to four months’ maternity leave. Once this is over, they often end up parking their children with relatives when... Continue Reading →
Even as Sweden has second thoughts about aspects of its ultra-generous system WHEN Johan Braven had his first child he took nine months of leave. For the second he took ten months, the same amount as his wife. “I was afraid of not having the bond if I didn’t spend time at home with the... Continue Reading →
The legacy of Indian migration to European colonies A century after India ended the system of indentured labour, its diaspora is building a shared identity DOOKHEE GUNGAH, born of Indian migrants, began life in 1867 in a shed in Mauritius and worked as a child cutting sugar cane. By his death in 1944, he was... Continue Reading →
Campaigns to get people cycling are focusing on girls and women, making it easier for them to get to school, helping with business and reducing sex attacks A teenage girl cycles down a dusty road in rural Ghana, a younger sibling balanced precariously on the back of her saddle. A dozen other cyclists are pedalling up... Continue Reading →
French Guiana, in South America, seeks more autonomy from France Protests in the second-poorest of France’s overseas departments enter their fifth week OF ALL the voters fuming about neglect by out-of-touch politicians in distant Paris, the people of French Guiana have perhaps the strongest case. It is the second-poorest of France’s five overseas departments (DOMs).... Continue Reading →
Overfishing and the island’s unique geography both play a role WHEN Julian Creedon moved from Jersey to Réunion in 2006 the island seemed like a surfer’s paradise: “White beaches, epic waves, it was perfect.” But last month Alexandre Naussance, a 26-year-old fellow surfer, became the eighth person to be killed by a shark in the... Continue Reading →
Scattered across the globe, thousands of miles away from the mainland, France's overseas departments are often sidelined by the country's politicians - except during the run-up to presidential elections. In November, Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right National Front, visited Reunion and Mayotte in the Indian Ocean, then French Guiana in the Caribbean in December. The same month... Continue Reading →
Europe is trying to teach its gender norms to refugees. This turns out to be more complicated than it sounds WHEN Julian Creedon moved from Jersey to Réunion in 2006 the island seemed like a surfer’s paradise: “White beaches, epic waves, it was perfect.” But last month Alexandre Naussance, a 26-year-old fellow surfer, became the eighth... Continue Reading →
A pet-care boom during the pandemic is unlikely to be followed by bust as lockdown ends Swantje Green and her boyfriend both grew up in the countryside with family pets. But busy careers in London and a small flat meant a dog was not an option for them as adults. Until the pandemic. They moved... Continue Reading →
A surge in female employment in Bangladesh and Zambia has disrupted traditional gender norms A recent study of female garment factory workers in Dhaka found that 52 percent had experienced some form of domestic violence over the previous year. As women’s roles change, according to the study, men seek to “punish” them for breaking with traditional gender... Continue Reading →
Susannah Savage 