Climate Witness: Jamila Bibi, India

I am Jamila Bibi. I was born on Rajnagar Island. Almost 30 years ago I got married and moved to my husband's house at Mousuni Island. We settled on the western part of this island. My husband's primary occupation was shrimp seed collection. These seeds used to fetch a good price and were easily available in the coastal waters.

My husband was the sole bread earner for our family but now he can't work much due to physical illness. We are solely dependent on our son who works as a daily labourer.

Our house was behind the old embankment and we never thought that it would give up so easily to regular tidal action. I still remember the moment when we lost our house, goats and important documents when the embankment was breached all of a sudden and we lost everything in a short span of time.

It was a moment of absolute panic and terror for us.

I was sitting in the yard segregating and counting shrimp seeds collected for the day. All of a sudden the embankment was broken and tidal water gushed in with great speed and washed away almost everything we had. I hardly managed to catch hold of my son, while my daughter caught hold of a nearby tree. We were fortunate enough to be rescued by some local people who came in a boat after a long time. After this incident we spent next 15 days in a temporary shelter.

Situations like this always happen whenever embankments are breached and the island gets flooded. It is difficult to describe and remember because the only thing that crosses our mind during that time is to save yourself and your family members. It is especially people like us, living near the embankments, who suffer the most. There is an absolute state of confusion and panic all around. There are human beings and animals floating and struggling in the water. People do not know what to do or what to hold on to especially when everything is suddenly engulfed by tidal water without any prior warning.

The sea level has risen over the years and so has the temperature. The waves rise very high as the tide comes in. The water level during floods is also very high. It is dangerous. The cyclones bring heavy rainfall which devastates many villages on this island. I am witnessing the changing climate over the years but have absolutely no clue why it is happening and how to combat it. My father-in-law used to tell me that there used to be forests in this region and a lot of birds but now most of it is either destroyed or disappeared.

I don't remember getting any help from the Government nor were we offered any sort of financial support after these events. When our houses were washed away by the sea, there's nothing except a temporary shelter just to manage a roof over our heads.

We have no means of preparing ourselves before a climatic event.

How can the sea be stopped? If only we had an indication that the embankment would break, we could have gone somewhere else. I am an illiterate woman and I cannot suggest anything that could be done to save this place. However, I believe that if the embankment is made stronger and if some trees are planted near it, maybe the damage caused can be lessened.