Exercise #2 Family Environmental History
February 6, 2023 By: Nahian Adiba
Bangladesh, my country, is very rich in family traditions, culture, relationships, and bonding. We tend to have a very informal and strong bond among all our family members and relatives.
My grandparents, the oldest generation, were born in small-town villages.
Bangladesh was a part of Pakistan at the time. Prior to 1971, the overall state of Bangladesh was very different from what it is today. The whole country was under immense pressure and deprivation from the Pakistani government. Even though it was one of Pakistan’s fastest-growing regions at the time, there weren’t many resources available from the government.
Agriculture has always been one of the main sources of income for Bangladesh. The country has fertile soil, which allows us to cultivate fruits, vegetables, and other items. These continue to make significant economic contributions today. Fewer people used to move to the cities since it was difficult for everyone because there was no help for them. However, the lifestyle was the main difference between my and my parent’s generation. They used to have a very healthy lifestyle. They always consumed locally grown produce, fruits, and grains that they harvested. They never ate anything hazardous to their health, which allowed them to live longer and maintain good health. Nature was also exceedingly clean, vibrant, and thriving during their day. Buildings, mills, and urbanization were in short supply. Unlike today, the air was pure and clean. They used to eat well and sleep well. There was no social media or other external stimuli to divert their attention away from their way of life. They used to spend most of their time with their children, parents, siblings, and cousins. That is how they taught our parents the value of relationships and bonding, and our parents passed those values and cultures on to us.
My parents also were born in villages but later moved to cities. They were born after our liberation war when we won our independence after a nine-month battle. When they were born, the whole country was in a mess. There was destruction everywhere. The Pakistani forces destroyed our infrastructure, including mills, businesses, bare land, and other amenities. So, my parents had to face the recession when they were very young. Their environment was still good, but there was a strong smell of destruction. My parents studied hard and came to the capital along with their parents. They started growing again, and so did our country. The entire nation was eager to get off to a new start and rebuild itself. Our economy’s primary driver is still the agriculture industry, although other businesses have begun to contribute. During the urbanization process, we had to give up some bare land and agricultural land in order to construct our facilities, such as mills, offices, buildings, and everything else. Bangladesh’s greenery was detrimental. People from different villages started coming to the capital, which made it overpopulated. The city began to change for the better. Pollution came with modernization. As a result of the removal of trees, the towns have become smoky and polluted. That is when our nature started to lose its natural position.
My generation was fortunate to witness some of our city’s scenic beauty. I was born in Dhaka, the capital, along with my sibling. When we were very young, we visited our villages and different places, such as parks, botanical gardens, the national zoo, etc. There was still some fresh air and fresh breathing left in the city. I remember going to the roadside trees with my father right after sunrise and being very happy and excited about it. There were a lot of open spaces for children to play and visit. But, as everything began to fade away, the playgrounds and trees vanished, there were fewer places to visit, and there was a lot of congestion, smoke, cars, traffic jams, noise, and so on. All these negative factors have combined to make our city one of the most polluted in the world. Our country was known for lakes and rivers. Now the lakes are almost nonexistent. The rivers are very polluted and dirty, which is very dangerous to consume and more harmful to marine life, which is one of our most exportable products.
So, these are the differences I can visibly see among different generations in Bangladesh.