New York Times: In Bangladesh, a Flood and an Efficient Response
K. Anis Ahmed, publisher of the Dhaka Tribune and the Bangla Tribune

“After two weeks of flooding, about half of Bangladesh is under water, 140 people have been killed, tens of thousands of families have been forced from their homes, and well over a million acres of crops have been destroyed. … As experts attribute the frequency of immense floods to climate change, the thousands who move to Dhaka, the capital, and other cities should be considered climate refugees. … Floods are a transnational affair … borders mean little. During the floods this time, 800 Indians from the state of West Bengal bordering Bangladesh sought shelter in Lalmonirhat, a northern district of Bangladesh. … Common sense and humanity prevailed over jingoism and xenophobia on the India-Bangladesh border. The increasing frequency and intensity of floods point to the need for cross-border cooperation on shared rivers. … If South Asia cannot work together on shared natural resources, it will be ill equipped to cope with the desperate rush of refugees. Going forward, climate change will displace millions — and there is no concertina wire strong enough to hold back multitudes desperate to survive” (9/1).