Bangladesh and Rochdale
Rochdale has a large Bangladeshi heritage population. Many came in the 1960s to Rochdale to work in the mills and although that generation have got older, retired or departed, their children are part of a young and growing community, and connections with family in Bangladesh are strong. I have been several times to Wardleworth Community centre to break the fast during Ramadan at events organised by the Rochdale-Sylhet link. (Sylhet is the city in north eastern Bangladesh where many of our community have roots). Money is raised for projects and Bangladeshi Rochdalians keep in touch with the place and people.
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| Riverside Boxing Day 2016 |
The previous MP of Rochdale Simon Danczuk famously said that money should be spent on UK flood defences and not on Bangladesh. Bangladesh has suffered from 18 major floods in the 20th Century, some of catastrophic consequences. The 1987 flood inundated 40% of the country. Whether or not this was right, or good politics, is open to question - he lost his seat in 2017 !
Boxing Day 2016 was a shocking day. The the centre of Rochdale was hit by flooding as the River Roch burst its banks; there was much mess, disruption and cost. People from Church and Mosque, and communities of all backgrounds helped each other out. It was heartening.
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| Flood relief at St Barnabas Church |
This shared human history is one way in which our town of Rochdale is entwined with the changing climate. Some of our residents originally from flood-prone Bangladesh have come to live in what we have come to accept (reluctantly) as flood prone Rochdale. We share the memory of the historic floods and are aware of the threat.
It's easier for us to talk about what we do to solve a problem than what we do to cause it. We Rochdalians also share some of the responsibility. The risk of the river Roch flooding is increased by all that has been built and manufactured in the town over the years of urbanisation and industrialisation. So, our Church buildings stop water being absorbed into the ground and speed up the process where it runs off into the river. Likewise our Mosque buildings and car parks, town hall, and new housing estates upstream at Littleborough. Those who came before us, seeking to develop the town have added to the problem as we do in our generation.... an uncomfortable thought.
We don't like to dwell on how we are part of the problem, but we are. The good news is that as we are all part of the problem so we can be part of the solution. We have common ground in our shared experience and risk of floods. Human geography, religion or race are often misused to divide one human from another. But here we in Rochdale, share the threat of floods with the people of Bangladesh. The memory of losing home and business, even life itself, to flood is a painful one, but it can inspire us to work together for a safer, less flooded, Rochdale and Bangladesh.
We don't like to dwell on how we are part of the problem, but we are. The good news is that as we are all part of the problem so we can be part of the solution. We have common ground in our shared experience and risk of floods. Human geography, religion or race are often misused to divide one human from another. But here we in Rochdale, share the threat of floods with the people of Bangladesh. The memory of losing home and business, even life itself, to flood is a painful one, but it can inspire us to work together for a safer, less flooded, Rochdale and Bangladesh.
The MP was wrong to try to divide Rochdale from Bangladesh because we have much that connects us. Flood is a risk to many in the world and when we can pull together to help each other we should.