“We want climate justice. We want our rights!”

Friday, 24 September 2021, Barishal – one of Bangladesh’s largest cities. Over 300 children and young people fill the streets, chanting:

“We want climate justice!”; “We want our rights!”; “Climate Action! Now, now!”; “Uproot the System!”

With one in three Bangladeshi children – nearly 20 million children – bearing the brunt of climate change, children across the country have been increasingly speaking out for more climate action and for their rights.

Children are victims of extreme weather, cyclones, floods, river erosion, sea level rise, and other climate change-driven environmental shocks. Many end up in city slums, their lives and prospects shattered. Millions are trapped in child labour, child marriage and trafficking.

Five young people explain how climate change is affecting them and their communities, why they took to the streets ahead of the COP26 Climate Change Conference and in support of the global “Fridays for the Future” movement, or how else they are standing up for their rights.

Robiul: my home was washed away 

“I live in a slum in Barishal. Before, my family lived in a village on the banks of Kirtonkhola River. Due to erosion, my home was washed away, and we had to migrate to the city,” says 12-year-old Robiul Islam Robin.

“In the rainy season, stagnant water hampers our activities and movements. Due to cyclones, big trees fall over tin-shed houses and electric wires fall on the roads. This can be deadly for us and can damage our homes. We must stay inside. I cannot go to school. My father cannot go to work. Sometimes, we have to do with less food or go without it,” adds Robiul.

Mahzabin: more youth voices can lead to change

“I believe more voices can change the mind of decision makers to save our environment so we can survive and have a better future,” says 18-year-old Mahzabin Mumu.

Mahzabin explains that studying has become harder; she has been feeling tired as temperatures rise, and she is often stuck at home when heavy rains lash her city.

Climate change also concerns her as it can lead to more mosquitos, and more illnesses.

Bithi: how will we survive?

“We are reducing the age of earth for our happiness. How will we survive? Where will we get food? Where will we get water? Where will we swim?” asks 20-year-old Bithi Akther, a climate activist who has been volunteering for an organization that protects Bangladesh’s rivers.

Bithi is aware of the consequences of not taking more concerted action to fight climate change: more children forced into child marriages or child labour, more children growing up in slums, like her, without access to the nutritious food they need.

“I am 20 years old,” she says, “but my physical growth is like that of a 10- or 12-year-old girl.”

Tayeba: new diseases will emerge

“I am worried about the future of the children and how they’ll survive. New diseases will emerge, and it will be more difficult to protect children,” says 16-year-old Tayeba Akter.

Tayeba volunteers for Brighter Society of Bangladesh, an organization that tackles climate change, and is a member of Girls Guide where she raises awareness about environmental issues among her peers.

Mahib: the problems we are facing are not of our own making

18-year-old Mahib Reza grew up in northern Bangladesh where summers are intense and water is scarce, whilst monsoons bring floods and river erosion.

“Our generation needs to work together and demand action from our leaders. As a young person, I want to remind our leaders that the problems we are facing are not of our own making…Your inaction affects us the most,” says Mahib.

Mahib is part of the UNICEF-supported Generation Parliament initiative and was one of the over one million children who united behind a Children’s Climate Declaration.

In the Declaration, prepared at the first-ever Children’s Climate Summit in 2020 and handed over to decision makers in the National Parliament ahead of COP26, Bangladeshi children call on the Government to: protect children against the impacts of climate change; reduce pollution and greenhouse gas emissions; increase investments in education, training and a green economy; and consult children on policies and decisions that impact their future.