Imran emerged as a climate advocate serving not only local communities but representing the country on the global stage. Imran has already attended several global events on climate change.
When he was orphaned in mid-2009 when a super cyclonic storm battered the coast lines of Bangladesh and India, the life of a minor Imran Hossain was completely jeopardised. His day labourer father was swept away while working on a cropland by the sea in Noakhali’s Hatita upazila, one of most climate disaster prone areas of Bangladesh.
Aging around 40 at that time, the man never returned after the deadly natural event, namely Cyclone Aila, which killed at least 339 people in the two South Asian countries on May 25, 2009. The rest survivors of his family, too, were in a fix through the fatal incident. Imran was just a fifth grader and his younger brother was a toddler.
Gone are the days. Imran is now well grown up who completed a university graduation – and that is not the only identity he carried these days. Now 24, he has emerged as a climate advocate serving not only local communities but representing the country on the global stage. Imran has already attended several global events on climate change.
In the last two editions of the UN climate summit COP in 2022 and 2023, he represented Bangladesh under as many fellowships.
Imran also physically took part in some discussions on environment in this year’s UN General Assembly in New York. The next UN climate conference or COP 29 is slated from 11 to 22 November 2024 in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Shocking memories
Imran grew up seeing the wraths of cyclones and floods with gusty winds since his childhood. To him, these were forces of nature, which were not without fault. But, the fateful year of 2009 brought an abrupt end to his innocence and joyful days on Earth.
“We assumed that a tidal wave had swept my father away. We never found his body,” an emotional Imran told the Climate Watch (CW). “The cyclone, with its 6.5-meter-high tidal waves, not only claimed my father, left a million people homeless,” he added. “However, the tragedy forever reshaped the lives of many young people like me,” Imran argued.
Rising from the ashes
Imran was heavily affected by shock and confusion as to what to do after his father’s sudden demise. For a long time, he struggled to comprehend the tragedy that had struck his family. His mother, now on her own, was left to care for him and his younger brother, who was just three years old then.
A year later, the family was forced to relocate to Begumganj upazila in the same district, Noakhali, where Imran’s mother found work in a garment factory to support them.In 2019, a chance meeting with Sohanur Rahman, executive coordinator of YouthNet for Climate Justice, opened Imran’s eyes to the reality of climate change. Sohanur explained how shifting weather patterns and worsening natural disasters were linked to the changing climate.
“That was the first time I truly understood what climate change is,” Imran recalled. “I learned how it affects vulnerable people like us. I also realized who was responsible for the greatest loss of my life—the death of my father.”
Success saga
For the last four years, Imran has been actively involved in campaigning as a climate activist. “I often attend various trainings on climate change and develop my skills. And later on, I share with locals my experience in a bid to aware them,” he said.
He secured both the fellowships offered by the CVF-Youth Capacity-Building Fellowship. His was selected for the fellowship by the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF), which allowed him to join in person COP27 in 2022. He regained the fellowship last year too.
The CVF is a forum of 46 countries that are the most vulnerable to climate change. The fellowship offers youths an opportunity to talk about their communities’ situation at the annual Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC, popularly known as COP in-person.
Mixture of golden and grim memories
In the two editions of COP, Imran managed to exchange his views with other climate advocates and global leaders from parts of the world. “In COP27, I found my presence in the gathering of world leaders at a resort in Sharm el-Sheikh,” he recalled, citing that he participated the event not only as a survivor but the voice of 35 million people living in the country’s coastal belt.
Imran was invited along with 12 other youths from different countries to a dinner with the Dutch with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte when he raised his voice on behalf of the affected coastal communities. The Dutch leader, he said, said, “Don’t blame me but the convention.” Imran found the statement to be the resemblance of systemic inadequacy in fighting climate impacts. “I was left with a heavier heart than the storms that frequent my homeland,” he told the Climate Watch (CW).
He had a clear message: climate change is resulted from human activities, including the mindless burning of fossil fuels and whimsical industrialisation. “Nothing can compensate my father’s death. So, the polluters and the perpetrators behind the crime of killing my father should pay,” said the climate activist.
What is he doing now?
Imran regularly visits coastal districts to raise awareness, especially among the youth and farmers. He does it all voluntarily.
When contacted by CW, he said, “I’m now in Cox’s Bazar (Bangladesh’s most popular tourist city with the world’s largest sea beach). So far, I’ve already campaigned in all 19 coastal districts. I have also raised awareness in some other districts.”
Also a development worker, Imran said, “My journey is and will continue against the losses inflicted by climate change, for resilience, and an unwavering commitment to a safer environment and future for all.” With a 30-strong team, Imran was working for his mission in Noakhali in 2022. As his works paid off, as many as 150 people are connected to him in the great cause of fighting climate issues.
