Two Bangladeshi schoolchildren from the country’s climate-ravaged coast have been forced to abandon their trip to Brazil after visa complications prevented them from attending the UN Climate Change Conference (COP30), where they had hoped to share their stories of growing up on the frontlines of global warming.
Nausheen Islam and Nur Ahmed, both eighth-grade students from Satkhira district, were selected to represent children from some of South Asia’s most climate-vulnerable communities. Their trip was arranged by the non-governmental organisation Jagoroto Jubo Sangho (JJS) under a project to strengthen children’s voices in climate and disaster policymaking.
“We wanted to tell the world how children like us are struggling to survive,” Nausheen told The Climate Watch. “Our schools get flooded, our houses break down, but we still dream.”
Nur, from Munshiganj in Shyamnagar upazila, said he was disappointed but still hopeful. “We wanted to share how we are fighting for our future, but now our voices will not be heard.”
According to JJS programme manager Nabokumar Saha, both children applied for Brazilian visas in mid-October after receiving official invitations from the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Their first embassy interviews took place on October 30, with a second on Monday, only hours before their scheduled flight.
“They were supposed to fly at 1:00 a.m.,” Saha said. “But by 4:00 p.m., the embassy informed us that authorisation from Brazil had not yet arrived. Without it, the visas couldn’t be issued. It’s heartbreaking, they lost a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to speak for Bangladesh’s coastal children.”
Attempts to reach the Brazilian Embassy in Dhaka for comment were unsuccessful. If the embassy responds, this story will be updated.
The setback comes as more than 12,000 delegates from 150 countries gather in Belém, Brazil’s Amazon region, for COP30, a landmark summit marking three decades of global climate talks.
Bangladesh’s coastal belt is among the world’s most exposed regions to rising seas and extreme weather. Frequent cyclones, tidal surges and saltwater intrusion have displaced thousands of families and eroded livelihoods, despite the country contributing little to global emissions.
Youth and climate advocates criticised the visa delays that kept the two students from attending. “This is not just a logistical failure, it’s a moral one,” said Bangladeshi activist Amannullah Porag, who is attending COP30. “Children from the frontlines should not be excluded by bureaucracy.”
Sohanur Rahman, executive coordinator of YouthNet Global and a youth delegate at the conference, said several young Bangladeshis faced similar hurdles this year. “Only three finally received visas,” he said. “It shows how uneven access remains, even within the climate movement. Children’s participation is vital, their voices remind leaders why these negotiations matter.”
From their homes in Satkhira, Nausheen and Nur continue to follow COP30 online. “We couldn’t go this time,” Nausheen said softly. “But one day, the world will hear our stories.”
