Teardrops Of Karnaphuli (Karnaphuli Kanna) tells the story of a dam that was constructed in the Karnaphuli region of the Chittagong Hill Tracts, and the resulting impoverishment and suffering that was brought on to local inhabitants. About 100,000 people were evicted from their land during 1959-1962.
This is but one of perhaps thousands of stories about the struggles of the Jumma People, who have since the 1970s gone from being nearly the sole inhabitants of the Chittagong Hill Tracts to being minorities on their own land. This film also discusses this situation, describing how the Bangladesh government has been settling people from outside the region, and how that campaign laid the basis for protracted instability and human rights violations.
Unfortunately, the settlement campaign is ongoing. In recent months, the military has been offering cash incentives - along with the promise of a monthly allowance - to 800 illegal settler families willing to settle in the Sadhana Tila region of the Hill Tracts; and there are also reports that military personnel have threatened to stop free food rations to families who don’t want to settle in the area.
As a result (though not an exclusive cause) there have been several incidents of violence, repeated attempts to destroy and vandalize the Buddhist temple in the Sadhana Tila, and numerous land grabs.
- Watch on Youtube
- For more news and information on the Jummas, please visit UNPO, Survival International, and the Jumma Peoples Network UK
