ional conference jointly organized by Dhaka Community Hospital and School of Environmental Studies, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, in February 1998. After this conference, two reports were published in the ‗Guardian‘, a London daily, featuring interviews of international funding organizations and arsenic experts. In that report, the World Bank‘s local chief said, ―Tens of Millions of people are at risk‖. In the same report, WHO predicted that within a few years, one death in 10 adults across much of southern Bangladesh could be from cancers triggered by arsenic.
●Abdul Aziz, Marua Village, Jessore District My mobile phone rang at midnight on 18 December 2005. It was from a friend of mine who was staying in Jessore as a member of a research team from Japan. She has been conducting various researches on social aspects of the arsenic contamination problem in Marua village of Chowgachha Upazila, Jessore district, for some years now. ―A brother of Rokeya‘s husband is suffering from lung cancer and hospitalized in Dhaka. He and his family are very worried since his three brothers died from lung cancer. Can you please help him?‖, she said. Rokeya had skin cancer on her right palm and it had been removed by amputation in December 2000 with financial support from the Asia Arsenic Network (AAN). Her husband, Altaf Hossain, too, had some Bowen‘s (pre-cancerous skin lesion) excised with AAN‘s financial support. They were cordial to receive visitors in Marua and told them their experiences and sufferings, emphasizing how dreadful arsenic poisoning is. Altaf Hossain died from heart attack in January 2004, but
Rokeya is commendably determined to relate her experiences to anyone who visits her, showing her half-sized right hand with no ring and small fingers. On 20th December I visited Abdul Aziz, ―the brother of Rokeya‘s husband‖, at Naznur Hospital in the Dhanmondi area. Dr. Ekhlasur Rahman, Director of the Yamagata Dhaka Friendship Hospital (YDFH), kindly accompanied me. Aziz‘s cabin was on the third floor. He was stitting on a mattress near the window, though there was a bed along the wall on the left. There were a several men in the room. I could not figure out who they were, but seemingly they might be his relatives or friends. As soon as we entered the room, more people joined in. I felt nervous about the atmosphere. With so many strangers it did not seem right to talk about some private affairs. However, Aziz did not care about those people and disclosed that he was suffering from lung cancer. He added that his three brothers had already died from lung cancer and he was scheduled to take chemotherapy from tomorrow. Dr. Ekhlasur said that he would like to see if chemotherapy was the best treatment for Aziz and asked him to show his X-ray film and other medical reports. Milon, Aziz‘s son, followed us to the outside of the hospital building to see us off. While he entreated us saying, ―Please save my father‘s life‖, I observed black spots on his chest. Milon, too, though still young, had arsenicosis symptoms. In the evening Aziz‘s X-ray film and various medical reports were delivered to YDFH. Dr. Ekhlasur examined them together with Dr. Asif, pulmonologist or expert of respiratory medicine. They came to the conclusion that operation was not possible. Cancer had infested the base of the lung and operation would only spread cancer. On the following day, we called at Naznur Hospital again, though reluctantly. Dr. Ekhlasur recommended Aziz to take chemotherapy as planned. Aziz agreed. Then he turned his eyes to me and said in English, ―Will you give me financial support?‖ I had anticipated that such a request would be coming forth, but without any concrete plan I shrank back. If chemotherapy were needed for a long time, the fund for medical support would run out quickly. The fund consists of donations of citizens in Japan. Some people may criticize me for allocating a huge amount of money to only one patient. In front of the patient shuddered with fear of lung cancer, however, it was difficult for me to utter a cold word. Dr. Ekhlasur t