Md Rubel Mia Publishes on Riverbank Erosion and Climate Migration in Bangladesh

Md Rubel Mia, a Comparative Studies PhD Student, has published an article titled “Riverbank Erosion as Slow Violence: The Sensorial Displacement of Climate Migrants” in the International Journal of Social Science Research and Review, Volume 8, Issue 9, September 2025. The study explores the acute sensory and emotional effects on climate migrants of Bhola, Bangladesh, who are eroded and displaced to the Korail slum in Dhaka by riverbank erosion. It identifies how this sensorial displacement is a kind of embodied slow violence as described by Nixon (2011) to the physical health of migrants, their emotional well-being, and the sense of identity. Migrants remember the moist air of Bhola, the stench of wet sand, and the lapping river water. In contrast, now they are greeted by the diesel smoke, the stench of rubbish, and the constant noise at Korail. This type of sensory displacement leads to breathing difficulties, skin diseases, and emotional distress and it is why policies addressing such unattended aspects of climate migration must exist. Mia responds with Sensory Impact Assessment and sensory sensitive urban planning as the green buffer, or culturally specific mental health intervention. He also examines adaptive behaviors adopted by migrants to relieve the situations such as the playing of recorded sounds of rivers and the shared rituals, which only provide partial relief. This study recommends a multi-sensory climate justice approach, informed by phenomenology, environmental justice, and intersectionality to study lived experiences of displaced people. It may guide subsequent studies on multigenerational sensory memory and creative interventions.

To view the article, click here.