A farmer and son soak jute along the riverbanks of the Brahmaputra. Jute is one of the most commonly used natural fibers worldwide, second only to cotton, and flourishes in the rich soil found on the chars. Photos: Zach Lowry and Sam Wolff
Firoza Khatun’s husband abandoned her family after their char eroded decades ago. Since then, she has raised her children alone, and continued to pay taxes on the submerged land in hope that it may emerge and she can pass it on to her children. “My heart won’t let me leave this place.” Photos: Zach Lowry and Sam Wolff
Land patta (land deed) documents, often decades old and damaged from floodwater, are crucial to NRC verification process. Photos: Zach Lowry and Sam Wolff
Monser Ali, 90, from Kakdhuwa Char. Photos: Zach Lowry and Sam Wolff
Rupjan Nessa, a women’s rights leader, works to raise awareness about the effects of isolation on education in her char. “On chars, girls get married at 13 or 14. In the mainland, a girl gets married when she is educated and of the right age. The girls from here understand that, and want to get married to a mainland boy. They know that if they can do so, their environment would change and the next generation would get education too.” Photos: Zach Lowry and Sam Wolff
Moinul and Haidar Ali sit on the riverbank of Bhangnamari Char as the bamboo wreckage of their local school, built in 1948, is loaded onto ships for sale in the mainland. The school was destroyed during intense flooding in July. Photos: Zach Lowry and Sam Wolff
On August 31, 2019, a group of men watch the news for updates on the National Register of Citizens while a group of women work to package their crops of jute for sale at the market. Photos: Zach Lowry and Sam Wolff
On August 31st, 2019, residents of Assam visit their local Foreigners Tribunal to check if they have been included in the updated draft of the National Register of Citizens. Photos: Zach Lowry and Sam Wolff
A field of kaisha on New Tarabari char. The local root grass naturally accumulates sediment, and for generations, char dwellers have cultivated the plant to mitigate land erosion. Photos: Zach Lowry and Sam Wolff
Morjina Khatun, 24, fled to an IDP camp in Goalpara district after her char completely eroded in 2014. “We have no way to return. No matter how hard it is, we have to stay here now. But the heart lives there. The summer and winter passes, but not our fate.” Photos: Zach Lowry and Sam Wolff
Young women, uprooted by river erosion and presently living in a camp for displaced persons, sing hymns at a widely attended after-school program. The program is the only opportunity for people in the camp to practice Islam as a community. Photos: Zach Lowry and Sam Wolff