S.M. Saiful Islam Kabir, Sundarbans

In the early 1980s, at just 16 years old, Mujibur Gazi followed in his father’s footsteps into the vast wilderness of the Sundarbans, the world’s largest mangrove forest and a renowned fishing haven in southwest Bangladesh. It took him two more years to master rowing a boat. By the age of 20, he was leading a bawali team, rowing himself and engaging in everything—from harvesting goran trees to fishing.

Now 60, Mujibur has spent over four decades navigating the perilous forest paths. He has seen tigers snatch away his companions and has himself survived a tiger attack. Yet, he never gave up the forest—until now. Since last September, he has stopped going to the forest. His reason?

“I am not afraid of the tiger’s claws anymore—but I no longer have the strength to endure beatings from forest bandits.”

Mujibur lives in the forest-dependent village of Burigoalini, on the banks of the Chuna River, about 90 kilometers from Satkhira town. Like his forefathers, he has survived by collecting honey, harvesting golpata and goran, and fishing for crabs and shrimp.

Yesterday, around 11 a.m., we found Mujibur Gazi near the Alauddin Market, next to his home. In conversation, he recalled tales from his childhood, youth, and aging years. A seasoned forest goer, he said he witnessed two of his companions, Yunus Gazi and Akbar Sardar, become tiger prey. Yet, he never stopped entering the forest, harvesting timber, fishing, and collecting honey and crabs—undaunted.

Mujibur’s own near-fatal encounter came in late June 2009, just a month after Cyclone Aila ravaged the coastal region on May 25. “No one had money then,” he said. Desperate, he entered the forest with a five-man team. While others were fishing near the Barkiyakhali canal in the Burigoalini range, Mujibur cast his net alone by the bank.

Describing the moment, he said, " It was just before dusk. Without warning, a tiger pounced from my left and sank its claws into my shoulder. I thrashed around, but there was no one nearby. It tried to drag me away, but I hit it with a boat paddle. After 10–12 minutes, my teammate Moslem Ali saw from a distance and began shouting. Others rushed in with sticks, paddles, and machetes to fight the tiger. For another 10 minutes, the tiger held me, trying to drag me away, but finally it gave up and disappeared into the forest.”

Mujibur was taken back to the village by 11 p.m. He received emergency treatment from the BGB outpost at Nildumur, then spent 15 days in Shyamnagar Hospital, followed by six months of treatment under a traditional healer.

He considered quitting the forest life then—but poverty had other plans. With no other source of income, he returned to the forest on April 1 the following year, this time with a permit from the Forest Department. That May, another companion, Abbas Gazi, was killed by a tiger. Mujibur was shaken, but with no work and no food at home, he couldn’t afford to stop.

According to Mujibur, following the August 5 jailbreak in Satkhira, a group of armed robbers raided Satkhira and Shyamnagar police stations and then fled into the Sundarbans.

Now, Mujibur’s only son, Alomgir Gazi, and wife, Rizia Khatun, refuse to let him return to the forest. After staying home for a while, he took a loan and set up a small decoration shop in front of his house.