(16) Parts 0f St. Martin

Companion piece

Location: St. Martin and Cox Bazaar

Age: N/A

Composite: Stone, Shell, Coral

Collected by: Jackal, Jo Bergson, ShilPon

A tiny-tiny island; yet one of the largest in many respects.

It took three days to reach St. Martin because army authorities would not grant permission nor explain why they wouldn’t. St. Martin is an island located on the border of Bangladesh and Myanmar, a very contested place in the world. Apart from the blinding variety of dried fish, this island is also renowned for its diverse sea coral life, but excessive construction, boating, pollution and climate change has almost entirely destroyed the once thriving coral reefs. The tiny island (only 3 km2) is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Bangladesh, one of the world’s most densely populated countries. Tourism has had irrevocable consequences on tradition and biodiversity and nowhere is this more obvious than on the island of St. Martin, where despite the large influx of visitors, poverty and extreme pollution are the norm. Up until 20 years ago, the island had enough resources for residents to sustain themselves comfortably – now islanders are near totally dependent on the fluctuating tourist market.

On the mainland, directly opposite the island, Cox Bazaar is the site of one of the largest refugee camps in the world: the Rohingya Refugee camp. Over a million people are trapped on an artificial island, marked by barbedwire and soldiers. However due to rising sea levels the people of the tiny island of St. Martin may soon join those on the mainland. The island may very well be entirely submerged underwater within the next few generations, therefore creating another refugee crisis in an already immensely sensitive area.

On display are coral, volcanic rock and shells from St. Martin. Please visit responsibly.