The Role of Indigenous Laitu Khyeng Youth in Building Community Resilience-Perspective from CHT in Bangladesh

Abstract

This chapter explores the Laitu Khyeng 1 Indigenous communities’ youth land-based perspectives in dealing with their community disaster in Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHTs), Bangladesh. 2 Through story-writing initiatives, this chapter takes a youth-led approach to engage them to investigate the probable causes of the flash floods, take adaptive measures to build community resilience, and propose mitigative solutions for the governments. The chapter follows a decolonial approach where the findings suggest that the innovative and the most effective solutions come from the community within. By deconstructing prevailing discourses and advocating Indigenous youth voices, the chapter elucidates how the confluence of historical injustices, land dispossession, and sociopolitical marginalization exacerbates the impact of disasters on the Khyeng Indigenous communities. The findings of this chapter will advocate for the youth voice in sustainable land management, empowering youth in decision-making to preserve community interest. The findings explain how the government should adopt sustainable development approaches through recognizing Indigenous land rights in the Indigenous areas.