West Sonatala, Bangladesh: In a coastal village along the Bay of Bengal, a small handwritten newspaper is giving a community long ignored by mainstream media the chance to tell its own stories. The paper, *Andharmanik*, is the brainchild of 44-year-old fish market worker Hasan Parvez, who serves as editor-in-chief while juggling jobs as a labourer.
Launched in 2019, the four-page newspaper is handwritten, photocopied, and distributed across villages such as West Sonatala, Tungibari, and Rehmatpur. Each edition, produced every two months, prints around 300 copies. The paper is created by a team of 17 volunteer contributors, including farmers, electricians, teachers, seamstresses, and rickshaw drivers. Together, they highlight local struggles ranging from broken roads and poor healthcare to climate-driven disasters like floods and cyclones.
For many villagers, *Andharmanik* is their only source of information. No national newspapers reach the area, and internet access is unreliable. The publication has also inspired change. One story on a woman who lost her home in floods prompted donations from Bangladeshis abroad, enabling her to rebuild. Another piece on a struggling child led to government support for her family.
Hasan, who returned to education after leaving school as a teenager, is now pursuing a degree to officially register the newspaper. “Our community felt forgotten. This paper tells our own story,” he said.
Based on report by Al Jazeera
