Rohingyas to be relocated to Bhashan Char island after Monsoon: Bangladesh Government

The Bangladesh government is planning to begin the relocation of Rohingyas to the newly built facility at Bhashan Char island after the monsoon season. The move is aimed at giving the refugee community from Myanmar a better place for living. 

The announcement was made by the Bangladesh Foreign Secretary, Masud Bin Momen during a webinar in Dhaka on August 24, 2020. Momen stated that the Bangladesh government is planning to take relatives of the 306 Rohingya refugees already settled in Bashan Char and other representatives to show the facilities available on the island for the people to be settled there.

The Bangladesh Foreign Secretary said that if they find the place better than the cramped Cox’s Bazar then, the initial transfer of Rohingyas may begin after the Monsoon season. While few Rohingyas are already settled at the Bhashan Char Island, almost a million of them are currently camped in the crowded camps of Cox's Bazar, a port town on the southeast coast of Bangladesh.

Are Bashan Char Islands safe?

Several environmentalists, human rights groups and NGOs had raised concerns regarding the fragility of the Bashan Char Islands due to its location and weather. Refuting the concerns, the Bangladesh Foreign Secretary said that the recent Amphan cyclone has proved the durability of the Bhashan char island and the strength of the structures built there.

Local integration of Rohingyas ruled out

Foreign Secretary Momen completely ruled out the possibility of local integration of Rohingyas in Bangladesh. He said that more than a million refugees are putting tremendous pressure on the resources of the area. It has also disturbed the local demographic profile of the nation. 

Sustainable Return of Rohingyas to Myanmar?

The Bangladesh Foreign Secretary called upon the international community to build pressure on Myanmar to ensure safe, secure and sustainable return of the Rohingya refugees to Myanmar’s Rakhine state. 

The Bangladesh government has decided to allow 3G/4G connectivity in the Rohingya camps soon, despite concerns about security and law and order, in the view of the corona pandemic.

Where is Bashan Char Island?

• Bhashan Char is an uninhabited island located in the Bay of Bengal, 37 miles from the Bangladesh coast. The island (40 sqkm) was formed by Himalayan silt in 2006.

• The Bangladesh government has built shelter houses for over one lakh Rohingyas on the island at an estimated cost of Tk. 2,300 crore. The houses have been built four feet above the ground, in order to protect the refugees from high tidal waves. 

• The project moved forward despite opposition from human rights groups, environmentalists and Rohingya leaders. According to environmentalists, the Bhashan Char island falls in an ecologically fragile area that is prone to floods, erosion and cyclones. 

• The organisations working among the Rohingyas also raised the issue of forced relocation and lack of mobility on the island. Human Rights Watch called the relocation move "a human rights and humanitarian disaster in the making".

Background

Almost one million Rohingya Muslims had fled from Myanmar's Rakhine state in August 2017 after a military crackdown, which was termed by the United Nations as 'ethnic cleansing'. The refugees were forced to seek shelter in the neighbouring nation Bangladesh to escape persecution. Most of the Rohingya refugees are currently camped at Cox's Bazar area of Bangladesh. 

In April 2020, 306 Rohingyas rescued off a boat from the Bay of Bengal were taken to the Bhashan Char and settled there. However, the Bangladesh government has not permitted foreign journalists or Rohingya leaders to travel to Bhasan Char island yet.