By Elishya Perera
DHAKA, Bangladesh (CWBN)_ The second group of Rohingya refugees were sent to an isolated island in the Bay of Bengal on Tuesday (Dec 29).
Six ships carrying 1,804 refugees anchored around 1 pm in Bhasan Char on Tuesday. Concerned officials say that 428 families were voluntarily sent in this manner, and will take refugee in the state-of-the-art housing project in Bhasan Char.
According to Mohammad Samshuddauja, additional commissioner of the government’s refugee relief and repatriation office, paddy is being cultivated, different types of vegetable are being planted, and animals such as buffaloes, ducks, sheep and pigeons are being reared in the island, for these refugees to carry out economic activities. Moreover, food items which can last up to three months have also been stored in Bhasan Char.
Samshuddauja noted that cluster villages have been constructed with the aim of accommodating more than 101,360 refugees. It is reported that Bangladeshi officials intend to move 100,000 Rohingyas to Bhasan Char in several phases. These officials stress that they are being moved voluntarily as Samshuddauja said that a delegation of Rohingyas from the Cox’s Bazar refugee camp was sent to Bhasan Char on September 5 to visit the place, and upon their return, some of them expressed interest in going back to Bhasan Char.
However, the United Nations and several human rights groups have opposed to the relocation of Rohingya refugees, to this remote island in the Bay of Bengal, which is vulnerable to cyclones and prone to flooding.
Earlier this year, Amnesty International released a report on the conditions faced by the Rohingya already living on the island, which sparked outraged. The report contained allegations of limited food and healthcare facilities, cramped and unhygienic living conditions, as well as cases of sexual harassment by both the Navy and local labourers engaging in extortion, claims which have been denied by Bangladeshi authorities.
