Bangladesh yesterday started moving a second group of Rohingya refugees to a controversial flood-prone island in the Bay of Bengal, despite opposition from rights activists.
More than 1,600 of the Muslim minority from Myanmar were taken to Bhashan Char earlier this month, and Bangladeshi Minister of Foreign Affairs A.K. Abdul Momen said that just under 1,000 were in the latest batch heading for what he called a “beautiful resort.”
Buses took the Rohingya from camps in Cox’s Bazar, where nearly 1 million refugees are packed, to the port of Chittagong where they would be taken to the barren island.
Photo: Reuters
“They are going voluntarily. They are very eager to go Bhashan Char because they have heard from their relatives, those who have gone to Bhashan Char, that [it] is an excellent place,” Momen said.
He said that the island was “100 times better” than the camps, and that the refugees had “appealed” to be taken there.
“Bhashan Char is a beautiful resort. It is an excellent resort, and once anybody goes there, they will love it,” he added.
Two Rohingya men in the latest group said that they were going to the island willingly.
Nur Kamal, a Rohingya from the giant Kutupalang refugee camp, said that he was going to be with relatives already at Bhashan Char.
“What is the point of staying here [in the camps] without them?” he asked.
Serajul Islam said that he was going with five family members and was not being forced.
“The way the international community is handling our issue, I don’t see any future in the camps,” he said on the bus taking him to Chittagong.
“It is better I go and live the rest of my life there in better housing. At least I won’t have to think about floods during the rainy season and unbearable heat in the summer,” he said.
More than 700,000 Rohingya packed the camps in Bangladesh in 2017 after a deadly Myanmar military clampdown that the UN has said could be classified as genocide.
After the first transfer on Dec. 4, several Rohingya said that they were beaten and intimidated to agree to move.
The Bangladesh government eventually wants to put 100,000 Rohingya on the 5,261 hectare island, despite criticism from rights groups because Bhashan Char is so isolated.
The UN said that it has not been involved in the process.
“Allegations from within the community about cash incentives being offered to Rohingya families to relocate to Bhashan Char, as well as use of intimidation tactics, are making the relocation process questionable,” said Saad Hammadi, South Asia campaigner for Amnesty International.
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