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The United Nations and the government of Bangladesh signed an agreement to jointly help Rohingya refugees on an island in the Bay of Bengal, where thousands of people were relocated from crowded camps near the border with Myanmar.
The government has transferred more than 19,000 Rohingya to Bhasan Char Island, and the United Nations stated that one of the key reasons for signing the agreement was to start serving the population.
Bangladesh plans to relocate 100,000 Rohingya from the crowded refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar to the island in stages.
Overview of residential areas on Basanchar Island [File: Mohammad Al-Masum Mulla/AFP]After the United Nations and humanitarian organizations criticized the relocation, the agreement became a paradigm shift, saying that the 30-year-old island is often flooded by monsoon rains and is not suitable for living.
But Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government has spent more than $112 million on development, adding breakwaters, hospitals, schools and mosques, and insisted that it is no longer a vulnerable area.
After reaching an agreement on Saturday, the authorities said they would resettle another 81,000 refugees to the island in the next three months.
A United Nations team visited the island in March, and the world agency’s views changed.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees said in a statement that the agreement further expressed Bangladesh’s “generosity and support for the Rohingya until they can return to Myanmar safely and sustainably”.
The agreement allows the government to work closely with the United Nations on services and activities to benefit the residents of the island. The United Nations also said that before signing the agreement, it had discussions with Rohingya who live in Cox’s Bazar and Rohingya who already live on Basanchar Island.
The statement said: “These cover key areas such as protection, education, skills training, livelihoods and health, which will help support refugees to lead a decent life on the island and better prepare them for their sustainable return to Myanmar in the future. .”
After the relocation in December last year, a Rohingya refugee and a child were photographed in a room in a residential area on Bhasan Char Island [File: Mohammad Al-Masum Mulla/AFP]UNHCR representative Johannes van der Klau said that the organization has seen the island and believes that the Bangladeshi government has added “critical infrastructure” to offset environmental damage. He said the agreement also allows refugees to move back and forth between the island and the main camp in Cox’s Bazar.
Once the aid organization is established on the island, refugees will also have the opportunity to earn a living through odd jobs. Van der Klaauw also pointed out that the operation to Bhasan Char will be carried out on an informed and voluntary basis.
But most Rohingya refugees said they did not want to relocate.
A woman who moved to the island with her family earlier this year said that many people fled back to the camp by boat because life on the island is difficult for refugees.
“If people stay there for a few years, all of them may start to have mental problems,” she said, adding that the island’s medical and other assistance facilities are not perfect. She spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing retaliation.
Another 63-year-old refugee, Amir Hamza, said he would not move to the island.
“I will go to the country where I was born, the birthplace of my father and grandfather. I love that country, and I agree to go to that country. I don’t agree to go to another country, island or anywhere, even if I get milk in a golden plate And rice. I’m ready and happy to go to my country, my land, and my home.”
Bangladesh has been providing asylum to 1.1 million Rohingya from Myanmar, more than 700,000 of whom fled the severe military repression of Muslim-majority groups after being attacked by insurgents in August 2017. Hasina said her government will not force them to return.
Rohingya are not recognized as citizens in Myanmar, making them stateless and facing other forms of discrimination recognized by the state.
An investigation initiated by the United Nations in 2018 recommended prosecuting the top military commander of Myanmar for violence against the Rohingya on charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
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