Rohingya refugees relocated to remote island in Bangladesh: Everything you need to know

Team Udayavani, Dec 7, 2020, 3:06 PM IST

Authorities in Bangladesh have begun relocating thousands of Rohingya refugees to a remote island despite concerns about safety and consent.

Seven Bangladeshi naval boats carrying more than 1,640 Rohingya Muslims landed on the low-slung island of Bhasan Char, as part of the Bangladeshi government’s plan to ease crowding in refugee camps where more than a million Rohingya have lived since fleeing systemic persecution and violence in Myanmar.

However, Rights groups have raised concerns that many travelling to the island on Friday were being moved against their will.

According to BBC, The Rohingya have fled Myanmar after a military crackdown which began three years ago in which UN investigators say as many as 10,000 people were killed and more than 730,000 forcibly displaced.

Hundreds of thousands have since lived in Cox’s Bazar, a sprawling refugee camp inside neighbouring Bangladesh.

As reported by Indian Express, Located near the mouth of the river Meghna where it flows into the Bay of Bengal, Bhasan Char surfaced only in 2006 from the sediment deposited by the river. It  spans 40 sq km. The government has built shelters, hospitals and masjids.

It is said that people can engage in farming and livestock breeding too, but will not be able to “transact money” as Bangladesh is yet to officially recognise them as refugees Of 120 shelters, 20 are allocated for civil administration, learning centres, mosques, community clinics, day-care centres, orphanage etc.