Filled with joy and hope, first Rohingya refugees move to new homes in Bhasan Char

The international community is concerned about them, those living in the squalid camps in Cox’s Bazar doubt their decision. But the joy of having a new home radiating out of the faces of the first batch of Rohingya refugees trumped it all when they stood before the rows of red-roofed houses in Bhasan Char island.

They crossed the border into Bangladesh from Myanmar over three years ago to take shelter at shanties in congested, unsafe and unhealthy camps, leaving behind bodies of loved ones and burning homes.

At Bhasan Char, all the relocated Rohingya families are getting separate rooms with cooking facilities, electricity and sewerage systems, along with playgrounds, storm shelters, and livelihood opportunities.

The government has spent Tk 23.12 billion on the relocation of 100,000 out of over 1 million Rohingya people to the safer shelters from the refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar.  

The first batch of 1,642 refugees reached the 13,000-acre island on the Meghna estuary in Noakhali’s Hatia by six navy and one army vessels on Friday afternoon after a two-day journey.

When officials asked the relocated Rohingya refugees to move to their new homes at Bhasan Char island after special prayers at a warehouse, the leaders of small groups of refugees began shouting to gather the members, helping them locate their designated houses. The enthusiasm buried the tiredness from the journey.

Their sprint towards the purpose-built shelters carrying children on their shoulders and hauling the belongings and dear ones along gives the impression that their long wait has finally ended.

As bdnews24.com tried to connect with them, the steward of one such group, Mohammed Yunus said: “We’ve come here with a lot of hope. We’re absolutely delighted.”

“The wait has ended. We’re very happy to have the first batch of Rohingya here. It’s a day for celebration here,” said Commodore Abdullah Al Mamun Chowdhury, the director of the Ashrayan or shelter project for the Rohingya at Bhasan Char. 

NEW BEGINNING

The refugees gathered at the Ghumdhum Transit Camp near Kutupalong camp on Wednesday ahead of the move to Bhasan Char. On Thursday, they were moved to Chattogram in bus convoys escorted by the Rapid Action Battalion and police.

The Rohingya refugees spent the night in the BAF Shaheen School and College transit camp upon reaching Chattogram before boarding the vessels headed for the island on Friday morning.

The authorities made seating arrangements for them on the decks. Around a dozen other vessels of the Navy and the Coast Guard escorted those shipping the Rohingya.

Two navy ships transported over 1,000 pieces of luggage belonging to the Rohingya to Bhasan Char on Thursday.

The refugees, many of whom had crossed the sea and the Naf river by fragile makeshift rafts into Bangladesh in 2017, began looking around with curiosity when the navy and army vessels set sail.

All the families have children and the parents struggled to control them when they began playing in on the decks. The families carried small bags of clothes.

During the nearly three and a half hour-long sea journey, they were served Morog Polau.

“We have fled Myanmar and taken shelter in Bangladesh to save our honour and lives.

The government of this country has given us shelter. We don’t have complaints about staying in wherever they want us,” said one of the refugees, Ramjan Ali, who travelled from the Kutupalong camp with his wife and three children.

NEW LIFE

The government planned two years ago to relocate some of the Rohingya from Cox’s Bazar considering the social issues as the efforts to repatriate them fell flat on their face.

Accordingly, it prepared the island for human habitation. Some 300 refugees were recently sent there after they had been rescued while being trafficked to Malaysia.

On Sept 5, the authorities took a group of representatives of the refugees to for a tour of the island from the Cox’s Bazar camps.

After hearing about the island from them, many refugees expressed their willingness to move there, government officials said.

“We’ve made beautiful living arrangements here. They will be in a better condition here,” said Project Director Mamun.

In all, the project comprises 120 cluster villages with 1,440 rooms and 120 shelter stations. Each room has separate toilets and bathrooms for men and women as well as a kitchen.

Each cluster village consists of 12 houses, each with 16 rooms. Each room can accommodating four people.

Mamun said the rooms have more space than 37 square feet per head, the minumum space standard set by the UN.

The 1,642 Rohingya moved to the island on Friday have been allocated 48 houses in clusters 7 to 10.

For now, 22 NGOs will work to meet the refugees’ need for food, healthcare and other services, said Mohammad Shamsu Douza, the government’s commissioner of refugee, relief and repatriation.

They will be given cooked food for seven days. All the families will get LPG cylinders for cooking by this time.

A high embankment spanning 1,702 acres encircles the island to protect it from high tides and tidal surges.

Within it, 432 acres of land accommodates the housing project while another 916 acres have been reserved for future expansion and afforestation plans.

For every cluster, there is also a four-storey composite shelter station. These shelter stations are capable of withstanding cyclones with wind speeds of up to 260 km.

The project has also established a proper drainage system along with the supply of pure drinking water to every household. Solar panels have been installed on the roofs of the houses.

Two playgrounds have been built in the area while each cluster house has an open space where children can play.

Residents will have access to two 20-bed hospitals and four community clinics.

A thousand buffalo farms have been developed in Bhasan Char, with some pilot projects on poultry, fruit and crop farming under the supervision of the Bangladesh Navy.

Dairy farms, paddy and vegetable farming, handicraft and sewing work for women along with some tourism projects are also in the works to boost local economic activities.

CONCERNS VS ‘GENUINE EFFORTS’

The government maintains all along that the relocated refugees will be in better conditions than their peers in the Cox’s Bazar camps, but the UN and other international agencies have distanced themselves from the project.

The UN says it has not been involved in preparations for the movement or the identification of the refugees and has limited information on the overall relocation exercise.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees or UNHCR called on the government to uphold its commitment that relocation of Rohingya to the island will be voluntary.

Human rights groups, including Amnesty International and Refugees International, also urged the government to abandon its plan to ship the refugees to the remote island.

Their concerns centre on the geographical position of the island because they are not

sure about the safety of the refugees in the remote island vulnerable to storms and tidal waves.

They also want to be certain about the fulfilment of the humanitarian needs of the Rohingya in the island.

“UN representatives are welcome to visit the project,” said Commodore Mamun, claiming that the government has done everything in its power to ensure the safety of the relocated Rohingya.

In a statement on Friday evening, the foreign ministry said that relocation is taking place only after the refugees said they were willing to move.

The ministry also said the relocation is a part of the broader plan of the refugees’ repatriation, “which is the only priority” for the government.

“The skill development and livelihood opportunity that the Rohingyas would be able to avail in Bhasan Char would prepare them for their reintegration in the Myanmar society on return,” it said.

“The Rohingyas are Myanmar nationals and they must return to Myanmar. The Government of Bangladesh is doing its best for the safety and security of these temporarily sheltered Myanmar Nationals,” the statement said.

It is “only practical” at this stage that the international community, including the UN, do their part and engage with Myanmar to commence repatriation, which is the only durable solution to this crisis, the ministry said.

“At the same time, we urge all to exercise utmost caution not to undermine or misinterpret the genuine efforts of the Government of Bangladesh," it added.