Porimol Palma

The government move to relocate 1,642 Rohingya refugees to Bhasan Char has invited some negative international scrutiny, but local NGOs and experts have said international aid agencies might change their minds if they visited the island.

Global rights groups claimed that many of those who were relocated to the housing project in the island under Noakhali’s Hatiya upazila were coerced to do so. The UN, meanwhile, said it lacked information on the relocation and was not involved in the exercise.

The government negated the criticisms, saying the concerns about the Rohingya refugees’ safety and the Bhasan Char project’s sustainability were well addressed.

It argued that cyclone Amphan could do the project no harm as the structures have been sufficiently elevated and embankments have been built for flood protection. There are cyclone shelters, schools, hospitals, livelihood opportunities and playgrounds -- facilities that are far better than those in the crowded refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar.

Apart from the risk of landslides, the government cited issues such as drug peddling, human trafficking, a rising trend of gender-based violence and conflicts between factions of the refugee communities in Cox’s Bazar as major reasons for the relocation.

While these and other factors may have prompted the government to opt for the relocation, the fact remains that the relocation of the first batch has happened and the government will eventually transfer about 100,000 to Bhasan Char. The UN and international aid agencies are however yet to be involved in humanitarian assistance. This has given rise to questions about how the lives of Rohingya refugees in Bhasan Char will be funded and managed.

Saiful Islam Chowdhury Kalim, coordinator of the alliance of 22 local NGOs that have been engaged in humanitarian activities in Bhasan Char with their own funds, said the office of the Refugee Relief and Rehabilitation Commissioner (RRRC) that supervises the Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar is doing the same in Bhasan Char.

“We have stock of food for six months. Now we are assessing the demand and challenges ahead,” he told this correspondent. “Initially, the NGOs cooked food for the Rohingyas but now they are provided stoves, gas cylinders and food stuff to cook for themselves [in Bhasan Char].”

Saiful Islam said they too had negative idea about the Bhasan Char project initially, but everything became clear after visiting the site.