Rohingya Refugees in Bangladesh

A Bangladeshi island called Bhasan Char in the Bay of Bengal has been used recently to house the Rohingya Muslim Refugees from Myanmar. The island was formed by Himalayan silt in 2006. The Government of Bangladesh plans to construct a total of 1,440 buildings, including 120 cyclone shelters, to relocate 100,000 Rohingya refugees from the mainland. The Government of Bangladesh first suggested resettling Rohingya refugees on the island in June 2015.

In August 2019, the government announced an expansion of the Ashrayan Project to build these 100,000 homes. In January 2020, the project was moving forward despite opposition from Rohingya leaders and human rights groups. Bangladesh's minister for refugee affairs stated the island is ready for habitation, though he gave no timetable for the relocation. Additionally, the Bangladeshi government has not permitted foreign journalists or Rohingya leaders to travel to Bhasan Char.

The first group of 1,642 Rohingya arrived at Bhasan Char on December 4, 2020 and were transported by naval vessels from Chittagong. There have been varying accounts of this, with some saying that these people were not asked for their consent, whereas other reports quoted some Rohingya saying they are excited at being relocated to a new and peaceful place.

Another group of around 2000 refugees arrived in Bhasan Char this week, even though the Human Rights Council still calls this island, “A disaster in the making.”