Bangladesh Begins Moving Rohingya to Remote Island

Bhashan Char, Bangladesh —(Map)

Last Friday, the government of Bangladesh began moving Rohingya refugees to a remote island that is known for flooding. Many people are concerned for the safety of the refugees, some of whom did not want to go to the island.

For almost 200 years, the Rohingya people have lived in Myanmar (Burma), but they were never accepted there. In 2017, the Myanmar people and army began to attack Rohingya villages. As many as 10,000 Rohingya people were killed.

The Rohingya people became refugees – over a million Rohingya left Myanmar, chased out by violence. Most walked all the way to Bangladesh.

Bangladesh accepted the huge number of Rohingya refugees, even though it is not a rich country. But the Bangladesh government doesn’t want the refugees to think that they can stay forever. So the refugees aren’t allowed to build proper houses or go to school.

Since 2017, the refugees have been crowded into camps with poor conditions. One camp, Camp Kutupalong, is the world’s largest refugee camp and holds more than 650,000 people in tents and rough shelters.

Since 2017, the refugees have been crowded into camps with poor conditions. One camp, Camp Kutupalong (above), is the world’s largest refugee camp and holds more than 650,000 people in tents and rough shelters.

Now the Bangladesh government is acting on a plan they have been talking about for years – moving thousands of these refugees to a remote island called Bhashan Char.

Bhashan Char is an island in the Bay of Bengal that’s made of the mud that has collected there. Twenty years ago, the island didn’t exist. Bhashan Char is more than 18.5 miles (30 kilometers) away from the coast of Bangladesh and often gets flooded during the monsoon season.

Bangladesh’s government says it has spent $350 million to build up the island, creating living spaces, hospitals, and mosques. Some of that money went to make the island more secure and help protect it from floods.

On Friday, Bangladesh began moving people to Bhashan Char. Over 1,600 Rohingya people were taken to the island in boats belonging to the country’s navy.

On Friday, Bangladesh began moving people to Bhashan Char. Over 1,600 Rohingya people were taken to the island in boats belonging to the country’s navy. Some people were excited about moving to a place where the living spaces are more solid than tents.

Some people were excited about moving to a place where the living spaces are more solid than tents. It’s not clear that these people know exactly what’s waiting for them on Bhashan Char.

But many of the refugees said they didn’t want to go, but were forced to move. Bangladesh says that it plans to move 100,000 of the Rohingya refugees to Bhashan Char.

Many of the refugees said they didn’t want to go, but were forced to move. Bangladesh plans to move 100,000 Rohingya refugees to Bhashan Char. Many people are worried that flooding could put everyone on the island in danger.

The United Nations and groups that work to protect human rights are very worried about the plan. These groups have not been allowed to inspect the island. They worry that there is no way of knowing how the refugees will be treated on the island.

Many people are also still very worried that flooding could put everyone on the island in danger. Because the island is so far away from the mainland, there’s no chance of getting help quickly. The more people there are on the island, the larger the disaster could be.