By Bill Frelick (Washington Post
The world’s largest refugee camp, a densely packed
agglomeration of bamboo and tarp huts with 626,000 people, sits near Cox’s
Bazar in Bangladesh. It expanded rapidly and haphazardly following an ethnic
cleansing campaign against the Rohingya minority in Myanmar last August.
The Bangladesh navy and Chinese construction crews have
prepared Bhasan Char, an uninhabited island in the Bay of Bengal, for the
transfer of 100,000 refugees from the Cox’s Bazar area. The relocation is set
to begin in September. In May, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Shaikh Hasina
reportedly said that because Bangladesh is a disaster-prone country, “measures
are being taken for their temporary shelter in Bhasan Char. They’ll stay there
until they are repatriated.”
As recently as 1999, Bhasan Char did not even exist.
Formed by silt from Bangladesh’s Meghna River, the flat mangrove and grass
island has been unstable and uninhabitable with a rapidly shifting shoreline
for the past 20 years. Reuters reported in March that “nearby islands have
tidal ranges as high as six meters [19.7 feet], and a strong cyclone during a
high tide would likely leave the entire island submerged, according to Golam
Mahabub Sarwar of Bangladesh’s Ministry of Land”.
Bhasan Char area is not sustainable for human habitation
and could be seriously affected by rising sea levels and storm surges
“Our entire village came together and settled on this
spot,” said a 19-year-old refugee who arrived in September. “At first this was
a jungle, but we cleared it. Now there are no trees.”
Monsoon season is here, and high winds and flooding are
happening now. For months, the refugees have been busily shoring up their huts,
but the camp remains vulnerable. More than 215,000 refugees in the Cox’s Bazar
area are at risk of landslides and flooding, according to the UN, with only
about 21,000 having been relocated from highest-risk locations and 22,000 still
at very high risk of landslides.
It is crucial to relocate the Rohingya refugees to places
in Bangladesh with fewer environmental risks and adequate standards of
services. But a proposed alternative by the authorities is likely far more
dangerous.
Bhasan Char is not sustainable for human habitation and
could be seriously affected by rising sea levels and storm surges. It most
likely would have very limited access to education and health services, and
extremely limited opportunities for livelihoods or self-sufficiency. It would
unnecessarily isolate refugees. The Bangladeshi government has made no commitment
to allow refugees’ freedom of movement in and out of the island. Moreover,
refugees have not consented to move there.
What is more, Bhasan Char is not the only option for
relocation. According to experts who spoke with Human Rights Watch, there are
six feasible relocation sites that could accommodate 263,000 people closer to
the existing camp and within the containment area the government has designated
to limit free movement of refugees. Although the risk of cyclones and storm
surges remains in the coastal areas, these sites consist of scrubland in gentle
slopes, which mitigates the risk of landslides.
The refugees I interviewed all expressed their preference
to go back to Myanmar, but only when conditions allowed them to return
voluntarily: Citizenship, recognition of their Rohingya identity, justice for
crimes committed against them, return of homes and property and assurances of
security, peace and respect for their rights.
That is not going to happen anytime soon. In the
meantime, the Bangladeshi authorities should consult the refugees and
facilitate the voluntary relocation of those who want to leave the mega camp to
smaller, less densely packed camps on flat, accessible land nearby. This offers
the best prospect for maintaining a sustainable, dignified life until it is
safe to go home.
More about Thengar Chor Island; Please read here.