Despite repeated calls from human rights groups for Bangladeshi authorities to remove more than 300 refugees from the island of Bhasan Char (see 10 July Bangladesh update on this platform), The Guardian reports that in early December the country began moving even more Rohingya families from camps near the Myanmar border to the controversial refugee site it constructed on the island. More than 1,600 Rohingya refugees departed the port of Chittagong on Friday 4 December en route to the island, which is located in the Bay of Bengal–joining the 300 Rohingya refugees who have been there since April (see 24 September Bangladesh update on this platform). According to The Guardian, there have been allegations of sexual assaults made against guards and videos have emerged of women screaming to be allowed to return to the mainland.
While refugees are being told that NGOs operating in the mainland camps would also help on Bhasan Char, the UN has not yet agreed to work on the island and on 2 December, UNHCR stated that it had not been involved in the relocations and requested that the Bangladeshi authorities allow an urgent assessment of the island. A refugee camp leader staying in Kutupalong camp said: “We went to the island and I am pretty satisfied with the arrangements there. They have better housing, mosques and madrasas, markets. And the government promised there’ll be no lack of aid and support from the UN and other agencies.” According to Human Rights Watch and Fortify Rights, some refugees have gone into hiding when they discovered that their names were on the lists for relocation.
On 31 July, WHO reported over 3,361 COVID-19 cases in Cox’s Bazar. UNHCR is providing support and distributing sanitary products in camps it manages. The refugee agency reports that it has installed 65,400 hand washing taps, distributed soap to over 80,0000 households, and made over 1.4 million announcements by megaphone, audio/USB sticks, and via mosques. In addition, some 14,250 elderly care kits have been distributed throughout UNHCR managed camps in Bangladesh and refugee community outreach volunteers have conducted 2,805 training sessions for a total of 6,585 refugees.
- K. Ahmed & R. Ahmed, “Bangladesh Begins Moving Rohingya Families to Remote Island,” The Guardian, 4 December 2020, https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/dec/03/bangladesh-begins-moving-rohingya-families-to-remote-island
- UNHCR, “Bangladesh / Refugee Response: COVID-19 Response (16-31 July 2020),” 10 August 2020, https://reliefweb.int/report/bangladesh/bangladesh-refugee-response-covid-19-response-16-31-july-2020
