Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Neptune to Launch a Creator-First, Customizable Algorithm Social Platform to Rival TikTok

11 hours ago

Kamala Harris Will Not Run for Governor of California in 2026

12 hours ago

Trump Pushes for Release of Epstein, Maxwell Grand Jury Testimony

14 hours ago

Trump Says US to Hit India With 25% Tariff Starting Friday

14 hours ago

Tariff Revenues Hit Record $150 Billion Amid Trump’s Trade Talks, Fox Business Reports

16 hours ago

Israeli Minister Hints at Annexing Parts of Gaza

16 hours ago

Fed Likely to Hold Rates Steady Despite Trump’s Push for Big Cuts

16 hours ago

What’s Behind California’s Frozen Housing Market?

1 day ago

Marjorie Taylor Greene Is First Republican Lawmaker to Call Gaza Crisis a ‘Genocide’

2 days ago
First Rohingya Refugees Arrive at Isolated Bangladesh Island
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 5 years ago on
December 4, 2020

Share

DHAKA, Bangladesh — Authorities in Bangladesh on Friday sent the first group of more than 1,500 Rohingya refugees to an isolated island despite calls by human rights groups for a halt to the process.

The 1,642 refugees boarded seven Bangladeshi naval vessels in the port of Chittagong for the trip to Bhashan Char, according to an official who could not be named in accordance with local practice.

After about a three-hour trip they arrived at the island, which was once regularly submerged by monsoon rains but now has flood protection embankments, houses, hospitals and mosques built at a cost of more than $112 million by the Bangladesh navy.

Located 21 miles from the mainland, the island surfaced only 20 years ago and was never inhabited.

Saleh Noman, a Bangladeshi journalist who traveled with the refugees, said by phone from the island that the refugees were given rice, eggs and chickens for lunch after their body temperatures were measured by health workers as a coronavirus precaution.

Before they boarded the ships they were also given face masks to protect against COVID-19.

The island’s facilities are built to accommodate 100,000 people, just a fraction of the million Rohingya Muslims who have fled waves of violent persecution in their native Myanmar and are currently living in crowded, squalid refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar district.

The United Nations has voiced concern that refugees be allowed to make a “free and informed decision” about whether to relocate to the island in the Bay of Bengal.

The director of infrastructure development on Bhashan Char, Commodore Abdullah Al Mamun Chowdhury, told reporters on the island that the international community has nothing to worry about regarding the safety of the refugees.

On Thursday, 11 Passenger Buses Carrying the Refugees Left Cox’s Bazar on the Way to the Island

He said he expects that the U.N. and others would be convinced about the overall arrangements after visiting the island. Asked when that would be, he answered that the government is working on it.

On Thursday, 11 passenger buses carrying the refugees left Cox’s Bazar on the way to the island. They camped overnight in school buildings in the southeastern city of Chittagong.

Authorities in Cox’s Bazar did not say how the refugees were selected for relocation.

About 700,000 Rohingya fled to the camps in Cox’s Bazar after August 2017, when the military in Buddhist-majority Myanmar began a harsh crackdown on the Muslim group following an attack by insurgents. The crackdown included rapes, killings and the torching of thousands of homes, and was termed ethnic cleansing by global rights groups and the U.N.

Foreign media have not been permitted to visit the island.

Contractors say its infrastructure is like a modern township, with multifamily concrete homes, schools, playgrounds and roads. It also has solar-power facilities, a water supply system and cyclone shelters.

International aid agencies and the U.N. have vehemently opposed the relocation since it was first proposed in 2015, expressing fear that a big storm could overwhelm the island and endanger thousands of lives.

The U.N. said in a statement Wednesday that it has not been involved in preparations for the relocation or the selection of refugees and has limited information about the overall plan.

“The United Nations takes this opportunity to highlight its longstanding position that Rohingya refugees must be able to make a free and informed decision about relocating to Bhasan Char based upon relevant, accurate and updated information,” it said.

The Current Refugee Camps Near the Town of Cox’s Bazar Are Overcrowded and Unhygienic

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch on Thursday urged the government to cancel the relocation plan.

The current refugee camps near the town of Cox’s Bazar are overcrowded and unhygienic. Disease and organized crime are rampant. Education is limited and refugees are not allowed to work.

Still, most Rohingya are unwilling to return to Myanmar due to safety concerns. Government officials didn’t have an estimate of how many refugees would be willing to be relocated to the island.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has repeatedly told the U.N. and other international partners that her administration would consult them before making a final decision on the relocation, and that no refugees would be forced to move.

Bangladesh attempted to start sending refugees back to Myanmar under a bilateral framework last November, but no one was willing to go.

The Rohingya are not recognized as citizens in Myanmar, rendering them stateless, and face other forms of state-sanctioned discrimination.

A U.N.-sponsored investigation in 2018 recommended the prosecution of Myanmar’s top military commanders on charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity for the violence against the Rohingya.

Myanmar is defending itself in the International Court of Justice in the Hague, Netherlands, after the West African nation of Gambia brought a case backed by the Organization for Islamic Cooperation, Canada and the Netherlands over the crackdown.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Jet Crashes in Fresno County Field, Pilot Aided by EMS

DON'T MISS

Madera Man Sentenced to 34 Years to Life in Fresno Murder Case

DON'T MISS

High Noon Recalls Mislabeled Vodka Seltzers Shipped in Celsius Cans, NBC Reports

DON'T MISS

Wired Wednesday: New Fresno Ordinance Targets Vacant Blighted Properties

DON'T MISS

Fresno Unified Trustee Susan Wittrup Responds to $162,000 Payout

DON'T MISS

Visalia Suspect in Fatal Assault and Serial Sexual Battery Cases Arrested in Alaska

DON'T MISS

Canada Says It Intends to Recognize a Palestinian State in September

DON'T MISS

Dubai Nut Processor Aims for October Opening in Fresno: Dyer

DON'T MISS

Costa Blasts GOP Over Medi-Cal Cuts. His 2026 Opponent Defends Them

DON'T MISS

Trump Says US and Pakistan Have Concluded a Trade Deal

UP NEXT

Trump Says US and Pakistan Have Concluded a Trade Deal

UP NEXT

How Netanyahu Keeps Playing Trump for a Fool in Gaza

UP NEXT

Trump Signs Order Implementing Additional 40% Tariff on Brazil, White House Says

UP NEXT

Trump Says US to Hit India With 25% Tariff Starting Friday

UP NEXT

Israeli Minister Hints at Annexing Parts of Gaza

UP NEXT

Russia Has Developed Immunity to Sanctions, Kremlin Says After Trump Tightens Ceasefire Deadline

UP NEXT

Marjorie Taylor Greene Is First Republican Lawmaker to Call Gaza Crisis a ‘Genocide’

UP NEXT

UK Will Recognize Palestinian Statehood in September, Barring Israel-Hamas Ceasefire

UP NEXT

New Gallup Poll Reveals Most Immoral Behaviors In America

UP NEXT

How Israel’s War With Hamas Became Unjust

Wired Wednesday: New Fresno Ordinance Targets Vacant Blighted Properties

9 hours ago

Fresno Unified Trustee Susan Wittrup Responds to $162,000 Payout

9 hours ago

Visalia Suspect in Fatal Assault and Serial Sexual Battery Cases Arrested in Alaska

9 hours ago

Canada Says It Intends to Recognize a Palestinian State in September

10 hours ago

Dubai Nut Processor Aims for October Opening in Fresno: Dyer

10 hours ago

Costa Blasts GOP Over Medi-Cal Cuts. His 2026 Opponent Defends Them

10 hours ago

Trump Says US and Pakistan Have Concluded a Trade Deal

10 hours ago

Trump Imposes Scaled-Back Copper Tariff, US Prices Plunge

11 hours ago

Neptune to Launch a Creator-First, Customizable Algorithm Social Platform to Rival TikTok

11 hours ago

Kamala Harris Will Not Run for Governor of California in 2026

12 hours ago

Jet Crashes in Fresno County Field, Pilot Aided by EMS

Emergency crews responded Wednesday evening after a jet crashed into a field in Fresno County, authorities said. The crash was reported arou...

4 hours ago

4 hours ago

Jet Crashes in Fresno County Field, Pilot Aided by EMS

Lavale Vean Jr., 28, was sentenced Wednesday, July 30, 2025, to 34 years to life in prison for the 2017 murder of Roberto Ramos in Fresno. (Fresno County SO)
7 hours ago

Madera Man Sentenced to 34 Years to Life in Fresno Murder Case

High Noon has recalled some vodka seltzers after they were accidentally labeled as Celsius energy drinks and shipped to six states. (Shutterstock)
8 hours ago

High Noon Recalls Mislabeled Vodka Seltzers Shipped in Celsius Cans, NBC Reports

9 hours ago

Wired Wednesday: New Fresno Ordinance Targets Vacant Blighted Properties

Fresno Unified Susan Wittrup
9 hours ago

Fresno Unified Trustee Susan Wittrup Responds to $162,000 Payout

Adrian Hernandez Medrano, 20, accused in multiple sexual battery cases and a fatal assault in Visalia was arrested in Alaska, police said. (Visalia PD)
9 hours ago

Visalia Suspect in Fatal Assault and Serial Sexual Battery Cases Arrested in Alaska

Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks to journalists outside his office on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada June 30, 2025. (Reuters File)
10 hours ago

Canada Says It Intends to Recognize a Palestinian State in September

10 hours ago

Dubai Nut Processor Aims for October Opening in Fresno: Dyer

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend