Relocation of the Rohingya refugees to the Bhasan Char island

The issue of Rohinga refugee’s repatriation to Myanmar has been a looming issue for the last 3
years & the recent relocation of the refugees to Bashan Char has attracted international attention.
Various human rights activities are condemning the relocation. However, I believe it was an
effective decision by the Bangladesh government to move on with the relocation keeping the
greater good in mind.

One of the arguments the human rights activist & opposition points is such relocation will make
repatriation to Myanmar difficult. According to BNP secretary Mirza Fakhrul, the relocation
process is suicidal & will jeopardize Bangladesh sovereignty (“BNP: Rohingyas relocation a
suicidal process,” 2020). However, this case has been on point since when Myanmar disowned
the Rohingyas. Over the past years and there was no effort by Myanmar to take back the
refugees. Since Myanmar neglected it, Bangladesh despite being a developing country opened
doors and later established Bashan Char to provide better shelter as well as appease the
Bangladeshi citizens. If they were not relocated two major problems would happen Increased
crimes among refugees & poor healthcare facilities. This relocation will not jeopardize
Bangladesh’s sovereignty as it separates the refugees to a different location for their good.

The claims also say that the Rohingya refugees have been forced to a remote island that is prone
to flooding. Although this is true that the location is flood-prone but so are the maximum regions
in Bangladesh. Most of the regions in Bangladesh are flood-prone due to Bangladesh being
located in coastal geography. Moreover, the issue of having no facilities is not accurate as the
government has ensured more than enough facilities for the refugees. The government has
established Bashan Char with adequate housing & living condition with about 31 billion taka as
funding (Bashar, 2020, para 5). Earlier they lived in gruesome conditions with a lack of food &
medication. Most refugees satisfied and they intend to bring back associates. So ultimately the
relocation was well planned to keep the benefits of all parties in mind.
One other argument put forth is about the UN was not able to do adequate technical assessments
& ensuing voluntary relocation (“Bangladesh: Halt Rohinga Relocations to Remote Island,”
2020, para 3). The issue of assessment here and being rejected several times by the UN has
become a persisting problem. Bangladesh does not have the capacity nor the resources to pull off
an all secured facility with no problems for the refugees. While it is very easy for outside sources
to claim that such relocation is not safe, in reality, there are several factors that need to be
sacrificed to see the greater good.

Bangladesh has done much more for refugees than Myanmar. While Bangladesh has opened the
border to the refugees but it must protect its national interest first and also keep in mind the
limitations in terms of recourses and funding. Instead of forcing the blame on Bangladesh, the
international bodies should come forward with aid to Bangladesh.
 References

1. Bangladesh: Halt Rohinga Relocations to Remote Island. (2020, December 3). Human Rights
Watch. Retrieved December 8, 2020, from
https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/12/03/bangladesh-halt-rohingya-relocations-remote-
island

2. Bashar, R. (2020, December 5) Bhasan Char comes alive with Rohingya residents. Now they
want to bring in more refugees. Bdnews24. Retrieved December 8, 2020, from
https://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/2020/12/05/bhasan-char-comes-alive-with-rohingya-
residents.-now-they-want-to-bring-in-more-refugees

3. BNP: Rohingya relocation a suicidal process. (2020, December 7). DhakaTribune. Retrieved
December 8, 2020, from
https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/politics/2020/12/07/bnp-rohingya-relocation-
a-suicidal-process