Bangladesh is racing to turn an uninhabited and muddy Bay of Bengal
island into home for 100,000 Rohingya Muslims who have fled a military
crackdown in Myanmar, amid conflicting signals from top Bangladeshi
officials about whether the refugees would end up being stranded there.
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said on Monday Feb 19,2018 that putting Rohingya on the low-lying island would be a "temporary arrangement" to ease congestion at the camps in Cox's Bazar, refuge for nearly 700,000 who have crossed from the north of Myanmar's Rakhine state since the end of August 2017
British and Chinese engineers are helping prepare the island to receive refugees before the onset of monsoon rains, which could bring disastrous flooding to ramshackle camps further south that now teem with about 1 million Rohingya. The rains could start as early as late April 2018
Ferries that carry construction materials at Vashan Char, previously known as Thengar Char island
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said in a statement: "We would emphasise that any relocation plan involving refugees would need to be based on and implemented through voluntary and informed decisions."
Humanitarian agencies criticised the plan to bring Rohingya to the island when it was first proposed in 2015. Aid workers who spoke to Reuters said they remain seriously concerned that the silt island is vulnerable to frequent cyclones and cannot sustain livelihoods for thousands of people.
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said on Monday Feb 19,2018 that putting Rohingya on the low-lying island would be a "temporary arrangement" to ease congestion at the camps in Cox's Bazar, refuge for nearly 700,000 who have crossed from the north of Myanmar's Rakhine state since the end of August 2017
British and Chinese engineers are helping prepare the island to receive refugees before the onset of monsoon rains, which could bring disastrous flooding to ramshackle camps further south that now teem with about 1 million Rohingya. The rains could start as early as late April 2018
Ferries that carry construction materials at Vashan Char, previously known as Thengar Char island
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said in a statement: "We would emphasise that any relocation plan involving refugees would need to be based on and implemented through voluntary and informed decisions."
Humanitarian agencies criticised the plan to bring Rohingya to the island when it was first proposed in 2015. Aid workers who spoke to Reuters said they remain seriously concerned that the silt island is vulnerable to frequent cyclones and cannot sustain livelihoods for thousands of people.
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