FILE PHOTO: Rohingya refugees sit on wooden benches of a navy vessel on their way to the Bhasan Char island in Noakhali district, Bangladesh, December 29, 2020. REUTERS/Mohammad Ponir Hossain/File Photo
TOKYO: Bhasan Char, an island about 60 km from Bangladesh's mainland, is home to 35,000 Rohingyas fleeing persecution and violence in Myanmar.
The Bangladeshi government has been relocating them to the remote, cyclone-hit island from the town of Cox’s Bazar - one of the world’s largest refugee camps - since 2020.
The aim is to accommodate a total of 100,000 refugees in Bhasan Char, and they are getting help from Japanese non-profit group Nippon Foundation to do so.
The organisation will also help the refugees learn new skills. In December, it pledged US$3 million to that end.
Young men will learn to maintain and repair motorcycles, while women will be taught handicrafts and how to use a sewing machine.
After making his first visit to the island this month, Nippon Foundation chairman Yohei Sasakawa announced another US$2 million in funding.
“One day, when they go back to their hometown, we want them to be able to live independently. For that, we want them to acquire skills and to have a dream,” he told CNA.
He added that they will learn how to fish in the sea, how to breed sheep and chickens, and perform marine and modern farming.
The aim is to accommodate a total of 100,000 refugees in Bhasan Char, and they are getting help from Japanese non-profit group Nippon Foundation to do so.
The organisation will also help the refugees learn new skills. In December, it pledged US$3 million to that end.
Young men will learn to maintain and repair motorcycles, while women will be taught handicrafts and how to use a sewing machine.
After making his first visit to the island this month, Nippon Foundation chairman Yohei Sasakawa announced another US$2 million in funding.
“One day, when they go back to their hometown, we want them to be able to live independently. For that, we want them to acquire skills and to have a dream,” he told CNA.
He added that they will learn how to fish in the sea, how to breed sheep and chickens, and perform marine and modern farming.
IMPROVED SAFETY ON BHASAN CHAR
The relocation of the refugees to Bhasan Char was initially opposed by rights groups due to its tendency to flood during the monsoon season.
They were also concerned that the island, which was then flat and featureless, had never been inhabited and is vulnerable to frequent cyclones.
The island was formed by sediment at the mouth of Bangladesh’s Meghna River. It emerged from the sea as one of several shifting, unstable islands, or “chars” as they are known locally.
But Mr Sasakawa noticed during his visit that embankments had been built, as well as structures refugees can use for evacuation. There are also medical facilities in each zone.
They were also concerned that the island, which was then flat and featureless, had never been inhabited and is vulnerable to frequent cyclones.
The island was formed by sediment at the mouth of Bangladesh’s Meghna River. It emerged from the sea as one of several shifting, unstable islands, or “chars” as they are known locally.
But Mr Sasakawa noticed during his visit that embankments had been built, as well as structures refugees can use for evacuation. There are also medical facilities in each zone.
With safety issues addressed, family planning has emerged as a more urgent problem as many babies are being born, Mr Sasakawa said
“The birth rate is 3.71. I told the leaders there about this. I am not sure if I know enough. But this is something that should be considered,” he said.
HOPES FOR THE ROHINGYA
As a Japanese government envoy for national reconciliation in Myanmar, Mr Sasakawa brokered a ceasefire between the Myanmar military and the ethnic Arakan Army in 2022 in Rakhine State, which the Rohingya had called home.
But this peace has since been broken.
“Until around November 20 last year, there was not one shot. But just as we were about to observe one year since (the ceasefire), unfortunately, combat resumed,” Mr Sasakawa said.
“Currently, it is in chaos. For the time being, it is not a suitable environment to return to. Meanwhile, I wish the Rohingya will keep up their hopes and pursue their lives in Bhasan Char.”
Rakhine is infamously known for being a state where more than 700,000 Rohingyas were driven out during a violent military crackdown in 2017.
Although the Japanese government does not recognise the Myanmar military regime, it continues to provide humanitarian aid through international and non-governmental organisations.
Since the coup in February 2021, Japan has provided US$109.5 million.
In response to appeals for more aid, it pledged an additional US$37 million in March to improve nutrition for pregnant women and babies, medical services, and support victims of drug trafficking and their rehabilitation.
Source: CNA/ja(lt)
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