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- More than 35,000 Rohingya have been relocated to Bhasan Char since end of 2020
- It is illegal for refugees to leave the remote Bangladeshi island
DHAKA: Sebon Bahar’s fondest memories of Eid Al-Adha are the hug she
would share with her mother to celebrate the occasion, an experience
that has grown distant now that she is living on a remote Bangladeshi
island.
For the last three years, the Islamic holiday that is
synonymous with family gatherings has not felt the same for Bahar
following her move to Bhasan Char.
“My Eid celebrations remain
incomplete without this precious hug with my mother … Here on this
island, I miss this most during Eid as my mom is living at Cox’s Bazar,”
she told Arab News on Sunday.
“Without my family members,
especially my mother … I feel like it’s not a special day … I haven’t
seen my relatives who live in Cox’s Bazar for over three years.”
Bahar is among more than 35,000 Rohingya who since the end of 2020 have
been moved to Bhasan Char as authorities seek to ease pressure on the
congested camps at Cox’s Bazar, which is home to more than 1 million
refugees who fled violence and persecution in Myanmar.
Located in the Bay of Bengal, the island settlement is several hours by boat away from the mainland.
The fourth Eid Al-Adha on Bhasan Char has not eased the feeling of
isolation for its residents, many of whom are missing their extended
family even more during the Feast of Sacrifice as leaving the facility
is illegal for refugees on the island.
On Eid, Bahar said she
makes calls to relatives in an attempt to “feel the special day,” trying
to replicate the time she was still living in Cox’s Bazar, when the
holiday meant friends and families visiting each other and gossiping
over shared food.
While the 30-year-old is grateful for the
improved parts of her life in Bhasan Char, where there is more safety,
access to fresh seafood and good housing, refugees still struggle with a
lack of access to quality education, high cost of goods and also
inability to leave the island.
“There is no hope in this island
life, and also Cox’s Bazar camp life. I am living life with only one
hope nowadays, that one day I will be able to return to Myanmar with
citizenship rights,” Bahar said.
Eid celebrations are not the same for Mohammed Abdul Jalil either, as he celebrates his third such holiday on the island.
“Eid celebrations without relatives and family members here at Bhasan Char are boring to me,” Jalil told Arab News.
“Yes, we are in touch with each other through mobile phones, but having
chit-chat sitting face to face can’t be compared with two to three
minutes of mobile phone conversation. Visiting each other is the most
special thing we usually practice as part of Eid.”
He is hoping that the day comes soon when he can return to Myanmar.
“On this island, I just want to reside until our dignified repatriation
to our motherland with full rights. As a refugee on this island, I have
no other dream or expectations,” Jalil said.
In spite of the
hardships and uncertainties, many refugees try their best to make a
festive occasion such as Eid as special as possible.
“My Eid
celebrations center around the joy of my children, and I always try to
do my best to make the day special for my children,” Monira Begum said.
Like Bahar and Jalil, Eid for Begum was also about spending time and
sharing food with her extended family — an experience she has not been
able to have for the last four years in Bhasan Char.
As she
prepares for Eid Al-Adha, which will be observed on Monday in
Bangladesh, Begum plans to make traditional snacks for her family.
“I have powdered rice grain to make our traditional snacks, sweet
sticky rice cake. I bought some clothes for my children, cosmetics for
my daughters, though I am unable to offer a sacrificial animal … This is
how I am going to celebrate Eid this year,” Begum said.
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