Bhasan Char getting new shape

Gulam Rabbani, back from Bhasan Char :
The first batch of the Rohingya people came to Bhasan Char, a remote Bay of Bengal island under Noakhali district, in December last year with an unknown apprehension. But the facilities which have been given to the Rohingyas who came to this island reduced that fear from many of them.
In Bhasan Char the Rohingya people have been provided comparatively comfortable accommodation, sufficient food items and regular medical treatments. They are mainly living here in pucca houses. Some of them have started farming in the island and some have started animal husbandry.
A section of Rohingya women are undergoing training in sewing in the island. Bangladesh Rural Development Board (BRDB) has taken various steps to train them in different subjects.
However, talking to Rohingya people reveals some common problems. They complain that they do not get bathing soap. Mosquito menace is another big problem in the Bhasan Char. They need sufficient mosquito nets.
Hafiz Ahmed, a Rohingya people who came to Bhasan Char with the first batch. He said, “Many of our members died of lacking of proper treatment. We need proper treatment and sufficient medicine. There is no school in Bhasan Char for our children.”
Yasin Arafat, another member of the Rohingya refugees, said mosquito menace is a big problem for the Rohingyas in the Bhasan Char. Red Crescent Society, a charity organization, has distributed some mosquito nets but we need more, added Arafat.
He also said, “We don’t have a fan though the weather is very hot here. That is why most of the Rohingyas suffering from skin diseases. We don’t get bathing soap. The generator is turned off at 9.00 pm, so we have to stay in the dark at rest of the night.”
Government officials working in the Bhasan Char said the Rohingya people in the island are not facing any big problem. They have some minor problems which would be solved gradually.
According to the Refugee, Relief and Repatriation Commissioner (RRRC) office, a total of 18,538 Rohingya people, belong to 4572 families, have been shifted to Bhasan Char in six phases so far. Around 50 percent of the total people are woman.
The government is trying to fulfill all the responsibilities including their food, accommodation and security. Different contingents of Bangladesh Navy, Police and Coast Guard are working to ensure the security of the island. They are given food assistances in a regular basis, said Ranjan Chandra Day, Camp in Charge of RRRC office for Bhasan Char.
Sources said, the government started the Asrayan-3 project at Bhasan Char to rehabilitate about one lakh Rohingya people. The Bangladesh Navy has prepared the Tk 3,100-crore housing project, after some 750,000 Rohingyas fled a brutal military campaign in Myanmar’s Rakhine state and took shelter in Cox’s Bazar in the months following August 2017.
Government officials working in the Bhasan Char said the island has been prepared in the meantime to accommodate more Rohingya people. A police station has already been launched in Bhasan Char to see the law and order situation in the island.
About 26 non-governmental charity organizations including BRAC, Qatar Charity, Islamic Relief and Red Crescent are working with the Rohingya people living there. Gonoshasthaya Kendra, Friendship, RTMI and some other organizations have established private clinics in Bhasan Char along with a government hospital to give health service to the Rohingyas.
During a recent visit on May 5 this year it was seen in the Bhasan Char that most of the Rohingya people were spending lazy time as they didn’t have any regular work to do. Many men and women were seen sitting on the corridors of the clustered pucca houses of the island, some were sitting under the trees. The children were swaying in the cradle.
Thousands of men and women were seen standing under a big warehouse for relief food. It was learnt that Qatar Charity, an International Charity Organization, distributed foodstuffs as an urgent relief to the 3600 members of the Rohingya refugees. The food items were distributed in Bhasan Char in the presence and under the supervision of the responsible government officials. Osman Bashir, Program Director of the Qatar Charity, and other representatives were present on the occasion.
Osman Bashir told The New Nation that “Qatar Charity has been working to provide humanitarian assistance to the Rohingya refugees. The organization has been providing various assistances including food distribution after the Rohingya crisis had started.”
Meanwhile, long lines of men, women and children were seen before the government and private hospitals in Bhasan Char. They had been provided primary treatments there. Rohingyas are sent to Noakhali Sadar hospital if any critical surgery is needed.
Dr Md Kamrul Hassan and Dr Md Ferdousur Rahman, two doctors of the Bhasan Char government hospital, said they were treating all types of patient if there was no major complexity. Rohingyas are given treatment and medicine without any cost, added the medical officers.