Authorities in Bangladesh on Friday started sending a first group of more than 1,500 Rohingya refugees to an isolated island despite calls by human rights groups for a halt to the process.
The 1,642 refugees were boarding seven Bangladeshi naval vessels in the port of Chittagong for the trip to Bhashan Char, according to an official, who could not be named in accordance with local practice.
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Authorities in Bangladesh on Friday started sending a first group of more than 1,500 Rohingya refugees to an isolated island despite calls by human rights groups for a halt to the process.
Located 21 miles (34 kilometers) from the mainland, the island surfaced only 20 years ago and was never inhabited.
On Thursday, 11 passenger buses carrying refugees left Cox’s Bazar district on the way to the island, where they are expected to arrive after an overnight stopover, a government official involved with the process said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
FILE-In this Thursday, Dec. 19, 2019, file photo, newly built flood embankments stand near Bhasan Char, or floating island, in the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh.. Authorities in Bangladesh have begun relocating thousands of Rohingya refugees to an isolated island despite calls by human rights groups for a halt to the process. (AP PhotoSaleh Noman)
FILE- In this Thursday, Dec. 19, 2019 file photo, a newly constructed garbage bin stands by residential houses on Bhasan Char, or floating island, in the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh. Authorities in Bangladesh have begun relocating thousands of Rohingya refugees to an isolated island despite calls by human rights groups for a halt to the process. (AP PhotoSaleh Noman)
FILE- In this Thursday, Dec. 19, 2019, file photo, a common cooking area is seen inside a newly constructed building on Bhasan Char, or floating island, in the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh. Authorities in Bangladesh have begun relocating thousands of Rohingya refugees to an isolated island despite calls by human rights groups for a halt to the process. (AP PhotoSaleh Noman)
FILE-In this Thursday, Dec. 19, 2019, file photo, a ship container lies by the shores of Bhasan Char, or floating island, in the Bay of Bengal, Bangladeshh. Authorities in Bangladesh have begun relocating thousands of Rohingya refugees to an isolated island despite calls by human rights groups for a halt to the process. (AP PhotoSaleh Noman)
The island was once regularly submerged by monsoon rains but now has flood protection embankments, houses, hospitals and mosques built at a cost of more than $112 million by the Bangladesh navy.
Rohingya refugees board a ship as they are ferried to Bhasan Char, or floating island, in the Bay of Bengal, from Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, Friday, Dec. 4, 2020. Authorities in Bangladesh on Friday started sending a first group of nearly more than 1,500 Rohingya refugees to an isolated island despite calls by human rights groups for a halt to the process. (AP PhotoSaleh Noman)
Located 21 miles (34 kilometers) from the mainland, the island surfaced only 20 years ago and was never inhabited.
The United Nations has also voiced concern that refugees be allowed to make a “free and informed decision” about whether to relocate to the island in the Bay of Bengal.
The island’s facilities are built to accommodate 100,000 people, just a fraction of the million Rohingya Muslims who have fled waves of violent persecution in their native Myanmar and are currently living in crowded, squalid refugee camps.
Rohingya refugees board a ship as they are ferried to Bhasan Char, or floating island, in the Bay of Bengal, from Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, Friday, Dec. 4, 2020. Authorities in Bangladesh have begun relocating thousands of Rohingya refugees to an isolated island despite calls by human rights groups for a halt to the process. (AP PhotoSaleh Noman)
On Thursday, 11 passenger buses carrying refugees left Cox’s Bazar district on the way to the island, where they are expected to arrive after an overnight stopover, a government official involved with the process said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
He said “a few thousand” refugees were in the first batch. Authorities in Cox’s Bazar did not say how the refugees were selected for relocation.
FILE- In this Thursday, Dec. 19, 2019 file photo, a man walks past buildings on Bhasan Char, or floating island, in the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh. Authorities in Bangladesh have begun relocating thousands of Rohingya refugees to an isolated island despite calls by human rights groups for a halt to the process. (AP PhotoSaleh Noman)
FILE-In this Thursday, Dec. 19, 2019, file photo, newly built flood embankments stand near Bhasan Char, or floating island, in the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh.. Authorities in Bangladesh have begun relocating thousands of Rohingya refugees to an isolated island despite calls by human rights groups for a halt to the process. (AP PhotoSaleh Noman)
FILE- In this Thursday, Dec. 19, 2019 file photo, a newly constructed garbage bin stands by residential houses on Bhasan Char, or floating island, in the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh. Authorities in Bangladesh have begun relocating thousands of Rohingya refugees to an isolated island despite calls by human rights groups for a halt to the process. (AP PhotoSaleh Noman)
FILE- In this Thursday, Dec. 19, 2019, file photo, a common cooking area is seen inside a newly constructed building on Bhasan Char, or floating island, in the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh. Authorities in Bangladesh have begun relocating thousands of Rohingya refugees to an isolated island despite calls by human rights groups for a halt to the process. (AP PhotoSaleh Noman)
FILE-In this Thursday, Dec. 19, 2019, file photo, a ship container lies by the shores of Bhasan Char, or floating island, in the Bay of Bengal, Bangladeshh. Authorities in Bangladesh have begun relocating thousands of Rohingya refugees to an isolated island despite calls by human rights groups for a halt to the process. (AP PhotoSaleh Noman)