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Episode: KPN 10-04-2024
We are working hand-in-hand together to reduce gender-based violence in the camps Mr. Md Shamsud Douza is the Deputy Secretary of the Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner (RRRC) Office in […]
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Why a Japanese non-profit is training Rohingya refugees?
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.
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.
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.
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