Shut Down Bhasan Char After the Latest Sinking
Yesterday’s boat disaster off Bhasan Char should end all talk of the island as a “humanitarian solution.”
A small launch ferrying sick Rohingya to the mainland capsized. At least eight people are feared dead. Bhasan Char’s remote location, flimsy boats and chronic shortage of medical evacuation options turned an ordinary medical transfer into a fatal gamble. It is stupid to call this an accident - it’s the inevitable outcome of an experiment that warehouses thousands of refugees on a silt island with razor-thin services and virtually no freedom of movement.
I’ve sketched the full case for shutting the project down in a new Op-Ed for Counterpoint BD (a fresh publication led by the former editor of the Dhaka Tribune, Zafar Sobhan) entitled “Shut Down Bhasan Char Now.”
Until rights, safe transport and real medical care exist, every boat that leaves those shores will carry the risk of another headline like yesterday’s.
If you care about refugees or basic human dignity, please read and share the article. The link is here: https://counterpointbd.com/shut-down-bhasan-char-now.
This video shows the boat that sank.