World News for Students of English

09-12-2020 07:00

Hundreds of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh are being relocated to an island about 40 kilometers off the coast of Bangladesh to a controversial island facility in the Bay of Bengal.

The Rohingya are a Muslim minority group that fled from Myanmar after a military-led action in 2017.

The Bangladeshi government spent years constructing 120 shelters on the island that could accommodate up to 100,000 people who are currently living in refugee camps near the Myanmar border. Overcrowded camps are home to about 1 million Rohingya refugees.

However, human right groups and the refugees themselves expressed concerns over the safety of the uninhabited island. It is a low-lying island and it often becomes partially submerged during monsoon season. According to human rights groups, there is a lack of adequate medical care and education.

Bangladesh has started moving Rohingya families to the island; however, human rights officials complain that they were being forced without their consent.

Difficult words: accommodate (to have room, to help), uninhabited (a place where live no people), submerged (covered with water), consent (agreement or permission for something to happen).

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