DHAKA: Sebon Bahar’s fondest memory of Eid al-Adha is the hug she shared with her mother on the occasion, an experience she has missed since she lives on a remote island in Bangladesh.
For Bahar, the Islamic holiday that marks family reunions hasn’t felt the same for the past three years since she moved to Bhasan Char.
“My Eid celebrations would be incomplete without this precious hug from my mother… Here on this island, this is what I miss the most during Eid as my mother lives in Cox’s Bazar,” she told Arab News on Sunday.
“Without my family members, especially my mother… it doesn’t feel like a special day… I haven’t seen my relatives who live in Cox’s Bazar for over three years.”
Bahar is one of more than 35,000 Rohingya who have been relocated to Bhasan Char since late 2020 as authorities seek to ease pressure on overcrowded camps in Cox’s Bazar, which is home to more than 1 million refugees who fled violence and persecution in Myanmar.
The island settlement, located in the Bay of Bengal, is several hours by boat from the mainland.
The fourth Feast of Sacrifice on Bhasan Char has not alleviated the residents’ sense of isolation. Many miss their extended families even more during the Feast of Sacrifice, as it is illegal for refugees on the island to leave the facility.
Bahar said she calls her relatives on Eid to “feel this special day,” trying to remember the days when she lived in Cox’s Bazar, when the holiday meant friends and families visiting each other and gossiping over meals.
While the 30-year-old is grateful for the improvements in her life in Bhasan Char, where she is safer and has access to fresh seafood and good housing, refugees still struggle with a lack of access to quality education, the high cost of goods and the inability to leave the island.
“Life on this island and in the Cox’s Bazar camp is hopeless. I live only with the hope that one day I can return to Myanmar with citizenship rights,” Bahar said.
For Mohammed Abdul Jalil, the Eid celebrations are not the same either, as this is the third time he has celebrated this holiday on the island.
“I am bored with Eid celebrations without relatives and family members here at Bhasan Char,” Jalil told Arab News.
“Yes, we are in touch with each other through mobile phones, but a face-to-face chat cannot be compared to a two- to three-minute conversation on a mobile phone. Visiting each other is the special thing we usually do as part of Eid.”
He hopes that the day will soon come when he can return to Myanmar.
“I just want to stay on this island until we return to our homeland with dignity and all rights. As a refugee on this island, I have no other dreams or expectations,” said Jalil.
Despite the hardships and uncertainties, many refugees try their best to make a festive occasion like Eid as special as possible.
“My Eid celebrations revolve around the joy of my children and I always try my best to make this day special for my children,” said Monira Begum.
Like for Bahar and Jalil, for Begum, Eid was about spending time with her extended family and sharing meals together – an experience she had not been able to have in Bhasan Char for the past four years.
As she prepares for Eid Al-Adha, celebrated in Bangladesh on Monday, Begum plans to prepare traditional snacks for her family.
“I have ground rice grains to prepare our traditional snacks, sweet sticky rice cakes. I have bought some clothes for my children, cosmetics for my daughters, but I cannot sacrifice any animal… This is how I will celebrate Eid this year,” Begum said.