plan is to bring all family members to Bhasan Char.
Due to lack of network, I could not even talk for one minute with my daughter.
My husband is in prison in Myanmar, my daughter is in Bhasan Char, and the
rest of us are here in the camp. So, the lockdown due to Coronavirus and the
lack of internet access have greatly affected our relationships and
communication with our family members.
A 50-year-old man in Camp 15 reported that he missed meeting his new
grandchild due to the lockdown:
When my
daughter gave birth at home in another camp, she and her
husband were unable to share the news with us at first, due to the internet
access problems. After we got the news, we
could not visit them due to the
movement restrictions. Also, we weren’t able to financially support them
during this time, because we are no longer earning any money.
A 62-year-old man living in Camp 16 who has three children living abroad
explained that long-distance communication has also become more challenging:
It is difficult to communicate with my sons due to the weak internet access. I
have two kids in Saudi Arabia and another one in Malaysia. I used to get
financial support from them easily but now, I can't move freely and also, they
can't transfer money. They have been earning less money during the lockdown
period, therefore I face a lot of difficulties.
It is very difficult to get support
from those who are out of the country, and communication is very limited by
phone. Before, I communicated to all my sons by IMO and WhatsApp. Now, it’s
not possible to use those apps due to
lack of internet access.
A 54-year-old woman in Camp 16 whose husband passed away during the
lockdown shared that she was unable to arrange his funeral:
When my husband died, we had
difficulty informing my relatives due to
the lockdown and lack of internet access. Before my husband died, he tried
hard to go visit his relatives and villagers, but couldn't because of the
lockdown. Right now my mother is really sick in another camp, and
I want to
visit her there, but I can't.
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