While humanitarian and storm experts question whether the island is habitable and safe, officials say its embankments, homes, and cyclone shelters are better than anything available to millions of Bangladeshis. 69 State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam told The Guardian in 2019 that “a category 10 cyclone will not just impact them [the refugees moved to the island], it will impact 20% of our population … We are vulnerable anyway, so they won’t be any more vulnerable.” 70 Statements like these are highly disingenuous. Bangladesh’s emergency management system relies primarily on effective mass evacuation, which would be impossible from Bhasan Char during rough weather when evacuation would be most critical. For example, when category 5 cyclone Amphan was initially heading directly for Bangladesh in May 2020, India and Bangladesh evacuated over two million people from the coasts. 71 However, Bangladesh authorities left those living on Bhasan Char—at that point 306 refugees and approximately 300 Bangladesh security officials—to fend for themselves. 72 Bangladesh government officials have sought to assuage concerns by pointing to the larger cement buildings on the island, which are meant to serve as storm shelters. While these shelters may be able to withstand a storm, the government has not explained how they will ensure refugees have access after a storm to safe shelter, food, water, and medical supplies. All of these could be destroyed or compromised in a cyclone, especially if the storm surge overtakes the island’s embankment. Project director Sattar told AFP that there are currently three months’ worth of supplies on the island in case of a disaster, but it remains unclear what precautions authorities have taken to secure those supplies, or protect water sources, which would almost certainly be compromised in the event of major seawater flooding. 73 69 “Dr. Enamur Rahman,” Deutsche Welle, May 3, 2020, https://bit.ly/3uwmAlZ (accessed April 15, 2021). 70 Sarah Marsh, “Bangladesh Prepares to Move Rohingya to Island at Risk of Floods and Cyclones,” The Guardian, July 19, 2019, https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2019/jul/19/bangladesh-prepares-to-move-rohingya-to-island-atrisk-of-floods-and-cyclones (accessed April 27, 2021). 71 International Charter Space and Major Disasters, “Cyclone Amphan in Bangladesh,” May 18, 2020, https://disasterscharter.org/web/guest/activations/-/article/flood-large-in-bangladesh-activation-652- (accessed April 27, 2021). 72 “Bangladesh: Cyclone Endangers Rohingya on Silt Island,” Human Rights Watch news release, May 20, 2020, https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/05/20/bangladesh-cyclone-endangers-rohingya-silt-island. 73 “Cyclone Season Awaits Thousands of Rohingya on Bangladesh Island,” Al Jazeera, April 1, 2021, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/4/1/cyclone-season-awaits-thousands-of-rohingya-on-bangladesh-island (accessed April 27, 2021). “AN ISLAND JAIL IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SEA” 26