After returning to our cluster from the cyclone shelter we saw clear signs of water on the balconies. The navy officials threatened us to say that during Amphan we were safe and we were not frightened at all. They filmed us and forced us to say that we are living in good conditions on this island. 77 The implications of the government’s actions are staggering. By refusing to acknowledge the meteorological and environmental risks on the island, which are likely to worsen because of climate change, and withholding the details of their emergency prevention and response plan for the island, the Bangladesh government is risking catastrophic losses of life in the event of a major storm. First Arrivals on Bhasan Char: Boat Rescues Held Captive Bangladesh authorities brought the first group of refugees to Bhasan Char somewhat opportunistically. In May 2020, the navy rescued two boats carrying a total of 306 Rohingya refugees after Malaysia and Thailand authorities had repeatedly pushed them back to sea. 78 The refugees had fled the camps in Cox’s Bazar months earlier. However, instead of reuniting them with their families, Bangladesh authorities took these refugees to Bhasan Char, saying they were being temporarily quarantined there to prevent a Covid19 outbreak in the camps. Soon after the refugees were brought to Bhasan Char, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged Bangladesh authorities to allow the refugees to return to Cox’s Bazar where they would have access to humanitarian services: While those rescued at sea may be quarantined for public health purposes, they must also be extended the protection they deserve as refugees. I trust that they too, will benefit from the humanitarian services offered to the Rohingya in Bangladesh and that, at the end of their quarantine period … they will be allowed to rejoin their families in Cox’s Bazar. 79 77 Human Rights Watch interview with Sultana, Bhasan Char, Bangladesh, May 21, 2020. 78 “Bangladesh: Rohingya Refugees in Risky Covid-19 Quarantine,” Human Rights Watch news release, https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/05/05/bangladesh-rohingya-refugees-risky-covid-19-quarantine. May 5, 2020, 79 “UN’s Guterres asks Bangladesh to move Rohingya to refugee camps,” Al Jazeera, May 18, 2020, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/5/18/uns-guterres-asks-bangladesh-to-move-rohingya-to-refugee-camps (accessed April 15, 2021). “AN ISLAND JAIL IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SEA” 28