Bangladesh Govt. makes all arrangements for distressed Rohingyas: PM Hasina

UsaNewsOnline.Com, Washington, Oct 1: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Sunday said her administration has taken all necessary measures to provide shelter, food and medicare for distressed Myanmar nationals on humanitarian ground.

“Though we’re not that rich but we’ve the heart. After all, they are human being, and we can’t throw out them into the Bay of Bengal,” she said exchanging views with her party leaders from different states of the United States at Ritz Carlton Hotel this evening.

Sheikh Hasina who visited the Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar before flying to New York to attend the 72^nd session of the UN General Assembly narrated horrifying stories she heard from the fleeing women and children from the Rakhine State of Myanmar.

The Prime Minister said the hapless Rohingya people who fled to Bangladesh will be shifted to an island called “Bhasan Char” from Cox’s Bazar. The civil administration, army, navy and air force, BGB, Police and her party volunteers are working hard to mitigate the sufferings of these people. “Without waiting for any external assistance, we’ve made arrangement for accommodation, food and medicine,” she said, adding, she had already given Tk five crore as initial funding in this regard.

The international community was amazed to see the generosity of accepting such huge number of people by the Bangladesh government.

Sheikh Hasina with confidence said “if we could feed 16 crore people, we can also feed additional five to seven lakh people at their time of distress. ‘If necessary, we‘ll eat one meal a day and share another meal with these distressed people. After all we are human being and we stand for mankind.”

 Referring to her pledge to eliminate terrorism and extremism, the Prime Minister said her government has launched a vigorous campaign against terrorism, militancy and abuse of drugs. The law enforcers and intelligence agencies of Bangladesh are working in close cooperation to eradicate these menaces.  Moreover, she held video conferences to motivate parents, teachers, imams of mosques and people from different walks of life to teach and motivate the young generation so they stay away from this wrong path.

“People have now become conscious against terrorism, extremism and drugs,” she said.

To encourage education at the grass root level, the Prime Minister said financial incentives are being given to one crore 30 lakh mothers of primary students to continue their education. The government is also providing scholarship to students of higher education.

She said the government has created 100 economic zones wherein expatriate Bangladeshis can make investment.

Later, the Prime Minister unveiled the bust of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at the Bangladesh Embassy in Washington DC through video conferencing from her place of residence.

Famous sculptor Stephen Weitzman built the bust made of bronze. Bangladesh Ambassador to the USA Mohammad Ziauddin and officials of the embassy were present.