BANGLADESH Geneva Camp DHAKA
GENEVA CAMP. A small town in the mega city of DHAKA. The people here are still called “Biharis”. As an Urdu-speaking Muslim minority, they fled to East Pakistan when India was partitioned in 1947. They were unwanted and remained stateless. After Bangladesh gained independence in 1971, the ICRC built camps to protect the Biharis. One of these is the GENEVA CAMP, where 50,000 people have lived together in a small space for decades. Finally in 2008 they got an ID card from Bangladesh. Thanks to GMB Akash’s contacts, I was able to move freely around this camp and get an idea of this community - and I share my moving impressions here.
In the refugee camp almost every room is visible, one area of life flows seamlessly into the next, this narrow space leaves little room for private matters.
BANGLADESH Geneva Camp DHAKA
GENEVA CAMP. A small town in the mega city of DHAKA. The people here are still called “Biharis”. As an Urdu-speaking Muslim minority, they fled to East Pakistan when India was partitioned in 1947. They were unwanted and remained stateless. After Bangladesh gained independence in 1971, the ICRC built camps to protect the Biharis. One of these is the GENEVA CAMP, where 50,000 people have lived together in a small space for decades. Finally in 2008 they got an ID card from Bangladesh. Thanks to GMB Akash’s contacts, I was able to move freely around this camp and get an idea of this community - and I share my moving impressions here.
In the refugee camp almost every room is visible, one area of life flows seamlessly into the next, this narrow space leaves little room for private matters.