As a Bangladeshi naval ship anchored off a remote Bay of Bengal island, some of the Rohingya Muslim refugees aboard clapped in anticipation of starting a new life on a piece of land that did not even exist two decades ago.
Carrying poultry and sacks of belongings, they are part of a second group of about 1,800 Rohingya that Bangladesh moved on Tuesday from cramped refugee camps on the mainland to the low-lying island despite opposition from rights groups.
"Welcome to Bhasan Char," read a banner as the refugees walked off the jetty on the island, nearly as big as Manhattan. Navy trucks and tractor trailers took them to multiple rows of concrete houses with their pinkish-red painted tin roofs.