When 45-year-old Manizha came to Delhi from Afghanistan with her husband nearly nine years ago, she had no idea how her life was going to shape out in a new country.
Though she is now able to earn a livelihood for her family and has managed to get a place where she and her husband have been staying for the past five years now, her struggle as a “refugee” continues.
Like Manizha, thousands of other people from countries like Afghanistan, Somalia, Sudan and Iran live in India as refugees. According to the latest UNHCR report, India is home to nearly two lakh refugees, with a large number of them living in the Capital itself.
In Delhi, most refugees stay in parts of Khirki Extension, Vikaspuri and Bhogal.
Elyas, a 19-year-old who came to Delhi from Afghanistan in 2008 along with his family of 10, feels refugees are not treated properly.
“We don’t have any identification proof here. We are just given a refugee card, with which we cannot even get a SIM card, forget getting an education or a job,” he says.
“My brothers are not able to go to a private school because we do not have the money to pay for school. They are forced to go to a municipal corporation school. I am the only earning member as no one in my family has found employment,” he adds.
Noor Jahan from Somalia has been living in India for almost 11 years. He came to India along with his family during the civil war, in which his father had died. Initially the family lived in Hyderabad, where he was able to go to a good school. However, his dream of becoming a doctor never materialised as he did not have proper documents.
“I was not allowed to sit for the All India Institute of Medical Sciences entrance test since I don’t not have a visa. I was then offered admission in a private college that demanded Rs.50 lakh,” he says.
According to him, the biggest problem for a refugee in India is getting good education because all institutes demand a valid visa, which most refugees do not possess.
Mukasi from Congo, who came to India after his family was killed in a war, says he is trying to find a reason to live in a new country. “I came to India after I lost my family in a war in my country, but living in a new country is a challenge. We are refugees here and face many problems. We don’t get visas, because of which we cannot even take a house on rent or buy a SIM card,” he adds.
Some of the refugees have, however, been given long-term visas, using which they can work in India. For such people, life is slightly better. But they too need to get their visas renewed each year.
Waiss Ali Khan from Afghanistan, has a long-term visa, says: “We can get bank accounts and jobs in the private sector, but problems still persists for those who do not have visas.”
