Rohingya refugees and activists in the Capital have said that they have lost faith in their leader Aung San Suu Kyi, and labelled her reassurances to the community as “responses that are internationally influenced”.
“When a Nobel Peace Prize Laureate shows double standards after coming into power, there is little hope. She refuses to acknowledge the exodus that happened on August 25 saying half the people didn’t join. What she doesn’t see is that over 600,000 people fled the country, after giving testimonies of gang rapes, loot and locality fires,” said Maung Thein Shew, Rohingya activist based in Delhi.
Political blame games
The activists also blamed the Myanmar government of playing political blame games. “If you’re born as a member of a minority group in Burma, you’re not treated as human. Minorities are portrayed as terrorists,” said Mr. Shew.
The refugees have demanded that the Myanmar government stop injecting hate and pitting the different religious groups against one another. They have also appealed to the government of India to initiate peace talks with Myanmar and help resolve the issue. “We request the Indian government as the largest democratic icon of the world to be more empathetic towards us and bring us out of the crisis,” Mr. Shew added.
The Rohingyas living in a refugee colony near Kalindi Kunj in south Delhi said they lived under constant fear over the next Supreme Court hearing, which could result in deportation.
“How long will we live like this? We appeal to the Indian government to not look at us as Muslims but as humans. Our villages were burnt and families were torn down. We’re half dead and need some sense of inclusion and peace now. We request the Indian government to kill us but not deport us,” said Abdullah, a Rohingya refugee living in the colony.
‘Feel safer here’
The refugees reiterated that they were content with the minimal resources available to them in India because they lived a life with dignity. They stressed that they felt much safer in a foreign country than in their own where they’re targeted on the basis of religious and ethnic identity.
“In 2012, they suddenly started picking up youth from their homes. I was in the fields when I found out that my nephew had been picked up. I was compelled to leave right away. Only yesterday, two boys from my village were burnt alive and the government is talking of us returning,” Mr. Abdullah said.
“They would put restrictions on our marriage and visit us for periodical monitoring, especially once a baby is born. We were being watched like criminals,” he added.
Rohingya activists in Delhi also accused the government of both countries of using the crisis for their respective political objectives. They stressed that although the Supreme Court has deferred its hearing of the case, the judgment will be in the favour of the “thousands of innocent Rohingyas”.
