The 235 Rohingya refugees staying at the Kalindi Kunj camp are worried about their future after the government deported seven of them on Friday. Most of refugees in the camp earn a living as daily-wage labourers and e-rickshaw or autorickshaw drivers.
They alleged that the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) had refused to extend their visas, which expired in 2017.
Abdullah,who stays at the camp, said, “We are already suffering. By deporting us, they [the Indian government] are pushing us to certain death. Why are we treated as refugees and not human beings? We do not know what freedom means. We are happy in India and get what we never got in Myanmar. We want to live here like any other Indian citizen.”
The refugees said a police team had visited the camp on Monday and distributed a six-page nationality verification form titled ‘Personal Data Form’. The police asked each of them to fill the form, complete with a photograph, by Thursday.
“A policeman came to collect the forms [on Thursday] but most of us refused to fill them. We do not want to go back till the Indian government assures our rights and safety in Myanmar. The Indian government will send these forms to Myanmar, where the authorities will forge details and use them as needed,” said Mohammad Shakir, who stays at the camp with his family.
Sanjida Begum, who lives here with her 17-year-old son, said she will only go back to Myanmar once the situation is back to normal.
“My house in Myanmar was set afire and my husband remains untraceable. My son is too young to get a job, and my community does not allow me work. NGOs and the government have been taking care of us,” she said.
A major fire broke out in the camp on April 16. The residents were rehabilitated on an adjacent piece of land, with the government providing all basic necessities.
“We lost everything, including our United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees [UNHCR] cards. However, they were reissued within two days. We were provided with all facilities, including electricity and ration. Our visa, which were issued in 2014, expired in 2017 but the FRRO refused to extend [them] citing procedural delay,” said Samil Mullah, a refugee who runs a grocery shop in the camp.
The refugees said they will be killed in Myanmar if get deported.
“We want the Government of India to assure our freedom in Myanmar. If it cannot do this, let us stay here peacefully. We will never demand anything,” said Faiyaz Ahmed.
