refugees

Rohingya Muslim

Hyderabad Old City

Myanmar

Confederation of Voluntary Associations

United Nations

Rohingya Muslim refugees in their settlement in Hyderabad.

Kiren Rijiju

on Monday

The news that India is firm on deporting about 40,000 Myanmarhas come as a great shock to the refugees staying in Hyderabad with valid documents.There are about 3,000 refugees, most of them belonging to thecommunity, living in 15 settlements in. “Till yesterday, we were living happily though we do have the feeling of being ‘Stateless people’ with no country owning us. But, after we saw news on the TV channels, the feeling of insecurity is haunting us," said Hameed-Ul-Haq, the Maulana at the small mosque in the first Burmese settlement in Chandrayanagutta area.“It is better to die in India than going toto get killed. We will be killed or thrown out if India tries to send us back to Myanmar,” says 70-year-old Sultan Mahmood, who teaches about 30 kids from the community at the madrassa run in the basti.Mahmood came to India during the June 2012 conflict among the ethnic groups.Tears rolled down his eyes when the septuagenarian recalled in his interaction with Mirror, “They attacked my house. We all ran helter-skelter. I joined one group which travelled through the forests and water and reached India. I still do not know if my two sons are alive or were killed. I don’t think there is a way to know and connect to them."Most of the Myanmar refugees living in Hyderabad are engaged in physical labour, while a few of them are into self-employment activities like selling vegetables and running small kirana shops. Dil Mohammed, 53, living in Settlement-III, says, “I work under a sand contractor. I get Rs 300 a day when I have work. Sometimes, I do not get work." He has an eight-year old daughter who goes to school.According to Mazher Hussain, Executive Director of the(COVA), a non-governmental organisation, there has been a spurt in the Myanmar refugees population in Hyderabad after 2012. In 2010, there were only 40 refugees. Today, there are over 3,000 in Hyderabad alone. “Today, world cannot say no to refugees. Conflicts are increasing and so is the refugee population,” he said. COVA is the partner of theHigh Commissioner of Refugees (UNHCR) in Hyderabad.COVA helps the refugees in getting land for lease to make their makeshift houses with tarpaulins. Each family pays rent ranging from Rs 600 to Rs 1,000 per month to the landlord. They have power and water supply. A refugee is entitled to live the normal life without any right. They do not get Aadhar cards, ration cards and other facilities. And none of them has a bank account. A few youths have bikes in the name of locals, who became friends with them.When the news that Union Minister of State for Home Affairshad announced that India is keen on deporting about 40,000 Rohingya Muslims came out, Mohammed Moosa Azmi, the registration officer of the UNHCR in Hyderabad was flooded with calls throughout the night. “They are all worried. There is sense of insecurity among them. I will be holding a meeting shortly to explain the government's stand to them.”He says there are no illegal immigrants from Myanmar here. “All of them possess their refugee identity cards issued by the UNHCR," he declared.The refugee families are gearing up to make a representation to the Indian government to allow them to continue to live here.