Rohingya refugees feel at home in Chennai

  • | Thursday | 15th August, 2019

KV Navya ByExpress News ServiceIn 1935, the Anglo-Indians received a unique identity in a foreign land and 77 years later Rohingya refugees found shelter, too. Fleeing to IndiaThe Rohingya conflict is an ongoing one in northern Rakhine state, Myanmar, characterised by sectarian violence between the Rohingya Muslims and Rakhine Buddhist communities, a military crackdown on Rohingya civilians by Myanmar’s security forces. Thousands of Rohingya Muslims have been killed and many women and children raped since the conflict broke out in 2012. “A few mediators who helped Rohingya Muslims escape, helped us travel to Chennai, New Delhi and Hyderabad. Despite the refugees fleeing to Chennai, New Delhi and Hyderabad, they say the conditions are only better here.

KV Navya By Express News Service In 1935, the Anglo-Indians received a unique identity in a foreign land and 77 years later Rohingya refugees found shelter, too. On India’s 73rd Independence Day, members of these communities tell KV NAVYA why the city has a special place in their hearts. Dressed in a lavender and white frock with small holes and a safety pin in place of the missing zip, seven-year-old Fathima* runs around the narrow lanes in her slum with other children, amid a swarm of flies and mosquitoes, playing hide and seek. Her mother’s watchful eyes follow Fathima wherever she goes. “Nine years back in Myanmar, when my daughters were returning from school, a soldier interrupted them, asked their names and put a bullet in the head of the younger one even before Fathima could realise what happened. That night we ran as fast as our feet could take us. We reached Chennai 60 days later,” recalls her mother, in horror and pain. While we celebrate our 73rd Independence Day today, 18 Rohingya refugee families who live inside a tiny complex, which cannot accommodate more than 10 families, in Kelambakkam, celebrate the freedom the city gave them from their blood-soaked houses back in Myanmar. “We live amid a swarm of flies and none of us have decent clothes to wear. But when you have seen your family members getting raped, burned alive, tortured with foreign objects and killed — in front of you — freedom only means to live without fear. It is indeed a happy Independence Day,” says Fathima’s mother. Fleeing to India The Rohingya conflict is an ongoing one in northern Rakhine state, Myanmar, characterised by sectarian violence between the Rohingya Muslims and Rakhine Buddhist communities, a military crackdown on Rohingya civilians by Myanmar’s security forces. Thousands of Rohingya Muslims have been killed and many women and children raped since the conflict broke out in 2012. “A few mediators who helped Rohingya Muslims escape, helped us travel to Chennai, New Delhi and Hyderabad. We were about 20 families who came here nine years back. Surprisingly, unlike Myanmar we did not have to hide here. Unknown people were helping us with our luggage and showing us the way. It was a welcome change for the kids who had only seen slaughter ever since they were born,” says Mohammed Yousuf, leader of the community in Chennai. In the initial few years, the community took up every job that came their way — from rag picking and biryani-making to becoming house-help. After the Red Cross helped them shift to this complex in Kelambakkam towards the end of 2012, most men got involved in scrap-dealing and construction work. “Back in Myanmar, you have to give 50 per cent of what you earn to the government. Also, when a child is born, you are supposed to pay `2,500 to the government for obtaining birth certificate. But, there is nothing like that here. In fact, we were given free medicines by Kelambakkam government hospital when one of the women in our community was pregnant. We thought the government will shoo us away, but it has been seven years and we have been living peacefully,” says Yousuf, pointing at a dimly lit room where four men and two kids are sleeping on half-torn mats. “Being able to sleep like that is freedom to us.” Happily ever after? Despite the refugees fleeing to Chennai, New Delhi and Hyderabad, they say the conditions are only better here. “Our relatives live in other cities and we visit them occasionally. There they have to pay for electricity and land, while we are staying here for free and can utilise all the money we earn on our livelihood. So in other cities, most of them are struggling for proper food due to inadequate funds. Also, alcohol and drugs are common there while we have a police checking up on us every week. So, here it is streamlined,” says Husan Ahmed, another refugee. But for women, freedom means safety. “When we used to be inside the school, the soldiers used to lock some of the rooms and set them on fire. While you might think others are safe, they go through something more horrific — like gang rape or torture. The moment you step outside your house, you sign up for everything — rape, harassment, gun shots, hanging or slaughter. If none of it happens, you are lucky, but only till the soldiers barge inside your houses to do the same. Since 2012, we have not witnessed trespassing or misbehaviour from any of the locals. We call India our saviour and Chennai our home,” says 20-year-old Noor Khaida, with tears in her eyes. Talking about how the government can help them, Juhina Sabrina Samuel, a social worker helping the Rohinga Community in the city, says, “Since 2012, the refugees are operating without a drainage system, under leaking roofs and inside cracked, stuffy rooms. Pest control too happens in most other areas in the vicinity, but here.” Having paid a huge price for freedom, the community now hopes to find a new meaning to liberty and life. *Name changed

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