Surviving COVID-19, fire, mosque demolition: Rohingya refugees hold onto faith
A Rohingya man holds his grandson. Photo by Shrey Desmond John.
NEW DELHI— Indian authorities bulldozed a makeshift mosque in one of New Delhi’s most populous Rohingya refugee camps last week, less than a month after a fire engulfed more than 50 lean-to homes built on undeveloped, government-owned land along the Yamuna riverbank.
The demolition began around 7 a.m, an hour after prayers.
“It was not just a place of worship for us but even our children used to study there and on 12 June, when a massive fire broke out, it was used to provide shelter to the elderly people,” Farooq, a resident of the camp, told ReligionUnplugged. He said that more than a place of worship, the mosque was a community center for the tight-knit community that fled state-sanctioned killings, kidnappings, rape and arson in Myanmar.
A tarp covers the debris of the makeshift mosque that Indian authorities recently demolished. Photo by Rishabh Jain.
Muhammad Yaseer, 21, lost everything he owned in the fire. Most of all, he mourns his Quran and Hafiz certificate, given to those who memorize the Quran and are authorized to preach.
“The Quran is the only source of peace for me here as there is no happiness here,” Yaseer told ReligionUnplugged as he searched for half-burned copies of books in the debris. “Our lives are worthless."
No injuries or deaths were reported at the Madanpur Khadar camp, but at least 270 Rohingya refugees lost their shanty homes, many for the second time after a similarly devasting fire in 2018. According to Indian officials, a short circuit caused each fire, but many refugees believe the recent fire was a deliberate attempt to vacate them from the government-owned land.
The Indian Hindu-first government has shown increasing contempt for both Muslim Indians and Muslim refugees like the Rohingya, who have fled killings in Myanmar by its army since 2012 that human rights bodies have labeled a genocide. About 18,000 Rohingya are registered with the UN’s refugee agency in India, but the government estimates there are 40,000 Rohingya living in the country.
The Rohingya trace their origins to Bangladesh, and ethnically, linguistically and religiously differ from the Buddhist majority in Myanmar, which does not recognize the Rohingya as citizens though they have lived in the country for many generations. The Rohingya are a stateless population.
The persecuted minority have often become a flashpoint in Indian politics, as the ruling government insists they are living illegally in the country. India has not signed any international obligation to accept refugees. This summer Indian police arrested and jailed more than 150 Rohingya in northern India with plans to deport them. After their detention, Kavindar Gupta, Ex-deputy Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, and a member of the ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP), said his party had fulfilled what they promised and now it was time to deport Rohingyas back to Myanmar.
“The Rohingyas came to India in search of an asylum, as India welcomed the Tibetan refugees and also the Tamil (Hindu) refugees from the Sri Lankan Civil War,” said Yash Giri, a human rights law school student. “But India did not seem to be very welcoming to the Rohingyas.”
The aftermath of the fire in June at Madanpur Khadar camp. Photo by Parthu Venkatesh P .
Expected eviction
Yaseer is convinced that the recent fire was intentional, because the land they are living on near the Yamuna riverbank is owned by the state Uttar Pradesh irrigation department which has tried to evict them several times.
“I think there is something fishy behind this incident as some people are not happy with our presence over here,” he said. “We have been getting threats from unknown people to evacuate this place.”
The refugees will not be allowed to rebuild their shelters on the property. Without Indian citizenship, they cannot own land. Since the government does not recognize them as refugees, they have no legal protection from eviction.
In a written reply in parliament, Union Minister of State for Home, Nityanand Rai, said that “illegal immigrants [including Rohingyas] pose a threat to national security and there are reports by some of them indulging in illegal activities.”
After activists petitioned the Supreme Court to stay a government order to deport Rohingya refugees, in April, the court declined to stay the deportation, directing the government to follow the law to deport Rohingya back to Myanmar, even after dangers for Rohingya have increased since Myanmar’s military seized power in a coup in February 2021.
In a similar incident, Anil Vij, Home Minister of the Indian state of Haryana, when asked about Rohingyas settling in Haryana’s Mewat district, said “India is not a Dharamshala [public shelter] where anybody can stay where they like.”
“Where will we go? In a country where animals are provided shelter but humans are denied, has humanity died?" Yaseer said.
Aasif Mujtaba, whose group Miles to Smiles has helped Rohingya refugees in Delhi, said Uttar Pradesh authorities verbally assured the Rohingya the government would help them find rented accommodations and pay the rent for three months. But no written documentation was provided, he said. For now, the Rohingya whose homes burned down are living on the streets.
Losing their identity, again
Ubaidullah, a 19-year-old refugee, said his father sustained minor injuries while trying to save their refugee identity cards, which are provided by the UN and are often needed to receive government services like medical attention and school admission.
“After the fire was doused we could only find burned utensils of no use,” he said. “The Identity cards provide us immunity and give us a sense of belonging. Without them we are no one.”
Most Rohingya men work daily labor jobs like in construction that pay less than minimum wages and often less than their Indian colleagues.
Kareem (name changed) said he is worried about his children’s future.
“It took me one year to collect money to purchase an air cooler so that my children could have a comfortable sleep but we are left with nothing,” he said. “People from our community are being arrested or harassed on a regular basis. We are living in constant fear as we don't know who will attack us next. If the Hindu right-wing groups will attack us openly, who will save us then? We all know how powerful and protected they are in India.
“We have no country, nor a voice or a representative. We are devastated if the United Nations High Commission would not settle our issue, we have no option but to consume poison and end our lives. Sometimes I feel it was better to die in Myanmar rather than coming to India.”
A child’s school shoes were found in the debris after the fire. Photo by Shrey Desmond John.
Dreams shattered
Almost all the school-age children at Madanpur camp lost their books and educational documents for school admissions.
"Education is the only motivation through which I am surviving in India,” said Mizar, 19. “I have studied till 8th standard through utmost difficulties that even one can't imagine but that incident changed everything. I lost my books, certificates, and other documents. How will I pursue my further education? I have no proof that I have studied. We have lost the original documents of our Myanmar nationality. Those flames took away my dreams as well.”
Rohingya children must learn Hindi to study in Indian schools and walk through areas that can be unsafe, especially for women and girls, just to access the road to travel to school.
Another Rohingya refugee, Jaffar Alam, 30 and father of three children, said he lost all his savings that he had stored away for years since he arrived in India.
“I am not the only one who has lost it, everyone out here has the same situation,” he said. “Since then my mind has stopped working and I don't how will we survive.”
In January 2021 India launched the world's largest vaccination drive but not a single person from the persecuted community has been vaccinated. Many Rohingya say vaccines are the least of their worries.
"We don't even need their vaccines but for humanity's sake let us live in some peace. We are the most unfortunate people in this world," said Noor, 26, while feeding her newborn.
Shoaib Mir is an independent journalist from Indian-administered Kashmir currently based in New Delhi, India. He writes about conflict, gender and the refugee crisis. Find him on Twitter @Imshoaibmir.
Parthu Venkatesh P. is a freelance journalist based in New Delhi. He writes about health, business, and humanitarian issues.
Rishabh Jain is an independent journalist based in New Delhi.