A day at a Rohingya Muslim camp: The fear is back on their faces

We are poor people. Whatever work we are offered, we do it. Due to violence in Myanmar, some of our own family members and relatives are not with us.

Tufail had a stone business in Myanmar. He was forced out of the country and had to bear the agony of seeing his wife being killed in front of his eyes. This is the tale of one of the many Rohingya Muslims living in the camps in the outskirts of Hyderabad.

He makes two ends meet with great difficulty and has a daughter to raise. He fled along with his 3 year old daughter few years back and found shelter in Hyderabad.

Hyderabad is home to an estimated 3,500-4,000 Rohingyas staying in camps in different parts of the Old City. About 3,500 people are registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Some of them came in 2012 when violence broke out in their homeland.

Having lost his business, he now works for a paltry Rs 100 a day. The locals are not ready to give jobs easily and he finds work at construction sites. Sometimes he gets work daily and at times it is only for 15 days a month. The pay for the Rohingyas and the locals vary. The Rohingya Muslims are paid lesser. Probably they are taking advantage Tufail says. There is no choice, I have to buy food for my daughter, he points out.

The refugee settlement is on the outskirts of the city. Five camps are at Balapur. There are two rent free camps set up by the locals, while the rest are paid slums. In the paid slums, the Rohingyas pay Rs 100 a month. One shed hosts at least three families who share the rent among themselves.

Noor Mohammad dealt in textiles before he landed in Hyderabad. He too bore the brunt of the conflict at Myanmar and had no choice but to flee. He is part of a camp in Hyderabad which houses 45 Rohingya Muslims.

Everything is difficult for them around here. Their living standards have dropped and getting used to the local food has been equally tough. There are huge cultural differences, but do we have a choice? It is a big thing that we are even getting food to eat, says Noor. We have coped with everything. We have run for lives, come here and are living in sheds without proper electricity and water, Noor also adds.

Syedullah Bashar is hopeful that one day justice will be his -- and his community of Rohingya Muslims. "We have not come here to create any problems. Please don't treat us as terrorists," he says.

"Nobody wants to be a refugee. We had to flee Myanmar as the government committed genocide. Once normalcy returns, we want to go back to our country," said the 27-year-old father of two.

"We also wish to go back to our motherland. If the world supports us, we are hopeful of going back. Won't you be heartbroken and cry if you are forced to leave your country," said Abdul Karim.

"We are poor people. Whatever work we are offered, we do it. Due to violence in Myanmar, some of our own family members and relatives are not with us. Some fled to Bangladesh, some to Indonesia, some others to Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and some also to Dubai," said the 20- year-old who works in a local hotel.

65 year old Sultan Mohammad says, "We have no links to terrorists. We have come here because we feared for our lives...we are not a threat to anyone. The government here has helped us a lot. We have got shelter and doing whatever work we get. Police regularly come to our camps for checking. We got refugee cards due to the government's help. We want the Indian government's support."

Three years back when they fled Myanmar, they thought their worst fears had come to an end. We were not allowed to live in peace, not allowed to pray. After we landed here, we were free to eat, live and pray says Noor. However the insecurity is back now. With the government saying that it would deport the Rohingya Muslims, their fate rests in the Supreme Court which is hearing a plea against the deportation.

OneIndia News