Rohingyas find a safe haven near Kolkata
On March 13, 80 Rohingya refugees reached Hardaha village, located on the outskirts of Kolkata, after spending months at a refugee camp in Haryana’s Nuh.
However, soon after their arrival, rumours began to do the rounds that batches of Rohingya Muslims had crossed the IndiaBangladesh border in neighbouring North 24 Parganas district and settled in Baruipur, about 30km from Kolkata.
The next day, police reached the makeshift homes of the 22 Rohingya families, which had been staying in Hardaha for the past few months with the help of NGO Desh Bachao Samajik Committee. The refugees, who had come from Mewat in Haryana, were grilled along with the NGO head. While the police continued to question the refugees, local residents reached the spot to vouch for the displaced families.
“We were in a state of panic. However, the locals supported us,” said 45-year-old Azizullah, a father of nine, who was living with his family in a thatched tent made up of bamboo sticks, polythene sheets and old saris.
Hardaha, which has a population of 5,000, might not be a financially prosperous village, but Rohingya refugees said it has proved to be a safe haven for them after they fled their homes to evade hostility and persecution.
The villagers said they would extend full support to the refugees as they could empathise with them. “These people are helpless. Where will they go? It’s a matter of humanity,” said Marzina Bibi, a resident of Hardaha. “No one leaves behind their home to take an uncertain journey unless they have no other option,” she added.
“The world knows how bad the condition in Myanmar is. We are all sympathetic towards them,” said Minhaz Mallick, a farmer in his mid-50s, and another Hardaha resident.
Rohingya refugee Shahidul Islam said he was grateful for the help he and his family received from the people of Hardaha.
In 2015, Islam’s elder brother and sister-in-law were gunned down allegedly by the Myanmar army, forcing him and his family to cross over to Bangladesh, where they lived at a refugee camp for about a year. But they were forced to cross over to India illegally in early 2017 when the camp became overpopulated, Islam said.
Islam’s family took refuge in Haryana’s Mewat and obtained identity cards from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
However, when conditions in Haryana’s refugee camps deteriorated, the refugees turned to West Bengal after state’s chief minister Mamata Banerjee declared to help them.
“In Mewat and Nuh, people were so distressed that some of the families sold their kids ,” said Daiya Begum, a Rohingya Muslim, in broken Bengali.
Apart from local support, the refugees in Hardaha also received aid from different NGOs. “Close to 40 organisations have together taken up the responsibility to ensure their rehabilitation,” social worker Hossain Gazi said.
“We’ve demanded that the administration set up proper accommodation for them,” said Ranjit Sur, vice-president of rights outfit Association for Protection of Human Rights (APDR).
While support seemed to be pouring in for the refugees, West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh accused the state government of indulging in anti-national activities.
Defending his party, Trinamool MLA Nirmal Chandra Mandal said giving shelter to the Rohingyas was not.
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