No rescue or relief for the Rohingya refugees

Ahna Prakash | NT

Bengaluru: While the videos of billionaires getting rescued from their inundated gated communities in tractors and boats have gone viral on social media, the impact of rain havoc on refugees living in camps receive scant attention – both from the media and the authorities.

For decades these migrants have been staying away from their homes in modest shacks and were aspiring for a home, but now all they want is a little ‘humanity’. Just a few kilometres from Manyata Tech Park, there are 63 persecuted Rohingya Muslim families living in torn dingy tents. These families have no access to proper housing, water or even food after the heavy rains lashed the city.

Nazma, 24, mother of four children came to Bengaluru in 2012 in search of a better life. However, with no help from United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) or the state government, she is solely dependent on rag picking for survival. “When it starts raining, the water comes into our tent. We have nowhere to go, so we just wait in the tent for the rain to stop. My two children are severely ill and there is no help from the authorities. Nobody came to visit our camps or offered help,” said Nazma, with despair in her eyes.

Though the BBMP has claimed that no neighbourhood in Dasarahalli has been flooded, a glimpse of the Rohingya camp tells a different story. Saiful Seikh, a refugee with a disability, says that he is not able to earn any income because of the flooding. “I used to make Rs 200 every day by collecting waste. But now because there is water everywhere I am not able to go out and do my work. I have borrowed money from a nearby camp for my medicines. I don’t know when I will be able to pay back,” he said. One of the refugees in the camp, James, claims that he has written to the UNHCR about the condition in the camp, but never got a response. “The UNHCR is responsible for us, but there are no funds or help from their side.

I wrote to them regarding the problems we are facing, but we didn’t hear back from UNHCR. Nor is the state government providing us with anything. We would have been able to avail benefits if our refugee cards would have been renewed. But the UNHCR refuses to renew them,” said James.In the absence of financial support from the Indian government, Rohingya refugees completely rely on UN bodies and NGOs for survival. According to Special Officer Secretary General India of the UNHCR Dr Vijayakumar, the UN allocates funds for refugees in India.