Akram who is one among the thousands of Rohingya Muslim refugees living in the city after fleeing from persecution in his homeland of Myanmar. Now, after few years of calm, Akram and several others in his colony are worried a lot. Again indulge in problems, after the arrest of a Rohingyai Muslim youth, who has been arrested by National Investigation Agency (NIA) over alleged terror charges.
Recently Khaled a Rohingya Muslim arrested in blame of “being in contact with terrorist”. However Khalid‘s mother has rejected the claim of the NIA and said that Khalid is innocent.
“Our name is tainted now because of this one incident. We don’t even feel like showing our faces to the people we meet every day,” said a Refugee”, another refugee Wasim( name changed) who work as a labour says “apart from daily hard work, now we have to face with people’s question on khalid.
The truth is that we don’t even know him because he lives far from our house, and we hardly used to talk each other, but people keep asking us “do you know Khalid”, “do you know about the arrest” and all such questions which make us feel ashamed. Making it difficult to live, said Waseem.
Reflecting the memories of past, the torment hey had both Wasim and Akram are now wondering about their uncertain future. They narrated how they left their properties and valuables and fled from their State of Arakan in Myanmar, hoping to live in India.
“We chose India thinking it is a Secular Democratic Country, that life would be better here, and that we would be safe. But our existence here is also a question mark now,” said Akram.