Rohingyas cannot marry without paying huge amount of money to the Rakhine Police. They also have to register themselves for marriage. “I applied for marriage in January 2006 and got official permission to marry in December of the same year after paying a hefty sum of Rs 1.8 lakh,” Hassan shared.
Dressed in a white undershirt and a blue-checked dhoti, 53-year-old Haroon Rashid sits spends his whole day in a small dingy grocery shop. The shop is dimly lit and a part of the two-room residential set in a three-storey concrete building located at Khimber foothills, 40 km from Kashmir’s capital city Srinagar.
Haroon is one of the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims, forced to flee the Rakhine state of Myanmar, by the anti-Rohingya Buddhist organizations. Despite hardships and a relentless urge to see his home back in Mynamar, Haroon’s stay in Kashmir has brought him some relief.
His relief comes from the marriages of his three daughters in Kashmir to local Kashmiri Muslims. “I married off my three daughters in Kashmir with local Kashmiris. They are all happy and I also feel relieved, one in Tral, other in Islamabad and the third in Baramulla,” Haroon shares.
“When I reached the border, I was stopped by some soldiers who demanded money before allowing me to cross the border. I gave 300 bucks to one of the patrolling policemen,” Haroon says.
Despite marred with violence, Haroon decided to take refuge in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, he claims, he had heard about when he was still in his homeland.
“We used to hear about the hospitality and warm nature of the people of Kashmir while watching TV at home, so we decided to settle here,” Haroon says.
Presently Haroon takes care of his three sons and another daughter. Anwar Husain (17), his elder son, works as a labourer in the locality. His two other sons, Syed-ul-Islam and Noor-ul-Islam were born in Jammu study in the seminary. His daughter, Zosna, however, stays home.
Haroon’s arduous journey
Rashid comes from Saat Bazaar, Fanisara in Myanmar which he fled in year 2012. He left Myanmar with his family for Bangladesh but later entered India. “It wasn’t so easy,” he recalls.
He bribed his way through Myanmar-Bangladesh border. “When I reached the border, I was stopped by some soldiers who demanded money before allowing me to cross the border. I gave 300 bucks to one of the patrolling policemen,” Haroon says.
After entering India Haroon made way to Jammu within a week. The stay in Jammu’s Narwal, where most of the Rohingya Muslims live, was not free. He had to pay a sum of Rs 1000 every month to the land owner or labor for him.
Despite paying his rent, Haroon claims there was a constant fear for their lives due to several Hindutva organisations.
“We were not safe there, so we were in a search to see any other safer place so we came to Srinagar,” he points-out.
There are three buildings, managed by a prominent religious seminary – Darul Uloom Bilalia – headquartered at Lal Bazaar. As many as 18 Rohingya families live here, each in a two-room set paying a monthly rent of Rs 1000 per room to the management of the seminary.
Surrounded by a beautiful landscape, the Rohingya children can be seen playing throughout the day in a makeshift lawn in front of the camp. A black-topped road connects the camp to the Khimber main road.
Among them are also the children of 34 year old Hassan Sharief, a businessman turned daily wage laborer. Despite all the odds, a father of four sons and a daughter, Sharif also feels lucky to be in Kashmir. Anwar Sadiq and Anwar Islam, his elder sons are currently studying in a nearby religious seminary. His other three children Saiful islam, Sajadul islam and shazia were born in state of Jammu and Kashmir.
“Before fleeing, I sold my business to my partner as I had no other option. We had to either flee to some safer place or get killed. Now, I earn my living by working as a daily wager in a nearby village,” Hassan recalls.
Before fleeing persecution, Hassan’s family had been living in the border state ‘Arkaan,’ now Rakhine, for centuries. But, regular targeting and immense discriminated at the hands of successive military regime and the current political dispensation in the country Hassan had to make a desperate journey to save himself and his family.
According to Hassan and Haroon, Rohingyas cannot marry without paying huge amount of money to the Rakhine Police. They also have to register themselves for marriage. “I applied for marriage in January 2006 and got official permission to marry in December of the same year after paying a hefty sum of Rs 1.8 lakh,” Hassan shared.
Rohingyas cannot marry without paying huge amount of money to the Rakhine Police. They also have to register themselves for marriage. “I applied for marriage in January 2006 and got official permission to marry in December of the same year after paying a hefty sum of Rs 1.8 lakh,” Hassan shared.
Fears linger on
In 2017, the violence against the Rohingya Muslims, termed as the world’s most persecuted minority, increased forcing thousands other to flee the country making desperate journeys to neighboring nations like Bangladesh and India.
Even as Indian external affairs ministry recognises them as refugees, the home ministry strips them of this designation once they are in India referring to them as “illegal immigrants.” The home ministry has called for the eviction of nearly 40000 Rohingya Muslims living for more than five years in the country. A decision which drew widely condemnation from rights groups and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
“We are happy here in Kashmir. People treat us with dignity. But we wish to go home. We miss our country and our relatives who are in Bangladesh,” Haroon confides amid sobs.
The UNHCR has given refugee cards to more than 15000 Rohingyas staying in India. They are seen as a threat to the country security and have been even linked with “terror organisations” causing widespread fear of eviction among the community.
“If India sees us as a security threat and wants to deport us, we should be first handed over to UNHCR. We are ready to settle in any country they wish. But we cannot go to Myanmar unless peace prevails there,” Hassan said.
Amid all this, the Rohingyas living here in Khimber seem mesmerised by local support. They, however, still long for a return journey back home.
“We are happy here in Kashmir. People treat us with dignity. But we wish to go home. We miss our country and our relatives who are in Bangladesh,” Haroon confides amid sobs.
