The Rohingya refugees are languishing in the squalid camps in India without any assistance being offered by the concerned quarters, whereas they also have to fear of many deadly poisonous creatures such as poisonous snakes inhabiting around the camp areas.

Although the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) has recognized the Rohingya refugees to be the neediest, it is proving to be ineffective in taking care of the refugees and looking after their basic needs. Consequently, the refugees need to live in the self-made fragile and squalid camps in the Shaheen Bagh areas and other areas of New Dehli.

“The UNHCR not only provides help to other refugees financially but also fulfill their other needs. But we are offered none. They are being resettled to other countries but the same procedure is not applied for us.

I don’t know why such an international agency practices discriminations amongst the refugees who hold the similar vulnerable status. It seems UNHCR, the UN Agency for Refugees, doesn’t like refugees like us,” said a refugee in the camp.

“There is no education for children. They often meet with accidents on the roads as they go to pick up recycling materials such as rag, plastics and irons etc,” he continued.

On the other hand, the deadly poisonous snakes inhabit and roam around and in the dirty camp areas. Last year, five children, three boys and two girls, were killed by the poisonous snakes.

“We killed three poisonous snakes in Madhanpur Kader Camps in this month alone: one in the tent of Salimullah’s tent, another Khurshid Alam’s and one more in Dildar’s.

Last Thursday, a local Indian died due to snake-bites nearby the Madhanpur Kader Camps,” said Khan, a refugee in the Madhanpur Kader Camp.

Therefore, on one hand, the prospects of the better future of the Rohingya refugees are limbo, on another hand, they are facing dangers to their lives due to the unprotected and unsafe camps where they have to live in as a result of the negligence by the responsibilities agencies such as UNHCR.

“This is very shameful for us that People dying by snake bite in this modern age, especially in New Delhi (Capital of India),” said Priyanka Sharma, a Journalism student of Jamia Millia Islamia.

[Edited by M.S. Anwar]

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