Page 30 - Tehelka Issue 13 - July 15, 2018

OpiniOn
dilemmas
HumrA
QurAISHI
The Delhi-based writer
and columnist’s books
include Kashmir: The
Untold Story. She co-
authored a series of
writings with the late
Khushwant Singh and
her short stories are
part of anthologies.
The views expressed
are her own
30-31 Opinion Humra.indd 2 03/07/18
A society indifferent
to one of its own
Growing atmosphere of hate in India — a country which has
sheltered communities from generations — is pushing refugees
to the corner, humiliating and threatening them on a daily basis
ot just on the recently even request or plead or cry out for help
observed World Refugee as the local population wants nothing
Day — June 20, but almost very much to do with them. Ironically,
every single day I think more than half of New Delhi’s residents
of an Afghan family I have parents or grandparents who had
N had met few years ago witnessed the horrors of the Partition
at a crossing in New Delhi. They looked and the aftermath, yet when it comes to
dressed enough not to beg but starved today’s refugees, they simply curl up!
enough to plead for help. And I stood Needless for me to write that with
talking to them, a tragic tale emerged. hypocrisy levels at all time high in our
Well-to-do in their home country until country, one could perhaps see all sorts
circumstances struck them and forced of tamasha events or get to hear hollow
them to flee to India to take refuge in the worded speeches on the World Refugee
camps. They are doomed for life! Day, but as the days pass, the curtains
I had even visited their one-room are drawn! We are back to harassing
refuge, in one of the outer settlements and ridiculing and shunning the hap-
of the Jangpura locality, where their less refugees, if not spreading stories of
children survived sans school and those their supposed terror activities! Naively,
everyday basics that growing children overlooking the rather well known
need to keep going…their next door fact — with the police and the agencies
neighbours were also Afghan refugee keeping a watch on refugees, what sup-
families struggling with lack of re- posed terror can these hapless humans
sources and complete boycott from the unleash!
Indians living not too far. There seemed This brings me to write that with
a complicated sort of tragedy unfolding the Right Wing BJP government at
for them as they told me that they had the centre stage, the situation stands
fled to India under the impression that compounded even further, if the refuge
it’s a “huge, vast country with very good seekers happen to be Muslims. In fact,
people, but here we are looked at with last year, when the ‘terror angle’ involv-
suspicion …all sorts of stories about us ing the hapless Rohingyas was hyped
Afghans. We are kept away. Don’t know by the BJP rulers, there came in this
what’s the future of our children? Never bunch of stark facts put together by
ever imagined we would see this day… NDTV’s Srinivasan Jain and his team of
living worse than beggars in a foreign reporters, who detailed, on the basis of
land. We had everything back home but hard facts, that there were no signs of
now where is home! Nowhere for us.” security threat from the Rohingya refu-
The tragedy of this refugee family or gees taking refuge in our country. Each
for that matter for any refugee looking NDTV reporter, reporting from the four
about for refuge is difficult to describe locales — Jammu, Faridabad, Rajasthan,
in words. They live, rather are forced to New Delhi — was seen talking to police
live like outcastes in little ghettos, with officials who seemed to give a clean chit
the barest possible survival bandobast. to these refugees. Nah, none of the ISIS,
It’s difficult if not impossible for them to Al-Qaeda, Indian Mujahedeen or Jihad-
Tehelka / 15 july 2018 30 www.Tehelka.com
3:49 PM