HYDERABAD: Peeking from a half-opened door of his room in Balapur, Noor Alam, a Rohingya refugee, was hesitant to talk at first. “There are others with whom you can talk to. They will be able to explain better,” Alam said. The reason behind the hesitancy became apparent when he steps out of the room on to the verandah that overlooked the dusty Balapur road connecting Chandrayangutta. Alam, had his both hands cut off by the Myanmar military, rendering him disabled.
Anxiety writ large on face, Alam said “ It’s better to die here rather than going back to Myanmar. They can force me, but I will never move from here.” Alam’s cry came hours after Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s statement at Shantiniketan in West Bengal on Friday that Rohingyas should return to Myanmar and sought India’s help for the same.Recounting the horrific incident, Alam said, “They had tied my eyes. I, along with others, were made to stand in a line and they cut off my hand.”
After fleeing from Myanmar in 2012, he now lives with his parents, brother, wife and his two children in a 10x10 pucca room. “Myanmar always went back on its assurances in the past. They promised nationality cards to us. But nothing has happened. The same atrocities continue,” he said.
Rohingyas started coming from Myanmar following state-sponsored atrocities which compelled them to move out of their country. The Myanmar government maintains that Rohingyas are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and has denied them citizenship. Rohingyas, on the other hand, say that are descendants of Muslim traders living in the region for generations. Around 4,000 registered Rohingyas are currently staying in Hyderabad.Tahidul Kareem, another Rohingya said, “If they provide us nationality cards we have no problem of going back.’’