UNHCR Card-Holding Burmese Families Seek Welfare Support in Jammu
Suliman Ahmed, who recently arrived in Jammu, said his relatives migrated to India during political unrest in Myanmar in the late eighties and were already settled in the region
Jammu, April 1, KNT: Hundreds of Muslim Burmese families living in Jammu have alleged that they continue to face severe hardship, poverty and lack of institutional support, despite repeated appeals to the authorities. The refugees told KNT that more than a thousand families are currently scattered across localities such as Chhani, Bhatindi, Talab Tillo and Narwal, many of them living in slums without access to basic services or stable income.
M. V. Younis, a Burmese refugee, said the community was compelled to flee Myanmar due to communal violence and arrived in Jammu hoping for safety and stability. He said the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees provides them with electronic identity cards valid for four years that help them remain in India, but their living conditions remain difficult. According to him, the state government has not extended concrete assistance to improve their socio-economic situation.
Another refugee, Muhammad Hamzah, said that Jammu and Kashmir Sakhawat Centre, a non-governmental organisation, has been making efforts to support the education of refugee children. However, he said the lack of income and proper facilities forces many children to spend their days in slum areas instead of classrooms. He said most families depend on petty labour to survive and that repeated requests for help from different institutions have not generated any meaningful response.
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Suliman Ahmed, who recently arrived in Jammu, said his relatives migrated to India during political unrest in Myanmar in the late eighties and were already settled in the region. He said the Burmese population is spread across Kasim Nagar, Narwal, Malik Market, Bawe, Panama Chowk, Chhanni, Nanak Nagar, Bohri and Bari Brahmana. According to him, these families have not received any substantive support from the state authorities.
A district official, when contacted, said the administration has been working on measures to address the concerns of the refugee families. He said the government is drafting a plan and expressed confidence that the issues raised by the community will be resolved. [KNT]
