New Delhi, India – On the fifth anniversary of the start of military atrocities against the Rohingya in Myanmar, those of them living in India find themselves caught in a web of uncertainty and fear as the Indian government tightens restrictions on refugees in the country.
Muhammad, 40, who has three children, arrived in India in 2012 and lives in one of the temporary Rohingya shelters located in southeast Delhi’s Kalindi Kunj area where more than 300 refugees live.
Muhammad, who did not want to be identified by his full name, said he fears the Indian government can detain him at any time. He also said he was “sceptical to speak to the media” and how the Rohingya faced increased surveillance from Indian authorities at refugee camps.
“I have three children. More than myself, I fear for them,” he told Al Jazeera.
“We should be allowed to live until we are able to go back to Myanmar – when it is safe for us. Who wants to live away from [their] homeland, like us, in a wretched situation?”
The United Nations says nearly 40,000 Rohingya have fled to India from Myanmar, most of them in 2017 when the military crackdown began.
However, hundreds of thousands of Rohingya have fled from Myanmar over decades as the displacement of their community by the military has also persisted for decades.
This story was originally published in aljazeera.com . Read the full story here