Lok Sabha Debates
Regarding The Condition Of 400 Rohingya Refugees From Myanmar Staying In Delhi . on 10 June, 2014
an> Title: Regarding the condition of 400 Rohingya refugees from Myanmar staying in Delhi .
DR. A. SAMPATH (ATTINGAL): Mr. Chairman, Sir, I would like to invite the attention of this House and also the Government of India through you to the sad plight of more than 36,000 Rohingya refugees in the country. These Rohingya refugees have come from the State of Rakhine in Myanmar. In June 2012, one of the largest genocides in the Asian continent took place in Munto, Rakhine in western Myanmar. Some of these refugees are now in Delhi, some of them are in Jammu and Kashmir and some of them are in Haryana, Hyderabad, etc. Mr. Chairman, I have personally visited one of the refugee camps here in Delhi in Kalindi Kunj. More than 400 people are living there in shanty shelters which have been made of plastic waste and filthy clothes. Three children have died during the last months because of snake bites alone. The only property these refugees have is the identity card issued by the Untied Nations High Commission for Refugees.
Sir, this genocide which happened in our neighbouring nation Myanmar, is just like that one of the largest genocides that have happened in Sri Lanka. Now these people are starving; they do not have clothes. Any time an epidemic may come and more children may die. It is high time that the Government of India took up this matter with the United Nations offices concerned because some of the refugees who have fled from Myanmar are in Australia now, some are in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia. The United Nations have passed some resolution for the settlement of these Rohingya refugees. Mr. Chairman, Sir, one refugee camp is in Kalindi Kunj and another is in Shaheen Bagh in Okhla.
We have to take the issue to the international fora. We have to provide some shelters and also provide some permanent settlement. We have to either send them back safely to their homeland or some other alternative have to be provided because the children do not have any access to education or health. Some of the women are suffering from cancer. This is a very serious situation. This involves the lives of more than 36,000 human beings. My humble submission is that you have ample powers, hon. Chairman, Sir, to give a direction to the Government to take up this issue at the international fora concerned and help the displaced community.
HON. CHAIRPERSON : Next, Shri Ram Kirpal Yadav. Shri Yadav, you will have to take only two minutes because we have a large number of hon. Members to raise important issues.