Several Rohingya and Chin refugees at the foreigner transit camp in Matia, Assam, have initiated a hunger strike, demanding a transfer to a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) facility.
The protest, involving 110 Rohingyas and 31 Chins, began on Monday evening. The refugees, apprehended by Indian authorities for illegal migration, are housed in what is described as India’s largest transit camp, located in Goalpara district.
Opened last year, the camp has a capacity for 3,000 individuals. Assam’s Chief Minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, recently underscored the ongoing drive by police and other agencies to apprehend illegal Rohingya migrants, citing national security concerns.
The protesters argue that they have already completed their jail terms for illegal migration but remain detained. Their main demand is relocation to a UNHCR-run camp in New Delhi, with the ultimate goal of resettlement in a third country.
They are vehemently opposed to deportation to Myanmar due to the severe conflict and ethnic cleansing in Rakhine State.
Senior officials from Assam's prisons and home department visited the camp, about 100 km west of Guwahati, on Tuesday to engage with the protesters. Despite these discussions, the hunger strike continues.
Sabber Kyaw Min, Director of the Rohingya Human Rights Initiative, emphasised the urgency of the situation in a social media statement: “We urge the Indian authorities and the judiciary to act now. The release of these refugees is not only a legal obligation but also a matter of humanity. We also urge the international community like the UNHCR to coordinate with Indian authorities to find a durable solution, including third party resettlement for these refugees, who have already suffered too much.”
According to UNHCR data from December 2023, India hosts over 22,000 Rohingya refugees, though the Indian government estimates the actual number at around 40,000.
The Indian authorities have been actively pursuing the repatriation of these refugees, with numerous deportations reported since late 2018. Many Rohingyas fled Myanmar between 2012 and 2017 in response to the military’s “clearance operations,” which involved widespread violence and destruction in Rakhine State.
The plight of Rohingya refugees in India is exacerbated by a severe lack of funding for civil society organisations. Many organisations working with Rohingya refugees have faced funding cuts, as most Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) licences, which allow for foreign donations, have been cancelled.
Consequently, many support programs for Rohingya refugees have either shut down or been significantly reduced. Only a handful of UNHCR-supported organisations continue their work, albeit with limited resources and caution.
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