Refugee Center

COVA Refugees Project

Understanding Refugees: Their Problems, Conditions and Needs

INTRODUCTION:

There are around 22,000 Refugees and Asylum Seekers living in India. In Hyderabad, around 400 Refugees live; few with families and most of them are alone. Families are headed by either father or mother; not knowing the where abouts of the other parent; some of whom may have even been killed in the conflict in their country. It is very rare to see a full family with both the parents. They flee to such countries which they feel are secure with the sole motive of saving their life. Many refugees do not have contact or the information of their dear ones living in their native land. They somehow try to survive in an alien land leaving their homes and dear ones with nurturing the hope of returning someday.

Who is a Refugee?

United Nation 1951 Geneva Convention on the status of Refugees and subsequent 1967 protocol’s article 1 lays down the definition of a refugee: “A person who owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual residence as a result of such events, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it.”

Miserable Condition of Refugees

Situation of leaving the native land in a distressed condition in order to save one’s life itself is a curse and the discrimination and deprivation faced in the country of Asylum makes their condition miserable. Adverse local conditions and unfamiliarity with the language and the market leaves them with no work. They live in cluttered premises and houses with insufficient amenities and facilities. Being in such miserable conditions, with improper diet on account of lack of finances, being fragile with less resistance they are prone to diseases. Especially, children are the worst affected with improper diet, schooling and Health care.

Under the Protection of UNHCR (United Nation High Commissioner for Refugees)
Only support they have from UNHCR, Delhi is they give one time grant of Rs 2,700 per adult and Rs 800 each for the dependant. They issue a Refugee cerficate which is the only protecting document for them, generally valid for 2 years and renewable in specific intervals.

Most of the Refugees are from war-torn countries like Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritriea, Sudan, and Asian countries like Iran, Iraq, Myanmar and Afghanistan and tend to live in groups in concentrated pockets of Hyderabad in Mahdipatnam, Tolichowki, Saleem nagar, Asifnagar, Mallepalli, Kishanbagh, Hafez Baba Nagar, Balapur, etc….

Vulnerabilities of Refugees

All the Refugees being alien people and on account of their special facial features are easily identifiable. The local job markets with scarce opportunities and intense competition amongst the natives who scramble for the limited openings thereby leave no chance for the Refugees. In this context, the situation of refugees is bad with regard to making a living and worse is of those who are with families and children. Most of them make a living by serving as domestic helps to the foreign students staying in Hyderabad; mostly from the African counties.

Position of Government of India on Refugees

It is well-known that India is an active member of UNO and aspiring for the position of permanent member in Security Council of UNO.Though India is not a signatory to the 1951 UNO convention of Geneva on status of Refugees, it is a member of the Executive Council of UNO.Government of India is allowing Refugees to come and live but not giving them work permits which raises a big question mark about their making a living in India. Now that India became the non permanent member of UN Security Council for a period of two years, let’s hope it would follow the mandate of UNHCR scrupulously ensuring a decent living for refugees during their stay in India.

Let’s be Good Hosts

Till getting viable solutions of Repatriation to their local land or local integration or resettlement to some other country, let’s support them in what ever possible way; in terms of giving education to their children or attending to their health issues or providing them with skills or any other way. In our traditions it is enshrined that a Host must be kind and generous to the guests and hence we should live up to our traditions and provide all help, affection and empathy for the refugees and asylum seekers who have taken shelter in our country to save their lives.

COVA Refugee Facilitation Centre

COVA Peace Network provides humanitarian support to the refugees in the form of monthly ration kits, support for schooling to children, grants for small businesses, medical treatment and liaison with authorities as and when required.

 Brief Report for 2020-21

COVA Peace Network provided Monthly Ration Kits along with Rs. 500 for sundry expenses to 135 destitute refugee families and provided education support for 40 children and provided medical support to 4 refugee patients for surgeries, major treatment including dialysis thrice a week for one refugee woman.

As part of the COVID Pandemic Relief, 1600 refugee families were provided ration kits twice- each kit contained enough rations for two months for a family. Second, COVA Peace Network provided grants and support to 93 refugees engaged in petty businesses to restart their businesses after the Lockdown was lifted.

When Hyderabad was devastated by floods in October 2020, refugees who were mostly living around lakes were the worst affected. COVA Peace Network provided immediate relief in the form of cooked meals to 2000 refugees, repair of 85 damaged hutments and toilets, clothes for 320 families, household utensil kits to 141 families whose assets were washed away and finally construction of new hutments with all amenities for 42 families whose dwellings were totally submerged in the floods.

In all, COVA Peace Network was able to mobilise Rs. 32,26,687 through donations and Rs. 16,95,00 worth of support in kind- making a total of Rs. 49,21,687- to support the refugees during 2020-21 for the regular programs, COVID Relief and assistance to the flood affected.