"We Are Stateless, But Not Voiceless바카라�: Rohingya Refugees Speak Out

바카라�We are stateless, but we are not voiceless,바카라� said the community leader. 바카라�We will continue to speak up for our people until justice is done,바카라� he said.

He was speaking through a video call at a press conference organised by the RHRI at the Press Club of India, New Delhi. He told Outlook that he could not be there in person due to 바카라�safety concerns.바카라�

The RHRI, along with People바카라�s Union of Civil Liberties (PUCL), Human Rights Law Network (HRLN) and the Azadi Project, held the press conference just days after the Supreme Court of India (SC) refused to stay the forced deportation of Rohingya refugees. The meeting also took place a week after 43 refugees were allegedly flown from Delhi to Port Blair in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and then dropped into international waters near Myanmar.

The event, which included talks from Azadi Project바카라�s Priyali Sur, Senior Advocate Colin Gonsalves of HRLN, and first-hand testimonies from community members, including several women. The community is asking Indian authorities to respect their right to life under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution.

바카라�We are facing an unprecedented crisis. Our people are being detained arbitrarily, denied legal protection, and are at risk of being deported to a country that continues to persecute us,바카라� said a community leader, opening the press conference.

Detention and Legal Limbo

While the United Nations recognises Rohingya people as refugees and issues UNHRC identification cards to those who reside in India, the subcontinent does not recognise the United Nations Refugee Convention of 1951. As a result, 바카라�community members continue to be detained for illegal entry,바카라� the community leader said.

At last count in May 2025, there were 270 Rohingya refugees in detention centres across India. While the majority are held in Jammu, people are also being kept in Delhi and Assam. 바카라�Many of them have been in detention for over three years. Several are women and children,바카라� the community leader said. He pointed out that even those people with valid UNHRC identification cards were being detained and forcibly deported. This was the case with 38 of the 43 refugees who were deported in the first week of May this year.

바카라�The military regime that continues to hold power in Myanmar does not recognise the Rohingya as citizens, and the very act of deporting refugees to Myanmar amounts to handing them over to the same military that carried out genocide against them,바카라� said the community leader.

Women Refugees Speak Out

In a rare moment, the women of the Rohingya community spoke out at the press conference, which was perhaps the most powerful part of the event.

바카라�My children cried every night. There was hardly any food. We were treated like criminals,바카라� said one woman who had been detained in the Kathua Jail in Jammu for more than two years. She held up her UNHCR refugee card, adding, 바카라�Even this could not protect me.바카라�

Another woman, who had fled Myanmar after the military violence in 2017, said, 바카라�I lost everything in Myanmar. Here, I hoped for peace. But we live in fear every day. We cannot work, we cannot study, we are always afraid the police will come.바카라�

A third woman, now living in a camp on the outskirts of Delhi, added: 바카라�We have no future. Our children cannot go to school. There is no healthcare. We are just waiting, surviving.바카라�

43 Rohingyas Thrown Into The Sea, Found in Myanmar

While the Supreme Court (SC) had refused to take into account the UN inquiry report on the 43 deported Rohingyas, at the time of the press conference, community members had gathered, and showed, more proof including details from officials of the National Unity Government of Myanmar that 40 Rohingya refugees are in the custody of its armed wing, the People's Defence Force.

The community members stressed that Aung Kyaw Moe, the Myanmar government's Deputy Human Rights Minister and its only Rohingya member, had said that the rescued refugees confirmed to the soldiers that India had deported them by throwing them in the sea.

바카라�We are coordinating with the local People's Defence Force to ensure that the 40 Rohingya are safe and provide necessary humanitarian assistance," Moe told Indian media. "We will do our best to ensure they are able to contact their families," he has told the media house Scroll.in.

The RHRI also read out a list of key demands that the Rohingya community has of India, which include releasing detained refugees, especially the women and children, for all Indian authorities to recognise the UNHRC identity cards, access to healthcare, education and employment in the country, and for the Indian authorities to issue long-term visas to the refugees within its territory.