Often separated by religious differences, we forget a very special connection of soil, history and brotherhood that we share with our neighbouring country-Pakistan. So used to eyeing them with a sense of hate, yet so close to our border, we forget at the end of the day we are all humans, and we will all return to the same soil that we indefinitely share, no matter the name of the nation we belong to.
On this World Refugee Day, Humanitarian Aid International (HAI) would like to share stories of our dear Pakistani refugees in Delhi and a glimpse of their side of the world – where they had to go through days of uncertainty in one land in order to reach days of safety in another.
Sarita
Dressed in her school uniform, Sarita a 19-year-old young woman smiles, gently sits down on a charpai (cot), and lets us into her world of wanting to bring a change. Her family moved to India way back in 2013 in pursuit of providing education to their children that was hopelessly taken away in the years they spent in Pakistan. Being taught kalma in school and fearing forced religious conversion, her parents had no other option but to stop sending Sarita and her siblings to school.
But education was not something her father would just give up on. He was determined to give them their right to education in India, even if not in their own land, and moved to Delhi. Sarita, now in the 12th Standard, is very well-versed in Sanskrit and aspires to become a teacher, just like her own at school and at HAI’s remedial education centre. She hopes that the years that were taken away from her are not repeated to another child. She hopes she can reciprocate the same effort and inspire others to educate themselves and get a life of rights and dreams as they deserve.
When asked if she is ready to work hard for her dreams, she looked straight up and answered, “Koshish karungi tabhi to kar paungi, nahi to nahi kar paungi” (If I work hard, only then will I be able to achieve my dreams. If not, it won’t happen), and you and me both know that this young girl who moved miles for her education, will definitely make it to her dreams.
Avanti
With a black dupatta covering her well-lit face, sindoor (vermillion) on her forehead and bangles on her wrist, Avanti a 19-year-old young woman, looks happy to be seeing friendly faces and sharing a conversation. As she settles down to answer our questions, she begins with some of her experiences of living in fear before coming to India.
Avanti says she once saw two men abduct two of her neighbour’s goats in broad daylight. It might sound like a simple robbery, but to a young girl at home all day, unable to go out or to school because of the fear of harassment, abduction and forced conversion which was common in the area, this sight was not less than a nightmare. In 2013, she and her family moved to India and lived in Faridabad camp. Avanti was later married off and that is when she started her family in a refugee camp in Delhi. Unlike the dark realities shadowing her past, now she lives a life of love and gratitude; her in-laws and husband want her to study and take up a job of her choice as much as she does. She has enrolled for the beautician and sewing training course provided by HAI and is determined to stand up on her own feet.
One can talk to this young woman and see it in her eyes that she has come this far only to move forward and there is no looking back especially with her family and in-laws by her side.
Rupali
Rupali, an 18-year-old refugee, studies B.Com. from IGNOU and dreams of becoming an accountant. Leaving Pakistan in 2011, her strength of leaving her friends, relatives and those closest to her, is paying off as she now has the spark of being independent and she’s on her way to it.
She loves embroidering and crafts; her beautiful designs, that are traditional to her culture and so neatly done, can make anyone in awe of it. She wants to join the beautician and sewing training course that has been initiated by HAI and there is no doubt that she would excel in this too.
Nandini
Nandini (13 years old) studies in a nearby school but her wishes travel far. She is not the kind of child that studies for the sake of it. Her mother takes pride in saying how she completes all her household chores to help her out, gets ready to go to school and studies all by herself.
Her mother married early and wants her children to reach great heights, fulfill their desires and decide their own future. Nandini says she wants to become a doctor. She has seen how doctors have helped her mother when she was down with fever, operated on her father and helped him get better; she wants to do the same.
A 13-year-old child with innocence in her eyes and genuineness in her words, shares how she would like to help other people get well and we cannot help but feel proud of her.
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*Blog by HAI Intern Aleena Sebastian
**The names have been changed to protect the privacy of the individual. These are stories shared by different individuals of a Pakistani refugee camp in Delhi, a community, where people are still striving for their right to basic necessities and education. HAI envisions to facilitate the community to attain their goals of a better life for themselves and their children, one where they feel accepted, cared for, and self-sufficient in the country they found refuge in.