By Divya Murugesan
AIR OF FORLORN
An atmosphere of desolation and despair surrounds the relief camps of Muzaffarnagar as the riot victims come to stare at the face of their uncertain future. Out of the 47 camps that had been set up post the bloody communal riots which started here in August 2013, only 4 continue to function, the rest have been wound up and the victims asked to leave. In the districts of Loi, Shamli and numerous others, the refuge continue to battle the fierce cold while also facing the fear of forcible eviction from the camps. Some of families even allege being forced to shift into buildings without roofs in the middle of the night. Things turned worse for those camping in the Shamli district as a posse of policemen, allegedly, started throwing out the refugees belongings and even threatened to use lathi-charge if they didnt leave.
The tents in the camps itself arent any far from inferno. They leak during rains, wetting the brick-hearth and making it unable for the victims to cook. The promises of providing medicines, firewood and milk havent been fulfilled properly in many camps. The temperature drop makes life tougher than it already is for the victims. They call winters unforgiving and ruthless and hold the weather responsible for killing a three year old in the Manna Maja camp, Shamli district this Wednesday. And all this is met with the sheer apathy of certain persons of importance who claim that cold weather doesnt kill anyone. Whether it does or not, it certainly aggravates the already existing ailments like scabies and respiratory ailments which were found to be in high frequency by The Hindu when they toured the camps with local doctors. The correlation between drop in temperature and number of deaths also seems to be strong one!
THE PRICE OF RECOVERY
Though the process of compensating the refugees of 9 identified villages is an on-going one, it does have several shortcomings
The tales of woe are almost common in almost all the districts. Even those who have received the compensation of Rs 5 lakhs, complain of it not being enough to rehabilitate them. Their woes about the process of rebuilding houses being highly tedious and the sum of money not being enough to start life afresh echoes everywhere. The survivors lament about their dead near and dear ones. But what good is compensation without loved ones? says Zareena, while narrating the murder of her husband, Fayyaz in the violence of Kutba-Kutbi villages.
Firstly, the entitlement of this compensation comes only after they sign an affidavit saying that they wont return to their village, wont occupy the government land, and not live in a relief camp.
Secondly, the escalation in the cost of land in villages makes the grand sum of Rs 5 lakh highly insufficient! The average price of land in villages in UP range somewhere between Rs 2500 to Rs 3500 per yard. At these prices, buying up say, 150 yards of land comes out to be nothing less than 4 lakhs. Adding the cost of bricks (about Rs 5000 per 1000 units) and construction costs to it would end up leaving nothing for the family to survive on! Theyll be back to their hand-to-mouth mode of survival!
Thirdly, the same compensation amount is entitled for all families, regardless of their size! The complain about extended members of many family being excluded from the compensation list despite them holding separate ration cards and living in separate households also echoes in numerous districts of UP. The Hindu also claims that, according to the documents available to them, the number of families alleging exclusion could go up to 1000! The victims also allege sabotaging of their compensation by the agents or caretakers in their camps.
And yet again, there are things that money just cant buy! The schools and madrasas where the children went to, the maidan they played on, the cheer and smile on the peoples face. Is a Rs 5 lakh amount, an instant equivalent of a home, livelihood, security and happiness?
Lastly we turn to the ones whose names dont even appear on the compensation list. As the families from only 9 identified villages (where much of the murder and assault had taken place) were entitled to the compensation, the families in the other villages affected by the violence ( about 140 of them) somehow continue to survive in their decrepit and leaking tents in this freezing cold. They hope against all odds that they arent forcibly evicted.
The aim here isnt to criticize any government. Surely, doing the best for the victims of these bloody riots is on the top of the governments list, but, the practical aspects of it are to be considered too! We must evaluate what good are the visits by NHRC team (in late December) and Rahul Gandhis unannounced visit followed by that of Mulayam Singh Yadavs, doing for the people suffering there rather than jumping to conclusions on seeing a 6 digit compensatory amount.
The author is currently pursuing B.A. (Hons) Economics at St Stephens College. She is a zealous writer who likes to share her political and social opinions. She holds prior experience as an editor at Sanskriti School, Chanakyapuri, writes regularly at The Stephanian Forum and has also contributed as an editor to Eureka Wow. A music lover and an enthusiastic reader among many other things, she also likes to spend her time, sketching and painting. She believes in taking each day as it comes and living life to the fullest!