The need for a refugee law

 

Influx from Myanmar points to the need to have comprehensive legislation to deal with refugees

The intensified fighting in Myanmar has exacerbated the refugee crisis in Mizoram. Following air strikes by the junta in the Chin province that borders Mizoram and Manipur, people are fleeing Myanmar to the safety of India. This newspaper, while visiting camps at the Mizoram-Myanmar border, found that the government has issued at least 30,000 identity cards to refugees. Many more are in the country, undocumented. The refugee influx is not surprising since the borders are porous and communities living in the two countries share ethnic ties – the Kuki-Zomi people residing in the Patkai Hills, which divide India and Myanmar may have different nationalities but share community solidarity. The government in Mizoram is maintaining camps for the refugees though Aizawl has been complaining about a shortage of money and other aid. In contrast, the government in Imphal has been hostile to the refugees, now caught in the inter-ethnic tensions.

RAM RAM JI