“We Are Stateless, But Not Voiceless”: Rohingya Refugees Speak Out

Rohingya refugees in India are facing an “unprecedented crisis” with people being “detained arbitrarily, and denied legal protection,” said Sabber Kyaw Min, founder and director of Rohingya Human Rights Initiative (RHRI) on May 19.

“We are stateless, but we are not voiceless,” said Min. “We will continue to speak up for our people until justice is done,” he said.

Min 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 “safety concerns.”

The RHRI, along with People’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 Min, Azadi Project’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.

“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,” said Min, 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, “community members continue to be detained for illegal entry,” Min 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. “Many of them have been in detention for over three years. Several are women and children,” Min 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.

“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,” said Min.

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.

“My children cried every night. There was hardly any food. We were treated like criminals,” 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, “Even this could not protect me.”

Another woman, who had fled Myanmar after the military violence in 2017, said, “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.”

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

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.

“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.