Aizawl, Oct 21 Authorities in Mizoram have so far recorded the biometric details of over 43.53 per cent of the nearly 31,300 Myanmar refugees taking shelter in the northeastern state after fleeing their country in phases following the military coup in February 2021, officials said on Tuesday.
A senior official of the Mizoram Home Department said that biometric data of around 13,620 of the total of 31,300 refugees from Myanmar have been collected so far across various districts.
The Serchhip district administration in central Mizoram first launched the biometric enrolment drive for the refugees on July 30, and subsequently, 10 other districts commenced the enrolment process.
According to the official, on the advice of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the biometric enrolment process has been underway through the Foreigners Identification Portal and Biometric Enrolment (FIP&BE) system.
Admitting that the electronic registration process has faced multiple challenges, including technical issues and unstable internet connectivity in remote areas, the official said that despite these problems, the district authorities have managed to continue the enrolment process, albeit at a slow pace.
Besides the Myanmar refugees, around 3,000 migrants from the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) of southeastern Bangladesh have taken shelter in three districts of Mizoram over the past two years.
Most of the Bangladeshi refugees (around 2,000) are staying in Lawngtlai district in southern Mizoram, which borders both Myanmar and Bangladesh.
Tribal refugees from Bangladesh have also been accommodated in Lunglei and Serchhip districts.
The Home Department official said that the biometric enrolment process for refugees from Bangladesh will be undertaken after the completion of the Myanmar refugees’ data collection.
Both the Myanmar and Bangladeshi refugees are sheltered in designated camps, as well as in relatives’ and rented houses across all 11 districts of Mizoram.
The official clarified that it is easier to collect biometric details from refugees living in camps, but it is more challenging for those staying in relatives’ and rented houses spread across hundreds of villages.
"To tackle this problem, the authorities concerned in the districts have sought the help of Village Councils and civil society organisations, especially the Young Mizo Association (YMA)," he said.
Along with biometric data, the enrolment process also includes the collection of biographical details such as names, addresses, parents’ names, and any employment history, both in Myanmar and in Mizoram.
Before initiating the biometric data collection, the Mizoram government provided extensive training to district-level officials to collect biometric and biographical data from refugees taking shelter in the state.
Following the military coup in Myanmar in February 2021, refugees, including women and children, began entering Mizoram in search of shelter. Their numbers have now risen to around 31,300.
Members of the Bangladeshi Bawm community from the CHT have also been staying in Mizoram for over two years after fleeing ethnic troubles triggered by a crackdown by the Bangladesh Army.
The Myanmar refugees, mostly from the Chin tribe, share close ethnic and cultural ties with the majority Mizo community of Mizoram, while the Bawm — also known as Bawmzo — are a small ethnic group primarily residing in the CHT of Bangladesh and have similar cultural affinities with the Mizos.
Myanmar’s Chin state shares a 510 km mountainous border with six Mizoram districts — Champhai, Siaha, Lawngtlai, Hnahthial, Saitual and Serchhip, while three districts -- Mamit, Lunglei and Lawngtlai -- share a 318 km-long border with Bangladesh.
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