M A I N   N E W S

‘Our kids were hacked, women raped…can’t go back’
Muzaffarnagar riot victims refuse to return, want relocation in Muslim-dominated villages
Aditi Tandon
Tribune News Service

"Those living in camps are either BJP or Congressmen," Mulayam said yesterday mocking victims' pain. Back in Malakpur, campers were mourning the death of Akhtar, a young mason from Lak village and the last in his family to be murdered in three months. Akhtar's friend Mastkeem, who also abandoned his home in Lak, recalls, "Miscreants killed Akhtar's father, his elder brother, sister in law and their toddler. Yesterday we heard of his murder. Our men continue to be killed. Where is the question of returning home? There is no safety."

Mastkeem says he tried to return home but was driven out by men of the dominant community (read Jats). "They called me names, threatened to kill me. I fled again," he says.

This sense of fear sweeps the community which is now trying to make the relief camp their home. Riot victims in the area have started to build concrete structures in camps to ensure safety of their children after 33 infants died of cold in Malakpur tents alone over the past month. Vegetable gardens have been laid as a measure of self sustenance.

Meat vendors from nearby have started regular visits to the camps. "I come every three days," says Imam, a meat vendor spotted at Malakpur today.

If the signs of growing life in the relief camps are anything to go by, riot victims are never returning home.

They have their reasons: "Muslims in Jat dominated villages were hand-picked for attacks. They were easy to kill. The villages with Muslim domination were not touched. We want to be relocated to Muslim dominated villages. We are not going home. We have no trust left in the dominant caste or the government," says Naeem Khan, 35, whose house in Lom was ransacked.

With the sentiment of "no return" becoming prominent post riots in UP, the state government is mounting pressure on the Muslim community to return home so it can send an "all is well" message. But the campers openly dare SP. Mumtaz, a mother of nine, says: "We will die here but not return to be killed by others. We don't want Rs 5 lakh. We want our homes where we feel safe."

Malakpur relief camp came up in 50 acre forest land after residents of the Muslims dominant village came together to clear the area of "Kikar" trees. Haji Dilshad, the camp manager, says, "It took us several days to remove the trees and secure people who arrived in hordes having hidden for days in sugarcane fields. Initially the refugees slept on ground; then we got tents."

But the tents lacked water proofing which is why 33 kids died of cold in Malakpur alone. The state has 30 such privately run camps, a sense of polarisation uniting them in these times of distress.