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Aizawl, Oct 21 (IANS) Mizoram authorities have so far recorded biometric details of more than 43.53 per cent of the nearly 31,300 Myanmar refugees who took refuge in the northeastern state after fleeing their country following the military coup in February 2021, officials said on Tuesday.
A senior Mizoram Home Department official said biometric data of about 13,620 of the total 31,300 refugees from Myanmar has been collected so far from various districts.
Serchhip district administration in central Mizoram first started the biometric enrollment drive for refugees on July 30 and subsequently the enrollment process began in 10 other districts.
According to the official, on the advice of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the biometric enrollment process is underway through the Foreigner Identification Portal and Biometric Enrollment (FIP&BE) system.
Acknowledging that the electronic registration process has faced several challenges, including technical issues and unstable internet connectivity in remote areas, the official said that despite these problems, the district authorities have managed to keep the enrollment process going, albeit at a slow pace.
Apart from refugees from Myanmar, about 3,000 migrants from Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) in south-eastern Bangladesh have taken refuge in three districts of Mizoram in the last two years.
Most of the Bangladeshi refugees (about 2,000) are living in Longtlai district of 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 the biometric enrollment process for refugees from Bangladesh will be started after the completion of data collection of Myanmar refugees.
Both Myanmar and Bangladeshi refugees have been sheltered in designated camps as well as with relatives and in rented houses in all 11 districts of Mizoram.
The official clarified that it is easy to collect biometric details from refugees living in camps, but it is more challenging for those living with relatives and rented houses spread across hundreds of villages.
“To deal with this problem, the concerned authorities in the districts have sought help from village councils and civil society organisations, especially the Young Mizo Association (YMA),” he said.
Along with biometric data, the enrollment process also includes the collection of biographical details such as names, addresses, parents’ names and any employment history in both Myanmar and Mizoram.
Before starting biometric data collection, the Mizoram government provided extensive training to district level officials to collect biometric and biographical data from refugees seeking refuge in the state.
Following the military coup in Myanmar in February 2021, refugees, including women and children, started entering Mizoram in search of shelter. Their number has now reached around 31,300.
Members of the Bangladeshi Bawm community of CHT have also been living in Mizoram for more than two years, fleeing ethnic problems caused by the Bangladesh Army crackdown.
Refugees from Myanmar, 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 that lives mainly in the CHT of Bangladesh and share similar cultural affinities with the Mizos.
Myanmar’s Chin state shares a 510 km long mountainous border with six districts of Mizoram – Champhai, Siaha, Lawangtlai, Hanathiyal, Saitual and Serchhip, while three districts – Mamit, Lunglei and Langtalai – share a 318 km long border with Bangladesh.
–IANS
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