Balaka Chattaraj
India has been the home for refugees from diverse communities from different parts of the world. In 2017, many Rohingya people fled the brutal oppression inflicted upon them by the extremist authority in Myanmar. Around 70,000 of them settled in Bangladesh, according to a UNHCR report, and an estimated 40,000 of the same community sought refuge in India. On May 25, mid-week, when India and Pakistan witnessed conflict and military standoffs, the Rohingya community was subjected to horrific incidents inflicted upon them. Many news media reported that nearly 40 Rohingya refugees from May 6-9 were deported from the eastern coast to Myanmar. The other international media reported it, quoting the victims of deportation as “we were thrown by the authorities in the ocean in the middle of the night”. Since 2020, the present BJP government has been aggressive about pushing the refugees back from the country and labelling them as “threats to internal security” and “illegal immigrants”. Sometime back, India also reportedly pushed back 50 Rohingya people from Assam to Bangladesh on foot. The UN Human Rights Convention Rapporteur mentioned these incidents as a “cruel action” which is subject to violation of the individual’s human rights, violating the international legal principle of non-refoulement. It also violates the principle, which prohibits the State from returning human beings to the territory where they faced severe human rights violations and genocide. However, the BJP’s aggressive pushback to refugees falls under their propaganda to redesign India as a Hindu state and deport the Muslim “illegal” immigrants. It is their innovation that provokes people in electoral politics, too.
When I contacted the AID workers and service providers in UNHCR, India, to record their narrative for academic purposes, I learnt about their prolonged experience with the aggressive system of India. Over a telephonic conversation, the person (unwilling to disclose name) revealed that the people were called into the police station for verification and then moved to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. After that, they were blindfolded and thrown out into the ocean wearing their life jackets. The aid workers revealed their helplessness with the situation and the distress it caused.
The helplessness of the AID workers and social workers in general after the rise of aggressive far-right extremist politicians all over the world has put them under the constant threat of losing their jobs and income. The fund cuts and shutdown of the humanitarian project have put them in a situation of uncertainty and precarity. Nevertheless, the ruthless crackdown on the refugees recently has affected the mental and emotional health of the aid workers to no end. The same AID worker, throughout the conversation, specifically mentioned his experience of that day’s incident, describing his helplessness after seeing the crying and tortured faces of the Rohingya people. Further, the person also mentioned that for a moment he felt like resigning and leaving the work immediately because he was unable to assist.
The AID workers/social workers have witnessed a couple of problems, such as funding cuts, loss of income, and loss of jobs. But nothing has affected their mental health as brutally as witnessing inflicted oppression among the most downtrodden community. The most ignored subject in social work is the mental health and social well-being of the aid workers who promise to help and provide professional assistance to others. The guidelines of this profession mention an “emotional” safe distance from the clients receiving help. However, after some time, when the AID workers witness the ruthless brutality inflicted upon them, like throwing humans, including children, women, elderly people and cancer patients, into the ocean, the lines of emotional safety distance get blurred, which impacts their mental wellbeing. The aid workers mentioned that the cries of the helpless people they witnessed had an impact on their minds for days, disrupting their daily lives, including causing nightmares and affecting their personal relations. It disrupted their functioning at work in the office and the burden of guilt weighed on them about facing anyone from the community in the office who came for assistance. They also mentioned their inability to talk about it among their peer groups due to the fear of being labelled with names and gaslighted further. The lack of space to share their unique experiences among peer groups and even writing on social media has created emotional buildup among them, wrapped in the feelings of guilt, shame and pain. It creates adverse mental health crises among the aid workers, not only affecting their professional commitments but also their immediate personal relations.
Mental health is still a stigma, and a lack of care centres for receiving professional help remains a challenge in India. However, the most ignored part in the field is understanding and empathising with the aid workers who are expected to perform and provide for their mental health. The humanitarian crisis impacts the emotional and mental well-being of the aid workers deeply, as they witness the brutality firsthand and handle the raw emotions of the affected people at close quarters. These conversations capture the helplessness of the AID workers and also identifies the gap in the lack of professional help and assistance for the people providing help. Furthermore, in the era of populism, the aid workers are on the verge of losing income, in a constant phase of precarity, witnessing the worst human rights violations. The catastrophic crisis affects their mental health the most. It is time to understand and perceive the aid worker with empathy beyond their professional commitments, and help them receive timely help in these scenarios.
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Balaka Chattaraj is presently pursuing a PhD from Tezpur University.
