Relatives of Rohingya Christian refugees, a tribe thrown into the sea by the Indian Navy, have yet to hear from them nearly two months after castoff swam to his hometown of Myanmar (Burma).
“If anyone can tell us if they are alive or dead – this anxiety is killing us,” Sadek Shalom told Morning Star News in Delhi.
Refugees from Myanmar themselves have been hunted by Delhi police since Indian authorities deported 38 Rohingyas, including 15 Christians, on May 6.
Police had detained Rohingya Christian refugees from Uttam Nagar and Vikaspuri regions of Delhi, but authorities concluded with 23 Muslim Rohingya from other parts of Delhi. The deported Rohingyas who were abandoned in international waters had to swim to Myanmar, the country they left in order to escape the genocide in the first place.
“No prior notice or information was given to the authorities, neither them nor their families,” said Nasir David, whose elderly parents were deported.
Shalom said that 15 deported Christians have their families left in India. Police picked up Shalom’s older brother, John Anwar, and deported him on May 6th. He was one of 10 men, including 15 Christians, five women and three elderly people, who had Navy personnel pushed into the sea early on May 9th.
Anwar’s wife, who suffered from a miscarriage in April, was also among the 15 Christians who were deported.
“My step-sister not only dealt with her emotional and mental health challenges, but she was also a physical recovery from a miscarriage,” Shalom said, adding that there was another deported woman who had suffered a miscarriage.
David said authorities deported elderly people without daily medicine or money to buy.
“My mother is diabetic and my dad is taking blood pressure medication. Both require daily dosages,” David told MorningStar News. “My mother faints due to sugar fluctuations, and that scares me out wondering how they survive in Myanmar without money, medicine or food.”
Some of the cast-offs didn’t know how to swim, including David’s parents, he said.
Shalom started on MorningStar News when the ordeal began on February 26th, when authorities called out about 150 Christian Rohingyas for “biometrics,” including fingerprints and other physical measurements. Authorities then released them safely, but on May 6, police notified them that there had been a technical failure in the biometric process of 15 people and that they would need to redo it.
Police have failed every time due to internet connectivity issues and moved from one location to another in an effort to register biometrics, Shalom said. During this time, authorities forced the woman to undergo a pregnancy test, and the man was subjected to an identification mark test. Authorities eventually took them to Indel Rock Detention Center, where authorities confiscated their cell phones.
“Up until then, we had occasional updates from our families through messages about where they were, but after their phones were snatched, we didn’t know where they were,” Shalom said.
The next day, Shalom received a call from an unknown number. He quickly informs Shalom that the authorities took them to the airport and deported them to Myanmar.
“It was a 17-second call that completely rocked us,” Shalom said.
Three days later, on May 9th, Shalom heard again from his brother Anwar at 5:30am. After landing in Myanmar, he had borrowed a phone call from a fisherman to call Shalom.
“Anwar spoke of a terrible journey and the light letter they all had to go through,” Shalom said. “We were all completely shaking after hearing that.”
The Indian army transported it via aircraft to Sri Vijaya Plum (also known as Port Blair) in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. According to Anwar and media reports, when authorities arrived there, they seized the documents, money and belongings of UN refugees before they were placed on Indian Navy ships.
Navy officials tied their hands and covered their eyes with blindfolds, Anwar told his brother.
“They were tightly tied up for about four hours, which caused Anwar’s wrist to bleed,” Shalom said.
Anwar also told him how he was assaulted after Navy officials noticed that the cross and Anwar full name “John Anwar” had been written on his t-shirt. They asked him how many Christians were, and he revealed their number.
Navy officials accused him of being part of the “Pahargam terrorist attacks” that took place in Jammu and Kashmir on April 22, and inexplicably labelled it as “Pakistan.”
The naval crew then presented the group with two options. He returned to Myanmar or moved to Indonesia. Fearing repatriation to Myanmar, refugees chose Indonesia as their destination. From midnight on May 8th, Navy officials had removed their detentions, distributed life jackets and told them to jump into the sea.
“They were asked to stay in the water and were guaranteed that someone would get there to save them,” David said.
After stomping on the water for a while, no one arrived, so they decided to swim on land.
“People who knew how to swim dragged those who couldn’t swim,” David said.
Once they reached the coast they saw some men and “we immediately approached in a surrender position, thinking that they might be killed to break into the border,” David said. As the castoff approached, they realized that the people on the coast were fishermen.
“It was a shock to all those who reached the coast where they were back in Myanmar rather than Indonesia,” Shalom said.
The account came with the first and last call Shalom received from Anwar. Anwar confirmed that they “landed alive in Myanmar.”
David said he could also talk to his parents, but that was the last he had heard from them.
“To this day, we don’t know about their happiness, their safety, or their happiness, even if they are still alive,” David was clearly worried.
Faith in uncertainty
David shared his fear and interest in his family and community on Morning Star News.
“As a son, I feel like a lifeless person, torn by grief, and as a representative of my community, I live in constant fear, so I feel burdened and deeply concerned about the safety and future of our people,” he said.
Parents whose children have been deported cannot comfort themselves, Shalom said.
“They’ve said it over and over, ‘If we can get news about the kids, we don’t know what they’re like, whether they’re alive or dead,” he said.
David said that faith in God only allows him to endure every day. He demanded prayers from them and India.
“We believe that God is sovereign and trusts us to see our children even in the darkest valley,” he said.
They move from place to place, waiting for God to create a path for political exile in a country where God can “live without fear.”
“We appeal to all churches, Christian organizations and well-meanors to stand with us in prayer and expand all possible help, and speak to the embassies and government on our behalf for our migration,” Shalom said.
Despite the hopeless circumstances, David continues to keep his hope alive.
“I may never see my parents again in this life, but I embrace the eternal hope that we will see again in heaven. All tears will be wiped out in the arms of the Savior, and there will be no more sadness.”
Inhumane deportation
On June 19, Amnesty International, a global human rights organization, urged the Indian government to “stop all deportations,” in addition to the 135 Christian Rohingyas who questioned the way deportations at the hands of the government.
The Indian government has urged “to endure all deportations of Rohingya refugees at once in a row,” Aakar Patel, chairman of the Amnesty International Committee, said in a statement.
Shalom came to India in 2014, along with 150 Rohingya Christians, after facing cruelty at the hands of the Myanmar military. When the Indian government arrived in Delhi, many of them granted long-term visas (LTVs), and they also registered with the United Nation High Comfiderer for Chefugees (UNHCR).
Shalom and the other children went to pick up the rags for their survival, but their parents did a sleazy job. Rag picking was passed in a school system where students attended evening tuition fees throughout the day, slowly and gradually opened exams for grades 10 and 12.
Through education, these rug pickers have earned decent jobs. Uneducated David’s father learned to read Bengali and Rohingya to read the Bible and teach others. He began leading church services and became the church deacon in 2006, David said.
However, in 2017, the Indian government announced the Rohingya as illegal immigrants and canceled all visas.
“After years of struggle, we started to feel calm, and all of a sudden we are homeless, without work, no food, uprooted and unable to retreat,” David said.
Shalom said they are not afraid of deportation, but “we have problems with the way we are deported. Being picked up without prior notice, separated from our families, attacked along the way, thrown into international seas and killed.
Myanmar denied citizenship by deeming the Rohingya as immigrants from Bangladesh, but the Rohingya claimed that they were indigenous peoples in western Myanmar. Myanmar’s population was estimated at 1.4 million before Rohingya genocide in 2017, with more than 740,000 Rohingya fled to Bangladesh.
Myanmar authorities have imposed restrictions on the state’s education and movement and access to civil servants’ jobs.
UN officials and the Human Rights Clock describe the persecution of the Rohingya in Myanmar as a cleansing of ethnic groups. A UN investigation found evidence of an increase in the inciting hatred and religious intolerance by ultranationalist Buddhists against the Rohingya, and Myanmar security forces exposed them to summary executions, loss of failure, arbitrary arrests, restraints, torture and abuse and forced labor against the community.
India’s Rohingya refugees face persecution and attacks from Hindu nationalist groups.
Christian support organization Open Door ranks 11th in India on the 2025 global watch list where Christians face the toughest persecution. India came in 31st in 2013, but has steadily fallen in the rankings since Narendra Modi took power as prime minister.
Defenders of religious rights point to the hostile tone of the National Democratic Alliance government led by Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, who said that since Modi came to power in May 2014, he has encouraged Hindu extremists in India.
