Rohingya refugee and Ramadan: A story of hope of a 16-year-old boy

Jammu: Muslims all over the globe are observing fasts in the holy month of Ramadan, so is Anamul Haq, a 16-year-old boy from Rohingya (Myanmar) living in a Jhuggi (hut) in Jammu as a refugee this Ramadan. But the reason for us talking about him goes beyond his age. Besides fasting, he works at a local chicken shop in Malik market Jammu, where he does cleaning from 8 am till 8 pm which fetches him Rs 3,000 a month, thus supplementing the income of his father, who works as a laborer, in sustaining the family of nine.

For Anam, life wasn’t so hard when he used to live in Myanmar. He still remembers his one storey modest house, where he used to live happily alongwith his siblings and parents in village Ksamoungsick of Maungdaw District.

“I remember every bit of my school days in Burma. Those were my best days that I can never have back in my life,” says Anam.

Anam and his family were forced to take a dangerous journey through a treacherous terrain to come down to India as refugees in 2013, after the persecution of Rohingya Muslims in Burma at the hands of local Buddhists rose to an all-time high.

Being forced into exile also changed his life: every morning instead of carrying a school bag on his shoulders, he now carries the burden of earning and supporting his family.

“I am still happy in this and thank Allah for keeping me and my family safe and alive otherwise, if we would have lived there, we could have also met the same fate as of the other dead Rohingyas,” he says.

During Ramadan, every day he wakes up for Suhoor, offers prayer, then takes rest and gets ready by 7:30 am to start his 12-hour working shift.

Even though the equations have changed, Anam is still hopeful that one day he and his fellow Rohigya Muslims will be welcomed in Burma (Myanmar) and this Ramadan he is especially praying for this cause.