Chin refugee woman mugged in Delhi

08 January 2014: A 57-year-old Chin refugee woman lost 11,000 Indian Rupees after being mugged in Delhi, India by an unknown man while she was on her way home around 6pm last Friday.

The victim told the Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO) that the man on a bike snatched her bag when she was returning to her rented room from selling second-hand clothes door to door to refugees from Burma.

She said that she was walking alone in a small road between Chanakya Place and Asalatpur Ward, and that the man, who looked like Indian, suddenly stood in front of her and pulled her bag by force.

“There was nobody around. I was so frightened and instantly collapsed on the road. I felt so dizzy and was not able to stand up for a while. The biker immediately ran away with all the money,” added the victim, who looks after her family of seven members by earning a small amount of money on commission.

She also said that she has not been able to sleep at night since then and that her heart condition has got worse despite taking medicine.

Last Monday, she approached the Women’s Protection Centre (WPC), run by the UNHCR in Delhi, and informed them of the incident.

One of the Chin refugee community leaders, who visited the victim, told CHRO: “Refugees from Burma have been facing various kinds of attacks and robberies for years. Some were mugged in the streets in broad daylight whilst others got robbed inside their rented rooms.”

In October last year, hundreds of Chin refugees from Burma demonstrated in Delhi, saying they had been going through difficult situation in terms of survival, legal protection and other basic human needs.#