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Aizawl, December 22 (IANS): Authorities in Mizoram have so far registered the biometric details of around 70 per cent of nearly 30,900 Myanmar nationals who have taken shelter in the state after fleeing their country in different phases following the military coup in February 2021, officials said on Monday.
A Home Department official said that of around 30,900 Myanmar nationals who have sought refuge in Mizoram’s 11 districts, biometric enrolment has been completed for 21,330 persons, accounting for around 70 per cent of the total migrants.
Similarly, the biometric details of around 14 per cent of the 2,375 Bangladeshi refugees were recorded so far in different districts.
At the request of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the biometric enrollment process has been underway through the Foreigners Identification Portal and the Biometric Enrollment system.
Out of the state’s 11 districts, central Mizoram’s Serchhip district administration first launched the biometric enrollment drive for the refugees on July 30, and subsequently, 10 other districts commenced the enrollment process.
According to the official, Aizawl district, which is hosting 4,160 Myanmar refugees, and Lunglei district in southern Mizoram, sheltering 1,590 refugees, have both achieved 100 per cent completion of the biometric enrolment process.
The Serchhip district has completed 97.16 per cent of enrolment, while the Khawzawl district in the northeast has covered 94.19 per cent.
Kolasib district, which abuts Assam, has finished biometric enrolment of 91.40 per cent of the refugees residing in the district.
Champhai district, a hotspot for various drugs and sharing a long border with Myanmar, and which is sheltering the largest number of Myanmar refugees at 13,527, has completed 63.48 per cent of the enrolment so far, while Lawngtlai district, which has international borders both with Myanmar and Bangladesh and shelters 6,017 refugees from Myanmar, has registered only 53.20 per cent of the biometric process up till now.
According to the official, the electronic registration process has faced several obstacles, including technical glitches and poor internet connectivity in remote areas.
Despite these challenges, the district authorities have managed to continue the enrollment drive, though progress remains slow, he said.
Besides the Myanmar refugees, around 2,375 migrants belonging to the Bawm tribal community from the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) of southeastern Bangladesh have taken shelter in three districts of Mizoram over the past more than two years due to ethnic troubles triggered by crackdowns by the Bangladesh Army.
Most of the Bangladeshi refugees (around 2,000) are staying in Lawngtlai district in southern Mizoram.
Tribal refugees from Bangladesh have also been accommodated in Lunglei and Serchhip districts.
Both the Myanmar and Bangladeshi refugees are sheltered in designated camps, as well as in relatives' and rented houses across all 11 districts of mountainous Mizoram.
The official pointed out that it is easy to collect biometric details from refugees living in camps, but it is more challenging for those staying in relatives' and rented houses spread across hundreds of remote villages.
"To tackle this problem, the authorities concerned in the districts have sought the help of village councils and civil society organisations, especially the Young Mizo Association," he added.
Along with biometric data, the enrollment process also includes the collection of biographical details such as names, addresses, parents' names, and any employment history, both in Myanmar and in Mizoram.
Before initiating the biometric data collection, the Mizoram government provided extensive training to district-level officials to collect biometric and biographical data from refugees taking shelter in the state.
Following Myanmar's February 2021 coup, refugees, including women, children and elderly persons, began entering Mizoram in search of shelter.
The Myanmar refugees, mostly from the Chin state, and the Bangladesh’s Bawm, also known as Bawmzo tribal community, share close ethnic, traditional, and cultural affinities with the majority Mizo community of Mizoram.
Myanmar's Chin state shares an unfenced 510 km mountainous border with Mizoram's Champhai, Siaha, Lawngtlai, Hnahthial, Saitual, and Serchhip districts, while the Mamit, Lunglei and Lawngtlai districts share a 318 km-long unfenced border with Bangladesh.
Mizoram has also given shelter to a few thousand displaced tribals after ethnic violence broke out between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities in neighbouring Manipur in May 2023.
