Back home from Hry, migrant workers can’t shake off trauma

Malda: With fear writ large on their faces, detainees from Gurgaon who began returning to their homes on Sunday recounted their ordeal in police custody, having been suspected of being Bangladeshis. They also expressed anxiety over whether they would ever be able to return to Gurgaon and pick up the pieces of the lives they were forced to abruptly abandon.Nurul Hasan of Dangi Kumedpur, under Itahar police station in North Dinajpur, returned home five days ago, and is still disturbed by the threats he allegedly got from Haryana police. "I have been working in Gurgaon for the last four years. Never did we face such threats there," Hasan said.Working as a courier for an e-commerce company, Hasan owned a motorcycle. "We were staying in a rented room at Sector 77. Last week, police suddenly came and took seven of us away. They did not take us to the local police station at Khirkitola but to another one. There, we were accused of being Bangladeshi. I had my Aadhaar, PAN, EPIC, apart from the identity card of my company with me. But nothing could satisfy them," he said."Our house owner was summoned, who also assured them we were from Bengal. Still, police were not convinced. That night, we returned home late, but the landlord did not want us staying there any more. The very next day, I caught a train home. Many of us are still in Gurgaon. I have asked them to return however they can. Let the situation improve."Mosaraf Hosen of Aldhanda village in Itahar has been travelling to Gurgaon since 2008 to work as a construction labourer. A year ago, he took his wife Hasema with him. Hasema was working as a domestic help. In April, Mosaraf returned home for house repairs. "My two children live here with my parents. The recent development scared me as well as my wife. I couldn't take the risk of having her be there alone. She returned home two days ago," he said.However, both Hasan and Mosaraf are aware that returning to Haryana is inevitable. "We have to get back to work. Else, how will we feed our families? Many of us are paying EMI on our bikes. Without work, how will we be able to pay?" said Hasan.Itahar MLA Mosharaf Hossain, who has opened several support camps for migrant workers, said, "About 700 workers have returned from Haryana so far. There are more than 8,000 workers across construction, gardening, delivery and domestic help. They have no connection with Bangladesh and have Aadhaar, PAN or EPIC. But police are not willing to accept these. We are now collecting police clearance certificates."