Husnara Khatun spent three and a half years in a detention centre in Assam.

*All names and personal details have been changed or beeped to protect the survivors’ identity.spent three and a half years in a detention centre in Assam.

Q- Can we use this recording?

A- Yes, you can use it.

Q- What is your name?

A- My name is [REDACT].

Q- Where is your birthplace?

A- [REDACT].

Q- Can you recall any memorable incident regarding your place of birth?

A- No, I can’t recall anything. 

Q- When did you learn about NRC for the first time?

A- When I had to submit  documents for the NRC.

Q- How has the NRC affected your family?

A- NRC affected us a lot; names of our family members are left out from NRC. Only the names of 1 family member appeared in NRC and all others are left out. 

Q- When did you learn that you will have to go to Detention Camp?

A- At 4 O’ clock I have learnt that I will have to go to Detention Camp. They caught me up from here to the Police station where they completed all the official document works, they then completed the official work at the [REDACT]. Later on they informed me that I will be sent to [REDACT].

Q- For how long were you in the Detention Camp?

A- 3.5 years.

Q- How were the behaviours inside the Detention Camp, how were the foods served to you?

A- Very worse quality foods were provided to us, we pressurized them for good foods and vegetables.

Q- Were medicines provided to you properly?

A- In the name of medicine no special care was taken, 2 tablets were provided for any diseases we suffer, no one was there to look after if we recovered from the disease or not. 

Q- How were the bathroom toilet facilities?

A- The bathroom and toilets were very dirty. We had to clean those on our own like at home.

Q- How did your family survive when you were in Detention Camp?

A- My family survived through a very hard time, worked as a daily wage labourer, we are poor people. Government uselessly harassed us a lot.

Q- What is the duration that your family members were allowed to visit you?

A- At first my family members visited me after 1 week, then after 15 days, then 20 days and later on at intervals of 1 or 1.5 months. 

Q- How did you come out from Detention Camp?

A- People in my home have done the essential work for my release; we have to spend a lot of money. 

Q- What is your total expense?

A- We have to spend at least 4-5 lacs.

Q- How did you manage the required money?

A- We borrowed a lot of money from people, money was provided for my release on bail after selling 2 Bigha of our land. We are very poor people, now we have nothing to run our life. 

Q- Can you recall any memorable incident from Detention Camp?

A- We had to engage in debates frequently with the staff, they harassed us a lot, very bad quality foods were served to us, couldn’t sleep at night due to hunger, sometimes I used to drink water at midnight. We stayed in very difficult conditions.

Q- Were rice not provided to you for eating?

A- Rice was provided but those were not in a condition that can be eaten, I used to throw the rice, vegetables were not good, vegetables were boiled with salt and water only. 

Q- Did your name appear in the final list of NRC?

A- No, my name is not there. 

Q- Do you recall any memorable incident during the NRC or FT Court process?

A- We had to face the conspiracy of NRC inside the Detention Camp also, all the names of my family members were asked, I don’t know what they have done collecting the names, maybe they have deleted the names from NRC.

Q- What is your total expense for NRC?

A- I have spent Rs. 20,000 for NRC.

Q- Have you got any help from NGOs or any other sources?

A- No, we didn’t get any such help. We relied on ourselves.

Q- How has the Corona Pandemic affected you?

A- Corona affected us a lot, we have to buy all eatables like rice, dal etc. government has not done a good thing. 

Q- Did you get any help from government sources or NGOs?

A- We didn’t get help from any government sources. An NGO helped us with money. 

Q- Are you vaccinated?

A- Yes, I am vaccinated.

Q- Have you taken both doses?

A- Yes, I have taken both doses.

Q- Were you charged money for vaccination?

A- No, it was free.