A Calcuttan, now settled in the Netherlands, has written a book on the immigrants seeking asylum in the European country.
Satarupa Bose Roy, an English Language teacher at the Dutch ministry of defence, lives in Almere, in the heart of the Flevoland province of the Netherlands.
The book — Where Do They Belong? — is a compilation of the stories of refugees from various corners of the world, Syria, Ukraine, Somalia, Turkey, Afghanistan and Tunisia, among them.
The book is slated for a launch in the Netherlands later this year. A Bengali translation, Jader Desh Bole Kichhu Nei, was launched at a bookstore on Park Street on Friday.
The author met several asylum seekers at a Dutch asylum seekers’ centre, operated by the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA). Over the past two years, she documented their stories.
“As a fellow migrant, I believe I understand the complexities of making a new city feel like home. While my experiences are not directly comparable to the hardships faced by these refugees, I, too, feel rootless at times. I hope that through this book, I can promote a deeper understanding of the refugees’ experiences and celebrate the resilience they embody,” said Satarupa, who grew up in Chetla. Her in-laws’ home is near Gariahat.
“The book also powerfully underscores a vital truth: asylum seekers are not mere statistics in headlines; they are real individuals brimming with dreams, fears, and untapped talents,” she said.
Immigration is a political hot potato in India right now, with a crackdown on suspected Bangladeshis who are staying in India illegally. But many Bengali-speaking people, most of them Muslims and part of the informal workforce, are being allegedly harassed in BJP-ruled states despite having valid Indian papers.
The dream of global mobility is under strain due to a rise in protectionism and shifting immigration policies. Not too long ago, the US was also ramping up deportations.
Jawhar Sircar, a former bureaucrat and a former Trinamool MP, was present at the Friday launch.
He spoke on the politics behind immigration and said such books were all the more relevant now.
“The Taj Mahal was built by the Mughals, who the Right-wing ecosystem calls invaders. If these people had their way, the Taj Mahal would be demolished by a bulldozer for glorifying outsiders,” Sircar said.