The Indian state of Mizoram is hosting nearly 19,000 refugees from Myanmar, putting the local health care system under pressure. DW's Adil Bhat traveled to Zokhawthar, in eastern India, where he met a refugee doctor doing what he can to help others who have fled.
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00:00 On the edge of the India-Myanmar border, in the north-eastern state of Mizoram, Dr Mao
00:07 is making his weekly rounds in this makeshift refugee camp.
00:12 Today, he's checking on an infant suffering from a cold.
00:17 But it's not the cold that worries the mother.
00:20 She's concerned about the left lip with which the child was born.
00:26 I suggest surgery, a misoperation has a high success rate, and it's not dangerous.
00:32 But she cannot afford it.
00:34 Mao is a refugee doctor from Myanmar.
00:37 He was among the surgeons who were part of the civil disobedience movement against the
00:42 military junta after the military coup in 2021.
00:46 Fearing his arrest, Mao fled the country and sought refuge in the Indian state of Mizoram.
00:54 Living there is not safe for doctors like me.
00:57 My fellow doctors who stayed back in Myanmar are still under arrest.
01:01 Some of them are facing long jail sentences with many different charges.
01:04 They are looking for me.
01:06 If I return, I won't be safe.
01:10 Refugee doctors like Mao find themselves in a difficult position.
01:14 Since India does not have a refugee law, these doctors can neither receive asylum nor find
01:20 employment.
01:23 But despite not having an Indian medical license, Mao is continuing to practice in an unofficial
01:29 capacity to treat his fellow refugees.
01:34 The refugees living here are vulnerable to diseases.
01:38 And in the past we have seen outbreaks.
01:40 Water sanitation is poor, with water being scarce and unclean.
01:45 And it often leads to the risk of dysentery and other diseases.
01:52 But the doctor doesn't just make house calls at the camp.
01:56 A few kilometres away, Dr Mao also runs this refugee clinic.
02:05 Every day, hundreds of patients pour in from the six nearby refugee camps in the border
02:10 area.
02:12 For the refugees, this clinic is the only place they can get treatment.
02:17 It's run by donations made by the local Mizo people, and the services are mostly free.
02:24 These refugees have witnessed traumatic events back home.
02:27 And most of them need mental health treatment.
02:31 It is not only medicines, but they also require counselling sessions.
02:35 For many patients, Mao is a hero.
02:40 We consulted him regularly, and he cured us with no high medical expenses.
02:45 He's a blessing for refugees like me.
02:49 Like his patients, Mao too bears the wounds of conflict and the fear of never being able
02:56 to return home.
02:59 But despite his own worries, he continues to play a crucial role for his people, providing
03:05 the medical care that nobody else can.