Her eyes gazes wistfully at her mother, as the sun above her continues to shine and sweat trickles over her forehead. She stands still and hope her mother returns before time.
"... And don't forget to give your father his medicines. I'll return soon, Asmeena, don't worry..."
She doesn't understand what's going on. She doesn't understand why her mother has been running to and fro the court each day. She doesn't understand why people came to her house and that made her mother feel troubled. She doesn't understand why those old, yellow, turned-over-the-corner pages matter so much. She simply doesn't.
10 year old Asmeena is troubled by the way everything is these days. Nothing seems normal. She so misses her mother's real smile which has been changed into some new troubled ones these days. She doesn't know why. And that bothers her.
It was already tough for Jabeda Begum, Asmeena's mother, to arrange two meals a day, but now there was something tougher. Proving to her own nation that she belonged to it. And it hurt her pretty bad when she tried to.
50 year old Jabeda Begum, is the lone worker of her family. Her husband has some serious ailments and cannot work. She used to have three daughters once, but the bliss of her life vanished when the first one went missing and the second died in an accident. Her life became full of troubles but her only hope is Asmeena.
She was asked to prove her citizenship by some government workers. She submitted the Tribunal with 15 documents. But she failed. She failed to prove her own country her citizenship. She then went to the High but she lost the battle. Her own beloved country proved her a foreigner.
She has lost bigas of her land. She has lost so much money on legal cost. But most of all she lost hope. She has lost all hope now. She can't go to the Supreme Court as she has no money left. And yes... once again... she has lost all her hope.
"I kept going to the Tribunal for a year but lost there. We spent our money on legal expenses. We have no money for food. No money for my husband's treatment." She says as heavy tears start rolling down her thin, wrinkled cheeks, her eyes full of despair, losing all hope.
"We spent whatever we had, it didn't work. We didn't make it to NRC, hope is diminishing." says her husband, broken down, his face wrinkled, about-to-cry expression, his eyes grieve.
Jabeda Begum has lost the battle. Her story reflects the plight of many people like her in Assam, who are caught in between poverty and their plight to prove their citizenship.
You may have been known to her story before. It might be possible, that you have seen this woman on the news. That you may have heard about her from a news anchor. You might remember her innocent face after reading this blog. This story might be of your country only. This story might be of your city. Might be possible thag this law has been passed on in your country only. Might be possible that this woman lives in your neighborhood. Anything might be possible. There may be a lot of Asmeenas and Jabedas and families whose stories haven't reached you yet.
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