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INHABITANTS OF THE HOSTEL |
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On this link you will
find parts of
interviews
with some inhabitants of the Marengo Hostel in Dibrugarh. Jeten Bhengra What is your name, age and where are you from? My name is Jeten Bhengra. I am 18 years old. My family is living in Golaghat, Assam Why are you staying in Marengo Hostel? I am staying here to do my degree. My family could hardly afford to send me into another hostel because they are all too expensive. If I could not stay here, most probably I would not be able to do my studies
How do you get this money? I have two elder brothers. They are both working in the paddie-field. With the money they earn, they are trying to support me as much as possible but it is often very hard for them. Their monthly income is somewhat between 2000-3000 Rs. This money is needed for their own families as well as for my younger sister which is also studying. However they try to send Rs 1000 every month. Is your family originally from Assam? No, my grandparents came to Assam to work in the tea-gardens. Originally our place is Jharkhand. Did your grandparents or parents ever visit a school? No, neither my grandparents nor my parents knew how to read and write. Actually my brothers, sisters and I are the first generation in our family being educated.
Do you sometimes feel discriminated because you are an Adivasi? Yes. It is for example much harder for us Adivasi to find a job than it is for the other tribes of Assam. Moreover many people consider us as lower people than themselves. This we can feel in our daily lifes. We, the Adivasi of Assam are considered as the teagarden-workers. Most of the other people think we are a lower class. We are not recognized as sceduled tribe because the state considers us as migrants. Thus we do not have the same priviliges as the other tribes do. Being an Adivasi in Assam, it is very hard to proceed in life.
Interviews with some other inhabitants of the hostel: |
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