An interview with Naw Muu Say, warehouse manager of Dawnoeku IDP camp.
Locals are facing life-threatening situations due to the fighting between the military council troops and the combined revolutionary force in Karenni (Kayah) State and the destruction of houses. Karenni Internally Displaced People (IDPs) fled to Thailand in July.
Due to the fighting in Mese on the Thai-Karenni border, nearly 5,000 IDPs from Dawnoeku IDP camp are taking refuges on Thai soil with the permission of Thai authorities and the shelters and aid provided by Thailand.
Karenni IDPs are in urgent need of rations. Refugees say they still need support and would like to move to a safer place. The Network Media Group (NMG) interviewed Naw Muu Say, warehouse manager of Dawnoeku IDP camp, who arrived at the border via Hteethaekalo village in the eastern part of Demoso Township.
Q: How do the IDPs receive aid?
A: All the IDPs come out. It is outside Camp-1. It is in Thai territory. It is a border area. It is not convenient to sleep. Because we have to sleep on the ground. We can’t sleep if it rains. We have no sheets and roofs. Immediately it is not convenient to cut bamboo in the forests. We can’t sleep at night when there is heavy rain. We have to sleep on the ground. The construction of huts has not been completed yet. We are in need of pots, pans, plates, blankets and toilets even after the completion of huts.
Q: Now I am talking about the situation on the Thai side. Taking shelters in Dawnoeku in Karenni State and this year make the IDPs very difficult. As the population increases, is the assistance sufficient? I would also like to know that situation.
A: In 2023, the number of IDPs has increased. We can no longer get rice every month like the previous year. The delivery of food is difficult as the road is closed. The rations we receive are not sufficient for the current IDPs. Due to the rising number of IDPs and a decline in the rations, we can’t provide the persons aged over five with five kg of rice. Children aged under 5 cannot get even 8 kg of rice. There is such a difficulty. In addition, we don’t receive edible oil regularly. As the number of displaced populations has increased in 2023, there is an unbalanced ratio of edible oil and populations. There is no salt, rice and chickpeas left when the new IDPs arrive. The distribution of rations is difficult.
Q: So, does that mean that the food supply will no longer be okay as of 2023?
A: Since March 2023, we have not had enough food. There is an unbalanced ratio of rations and population. Those aged over 5 years no longer get 15 kg of rice. If we provide the children aged over five with 15 kg of rice, we won’t have any rice left. There are more than 4,950 populations.
Q: What other difficulties do the IDPs still face when they have to survive in the midst of ration and food shortages?
A: The public said why is rice not enough. The IDPs can’t go outside to work. When they return to the country, they can’t live there. They have lost their houses. When they arrive here, they have not enough rice even for a month, how can we solve it? They have already been traumatized since they fled the villages. They already have anxiety, so when they come here, when the food situation happens like this, they are quite stressed.
Q: Now, because of the fighting, there are people who have come to Thailand and some of them are still in the Karenni state, so what else is there to say about that?
A: It is possible that the Thai government closed the road because of this military tension. The second thing is that because our population is increasing, we are facing food problems. The Thai government does not allow us to enter. So, they want us to travel from this camp. Because if they stay like this all the time, we won’t be able to buy goods from here. The IDPs need to go freely from Dawnoeku to Camp-1. The most important thing is we need to freely carry food and household items on the road. The most important thing is to reopen the road. I just want to request that. Humanitarian aid groups are allowed to enter our camp freely.
Q: What do you want to request the International community and the UN as a refugee?
A: I would like to request the international community that all the people feel like we are imprisoned. That’s why we want to be free as soon as possible. My message to the UN is that we can’t live in our houses in Myanmar. Returning to Myanmar is dangerous due to landmines and bombs. Other countries are very peaceful. The people can work freely. They can get what they want and they want to eat. That’s why we are also happy if the UN helps us. It will be more convenient if we can generate our income and support the remaining Karenni people.
Q: What is the situation of family members and relatives left on the Myanmar side?
A: The people who live in Myanmar said they can’t move freely and are not allowed to work in the farmlands. They are not allowed to see their domestic cattle. They are not convenient as they have to hide in other places. The older persons want to earn their living by doing their farms and herd their cattle. My demand is to enable them to do their work. As the war is everywhere, the people can’t return to the village. How long will they stay in the forests? I feel sorry. I want them to ensure that peace is restored quickly, they can return to the village immediately and get jobs. Neither the people from Karenni State nor Karenni people from other places have places and land to live in. Because, even before we were born, our ancestors had already fled. Our parents also fled. We face a similar situation. In the era of our generation, there is no place to flee to.
Q: Is there anything else you would like to add?
A: What I want to request is that before the coup, we were happy in our land. We had houses. After the coup, the Burmese army conducted aerial bombardments. It destroyed houses and burned down the houses. The army fired heavy shells onto the remaining houses. We can’t go feely to our farms and forests. We are very dangerous as mines and bombs are planted. We come to this place to take refuge, but we don’t feel very safe. Education, health and social affairs are very difficult. That’s why we want to request that the IDPs here be allowed to take refuge somewhere else, a safer place or another country or whatever. I want to request that they are granted asylum as soon as possible.
Sent by NMG.