An Internally Displaced Person (IDP) camp at the Thai-Karenni border reportedly in need of shelter assistance as it needs to relocate during the summer, according to reports.
An IDP camp official said, “The reason for relocating the camp is that it is very difficult for us to transport food during the rainy season. We also face problems in providing health and education services in a timely manner.
That’s why we need to relocate. There have been cases where we couldn’t transport patients to hospital in time. Some have died because of flooding and overflowing creeks.”
The official further said there have been as many as five deaths of patients in the camp who could not be transported to the hospital or clinic in time and in one case, there were two deaths in a single day due to these transportation difficulties.
The official also said that donors are unable to reach the current camp location due to the transportation difficulties, and the IDPs themselves are also facing difficulties in transporting food supplies.
Around 1,300 IDPs need to be relocated, and the camp official said that they need fuel for vehicles to transport the elderly and children.
“It has been almost a year since they gave us (the tarpaulin sheets). Once we take them down, they get torn and damaged. So we are facing a lot of difficulties in terms of how we will continue living,” the official added.
The IDPs currently living in this camp are mostly from Bawlakhe, Ywar Thit, and Mese Townships, who have been displaced since April 2023.
According to the Karenni State Interim Executive Council (IEC), the number of people displaced by fighting in the Karenni State and Shan-Karenni border areas, including in Mobye and Pekon, has reached 300,000, and there are over 200 IDP camps.
Sent by Kantarawaddy Times.