10 May 2021
Responsible persons from IDP camp said that Mro displaced people in Rakhine State had been facing the difficulty of food shortage as well.
Among the internally displaced people (IDP) camps in Rakhine State, Mro ethnic people were mostly sheltering in Ahtet Myat Hle Camp and Bun Bwe Camp in Ponnagyun Township and War Taung Camp in Kyauktaw Township.
U Phyu Thar Aung, camp’s responsible person, said that it had been more than a year since food supply arrived in Ahtet Myat Hle Camp for the last time. Though the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement had been supporting one bag of rice per each once every 45 days, certain challenges in respect of dry rations or other related provisions were still there.
“The dry rations are scarce. Food supply has not been available for a long time. Sometimes they go back to their village for woods or bamboos. They are struggling for food by doing errands randomly. The government cannot be relied upon because it cannot support the enough basic needs for citizens. Thus, people are trying for their own – some are hired out their labours in taking care of chicken farms, building tents or making bamboo walls.”
U Phyu Thar Aung explained that Mro ethnic people have long relied upon the farmlands for their gardening and farming activities. The battles in December 2018 however caused their farmlands or gardens damaged and deteriorated so they displaced for IDP camps.
The refugees said that it was too difficult for them to live in their tents during the rainy season because the roofs were ruined. They might face more serious risk of their lives if the battles resume again after returning to their own places so they kept living in the camp.
There are 150 households and 728 people living in Ahtet Myat Hle Camp and most of them are from nine villages of Kyauktaw Township, including such as Khamuang, Thein Chaung, Kin Pi and Mee Chaung Khup, and also from two villages of Phnnagyun Township such as Sin Thi Phyar and Ah Wa Pyan.
U Twan Chay, one refugee from Pyin Nyar Gyi village, recounted that though World Food Programme (WFP) has been monthly supporting 15,000 kyats and one pyi of rice (one pyi = 0.2557 liters) per each from War Taung IDP Camp in Kyauktaw Township, the people cannot afford to live therefore they usually go to their villages to cut woods or bamboos and sell them for money.
“We need rice and money. The shelters are ruined. There have been no donors for a long time. We cannot afford to live. We need to go back to our villages for cutting woods or bamboos. Though we want to back our places, we are worried for the resume of battles. Our village is very far from here,” said U Twan Chay.
There are over 200 households and more than a thousand people are living in War Taung Camp. They are the locals from Khamaung, Thein Chaung, Lay Gwe, Tin Pi, Pyin Nyar Gyi, Tae Wa and Kyauk Tan villages of Kyauktaw Township.
There are over 200,000 people displaced due to the fighting between military council and Arakan Army (AA) in Rakhine State. The fighting however has stopped since November 2020. Hence, some people returned to their own villages and more than 100,000 people are currently living in the IDP camps respectively.
Sent by DMG