'Dire' conditions for displaced in western Myanmar, U.N. warns
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| Rohingya patients wait for medical care at a government-run medical clinic on the outskirts of Sittwe, Myanmar. (Photo - Paula Bronstein/Getty Images/November 24, 2012) |
In Myanmar,
thousands of people ejected from their homes as violence flared this
year between Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims are living in “dire”
conditions without jobs, schooling or the freedom to leave, the United Nations humanitarian chief said.
The eruption of violence from June to October
dampened excitement over progress in Myanmar, which has taken steps
toward reform this year. The June attacks in the western state of
Rakhine began after state media reported that three Muslim men allegedly
raped and murdered a Buddhist woman.
Human rights groups allege
government forces stood by during attacks on both sides, then joined in
killing and raping the Rohingya as their villages were ransacked.
Myanmar officials have argued that the clashes, while unfortunate, had
nothing to do with the government.
“I was shocked to see so many
soldiers everywhere keeping communities away from each other,” said
Valerie Amos, the U.N. humanitarian affairs and emergency relief
coordinator, in a statement Wednesday. Both Buddhists and Muslims “are
living in fear and want to go back to living a normal life.”
The U.N. says 115,000 people are living in camps or with host
families across Rakhine. Reports indicate that the vast majority are
Rohingya Muslims who remain barred from citizenship under Myanmar law,
seen by many Buddhists as illegal immigrants from neighboring
Bangladesh.
Amos traveled to a string of camps this week across Rakhine state,
where the displaced are living in limbo. In Myebon, overcrowded camps
suffer from shoddy sanitation, Amos said. People are not allowed to
leave the camp and are languishing without jobs or schools.
Though the area is rich in fish, rice and coconuts, thousands of
children are starving, according to agencies active in the region. UNICEF
estimates that as of October, about 2,900 severely malnourished
children were at risk of dying and 12,000 more needed nutritional
supplements.
Aid agencies say reaching some of those in need remains difficult,
with efforts hampered by ongoing violence and threats against
humanitarian workers. Rakhine Buddhists working with aid agencies have
been threatened by fellow Buddhists, according to Refugees
International.
“If they were to help Rohingya, they were called traitors to their
own community,” said Sarnata Reynolds, Refugee International program
manager for statelessness. “There is still the threat of being arrested
and charged with a crime. The government is not providing much access.”
Instead, Rohingya advocates say, Myanmar is sending its forces into
villages to register the religion and ethnicity of Rohingya families.
Journalists from the Associated Press recently witnessed government
immigration officials carrying out a sort of census to verify
citizenship. Rohingya groups say government officials are forcing them
to call themselves “Bengali.”
"You write 'Bengali,' you become a foreigner. They're trying to
change history," said Wakar Uddin, who directs an international umbrella
group for Rohingya organizations. "If they refuse, Burmese forces are
beating them."
Although Myanmar and its aid organizations have issued an appeal for
$68 million to help the displaced, there is little evidence of plans to
return the Rohingya to their communities, Reynolds said. That has stoked
fears that the segregated camps could become permanent over time.
“The danger is, if it gets old, nobody will care,” Uddin said. “The
Myanmar government knows if they let it drag on, the outcry will die
down. It will become normal.”
