BY
Jonah Fisher
December
13, 2012
Six
months of sectarian violence has driven more than 100,000 people from
their homes in western Burma.
Rakhine
Buddhist and Rohingya Muslim communities that have lived separately
for generations are now forcibly segregated.
Barriers
have been erected across roads in the state capital and thousands of
Rakhine have had their homes destroyed.
But
its the Rohingya who endure the worst conditions. Rejected as
citizens by both Bangladesh and Burma, they continue to be victimised
in the camps where they sought shelter.
On
Myebon peninsula, south of the Rakhine state capital Sittwe, the
double standards are clear.
Once
the site of a daring amphibious raid by Allied troops in the Second
World War, the peninsula is now home to two very different refugee
camps.
Just
a mile or so apart, they are populated entirely on ethnic lines - one
for displaced Buddhists and the other for the Rohingyas.
Near
the centre of town is the smaller of the camps.
On
lush grass thirty five tents bearing the logo of the Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia stand in ordered rows. This is Kan Thar Htwat Wa, home to 400
Buddhists who have been here since clashes in late October.
Phu
Ma Gyi 's home was burnt down and, with her two daughters, she now
shares a tent with three other families.
"The
government is looking after us here," she says. "We have
food, medicine and what we need."
Not
far away the Burmese and UN officials who I am travelling with are
being shown a table full of medical supplies and bags of rice. It is
clear there are no shortages here.
Blocked
deliveries
A
short drive in the back of a truck takes us to the Rohingya camp. On
the way we pass by what was the Muslim neighbourhood.
Now
it is completely flattened, with just the outlines of houses still
visible on the ground.
Six
weeks ago, one of those outlines was the primary school where Khin La
May was headmistress.
"The
Rakhine community came with knives and threw stones and sticks,"
she said.
So
she fled, along with 4,000 other Rohingya to a small mound just
outside town. That mound became what is now Taung Paw Camp.
It
is a squalid muddy mess with raw sewage running through its open
drains. The tents are ramshackle and the people inside hungry and
desperate.
Aid
workers told me this is one of the worst camps in Asia, if not the
world.
Deliveries
to both camps on Myebon have to be made by boat, and attempts to get
proper sanitation and supplies into Taung Paw have so far been
blocked.
Rakhine
Buddhists control the jetty and are refusing to allow aid agencies
regular access to the Rohingya camp, thwarting attempts to improve
conditions.
It
is a scene repeated in other locations in Rakhine. One major aid
agency told me obstruction by the Buddhist community was preventing
them from doing 90% of their work.
Given
the local objections only the Burmese military could force the aid
through. But they have so far refused to do so.
Instead
they stand guard at Taung Paw, stopping the Rohingya leaving to tend
their crops (the Rakhine have in their absence taken the fields
over).
Burma's
Border Affairs Minister Thein Htay visited both the Myebon camps with
us and said that military were keeping the Rohingya inside for their
own security.
The
stark difference in conditions was due to the camps being different
sizes, he said.
"There
is some disturbance by the local people," he said. "In your
country does the military always intervene? The Burmese military is
not the ruling man. There is the government."
Better
relations
In
Rakhine's urban centres the situation is better. Relations between
the authorities and international aid agencies have improved and many
of those displaced in June are being moved into better conditions.
As
she travelled to both Buddhist and Rohingya camps, the United
Nations' top humanitarian official Valerie Amos repeatedly urged
reconciliation.
For
now with tensions high that appears a distant goal.
More
money is needed to fund the Rakhine aid operation, Ms Amos said, but
it is now up to the Burmese authorities to take a strong stand.
"The
donors have a responsibility because we need more money to really be
effective but the government also has a responsibility," she
said.
"They
have to take the lead. They have to show the leadership they have to
work to bring the communities together. And that work has to start
now."
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