A Rohingya
IDP and his family outside his tent in western Rakhine State. More than 125,000
Rohingyas were displaced in June and October 2012 following inter-communal
violence in Myanmar's western Rakhine State © Brendan Brady/IRIN
IRIN News:
April 24, 2013
RAKHINE STATE, 24 April 2013 (IRIN) - More
than 125,000 displaced Rohingya in Myanmar’s western Rakhine State are bracing
for this year’s punishing monsoon rains.
“There’s no real shelter here. People are
getting diseases and the rainy season will make it even worse,” Ali Mia, a
45-year-old Rohingya father-of-six, whose home in Sittwe, the capital city of
Rakhine State, was burned during inter-communal violence in June, told IRIN.
Set to begin as early as May, the rains will
come in daily downpours, which, in the crowded and unsanitary conditions of
Rakhine’s dozens of camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs), could hasten
the spread of disease, aid workers warn.
“We’re very worried with the monsoon season
coming up. If these people are not relocated we could see a very big humanitarian
problem, [including] disease outbreaks,” said Peter Paule de Groote, the head
of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in Myanmar. "The water level will rise
and some of it will be very, very muddy, if not flooded, and there’s nowhere
for them to go.”
Sectarian clashes between Buddhists and
Muslims in June and October left 167 dead, hundreds injured and more than
125,000 displaced in Rakhine State, according to government estimates.
More than 10,000 homes were burned or
destroyed in the violence.
Under Burmese law, the Rohingya are de jure
stateless. There are an estimated 800,000 Rohingya in Myanmar and human rights
groups say they have long faced persecution and discrimination.
On 19 April [
http://reliefweb.int/report/myanmar/monsoon-approaches-fears-rise-displaced-myanmars-rakhine-state
], the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) called for urgent action and increased
financial support to improve conditions of the displaced to avert a
“humanitarian catastrophe”.
Some have camped in paddy fields or low-lying
areas that will flood once the rains start.
Already, international aid groups are
reporting high cases of respiratory and skin infections, worms and diarrhoea in
the camps they have visited. Such diseases are much more likely to spread in
sodden conditions, they warn.
Most of the thousands of unregistered Rohingya IDPs in this camp live in thatched-straw shelters spread across a flood-prone field. More than 125,000 Rohingyas were displaced in June and October 2012 following inter-communal violence in Myanmar's western Rakhine State © Brendan Brady/IRIN
Moreover, the onset of rains will likely be
accompanied by a spike in water-borne diseases, and the camp’s primitive
latrines remain vulnerable to overflowing from rainfall.
“The water and sanitation situation is
appalling,” said MSF's de Groote.
Unregistered lack assistance
But it is the risk of those displaced not yet
registered with the authorities that is most worrying.
While partners are providing life-saving
assistance to more than 100,000 IDPs registered by the government, there is a
sizable population (15,000 individuals) that is displaced but has yet to be
allowed access to humanitarian aid.
Several thousand are living in makeshift sites
that have not been sanctioned by the government. IDPs in these locations
receive limited to no assistance as opposed to those in official camps.
Unlike in official camps, where residents are
supplied with waterproof tents, residents of Maw Than Mia, home to some 1,000
unregistered displaced, sleep in tiny huts constructed of nothing more than
thatched straw.
They are particularly vulnerable because their
camp is spread across a low-lying field which, previously used for rice
cultivation, is designed to flood.
Aid agencies are calling on the government to
address the shelter needs as a matter of priority, noting adequate land needs
to be identified and allocated and challenges related to water and sanitation
addressed, particularly in Myebon and Pauktaw.
Inter-agency plans
According to the UN Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, humanitarian partners, in collaboration
with the government, have developed an inter-agency preparedness plan for
Rakhine running from March to June.
The plan aims to address preparedness and
response actions with specific sector/cluster response plans for two scenarios:
1) a potential natural hazard such as a cyclone which would affect over 250,000
people across the state and 2) a potential deterioration of the humanitarian
situation during the rainy season, particularly in the camps.
bb/ds/cb
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