Interview: 'Other people can flee, but I can't. I will die if they drop bombs.'

By Admin 15 Nov 2024

DMG Newsroom
15 November 2024, Paletwa, Chin State

Hundreds of thousands of civilians have been displaced by fighting between Myanmar's military regime and the Arakkha Army (AA) in Arakan State over the past year. Many are hungry and sick with little or no access to food, medicines, healthcare or communications services, while food prices continue to soar.

Children, the elderly and people with disabilities are among the internally displaced people (IDPs), often suffering the brunt of these hardships.

Ma Khaing Khaing Mar, a 21-year-old woman from Namada Village in Chin State's Paletwa Township who is taking shelter at the Kavi Yadana displacement camp in Kyauktaw Town after losing one of her limbs in the latest fighting, recently spoke to DMG about some of the difficulties facing IDPs with disabilities.

DMG: How are things at the displacement camp?

Ma Khaing Khaing Mar: As I have to live with many people at the camp, I am worried that the smell from the frying of meat when they cook will affect my wound. I can't walk, so I can't leave my room to avoid the smell. All I can do is to smell a lemon to avoid smelling the frying meat.

I can't go to the latrine as I can't walk. I pee in plastic bags in my room. The room is made of bamboo, and the door is not good. So, I don't feel safe.

DMG: What happened to you?

Ma Khaing Khaing Mar: We were displaced by the previous fighting. We could go home after nearly six years. We went back home in February 2024. The houses were destroyed by junta soldiers. So, we had to build new houses with wood and bamboo from the forest.

In June, I went to collect wood on a hill opposite the village where junta soldiers stayed. Nothing happened on my first day. But on the second day, I stepped on a landmine and lost my left leg.

DMG: Why did you come back to the displacement camp in Kyauktaw?

Ma Khaing Khaing Mar: At first, I received treatment in Paletwa. The doctor there told me to go and see an orthopedist in Kyauktaw because bones were also broken in my other leg. So, I came here with the hope that my right leg can recover. It is not convenient to live in Paletwa and come to Kyauktaw every two weeks or once a month as I can't work. And I also can't afford travel costs.

DMG: So how is your leg doing?

Ma Khaing Khaing Mar: I have to see the doctor once a month, and sometimes I have to visit every two weeks. In previous months, I went to see the doctor regularly with the money I asked for from my relatives. The injury is itchy and aches, and I have to apply ointment. I only use a small amount of ointment as I can't afford it.

The doctor said I only need to see him one last time. However, I still don't have money. Sometimes, I wish I had died when the injury aches and I have little rice to eat.

DMG: What else are you going through?

Ma Khaing Khaing Mar: Some organisations provided me some money after I was injured. But I haven't received any financial assistance since. At the displacement camp, there were monthly supplies last year. However, there is none now. Everyone is going hungry. We need assistance.

DMG: How do you make a living now?

Ma Khaing Khaing Mar: Before the landmine blast, my husband worked as a stevedore. He earned around 30,000 kyats a day, and it was enough to make a living. But he has to do all the household chores and take care of me now. So, he can't work. I have a son, but he is just 9 years old.

He [my husband] can go to work only after taking care of me. When he gets to work late, there are only a few things left to do, and he can only earn 3,000 to 4,000 kyats a day. We survive on the money provided by relatives.

DMG: Do you feel insecure at the camp?

Ma Khaing Khaing Mar: I am afraid as jet fighters fly every day. Other people can flee, but I can't. I will die if they drop bombs.

DMG: What else would you like to say?

Ma Khaing Khaing Mar: I became disabled because junta soldiers abused their weapons and planted landmines on roads used by civilians. They also carry out air raids. They had better not harm the people, no matter who they are fighting.

They have planted [landmines] in places that provide us with sources of livelihood. So, we can't make a living even if there is no more fighting. Our livelihoods are dependent on the forests, but we dare not go to the forests now.