Vox Pop: Arakan IDPs voice hopes for home return amid harsh present-day realities

By Admin 21 Oct 2023

DMG Newsroom
21 October 2023, Sittwe
 
Thousands of internally displaced people (IDPs) who were uprooted by the military conflict between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army (AA) have been living under difficult conditions for almost five years now. The IDPs want desperately to put those hardships behind them, but for years they have looked forward to a journey back home that has yet to come.
 
DMG spoke to some of those IDPs in Arakan State, discussing their hopes and challenges as they look longingly to an eventual but uncertain return home.
 
Daw May Gyi || IDP || Meeletwa Village || Paletwa Township
 
Our desire to return home is the same as thirst. If we return home, we will face various dangers including bombs and bullets. We dare not return home for the time being. We face various difficulties in getting accommodation and food at displacement camps. 

Some IDPs are suppressed when they go to market. K27,000 of monthly cash assistance provided by an organisation is not enough for us. My husband is getting old and we cannot work outside the displacement camp. One of my sons did not pass the matriculation examination. We have lost everything.
 
Daw Ma Than Khin || IDP ||Aungthazi Village || Rathedaung Township
 
I want to return home. I miss my home when I feel sick. The families living in the IDP camp are overcrowded and have no place to rest or sleep. It is so hot because the makeshifts are built of tarpaulin sheets. 

We cannot run any business at the displacement camp. We rely on food donated by individuals and charities. We face various livelihood hardships as we earn a living as odd-job workers.
 
U Maung Aye Kyaw || IDP || Pyintan Village || Kyauktaw Township
 
We wanted to return home but our homes and villages were torched. We will be able to return home only if the military builds new homes, withdraws from our area, and clears the landmines. We no longer want to live in the displacement camp. We face accommodation difficulties because we have to live in a small room. We also face difficulties in health matters.
 
Ma Khin Aye Than || IDP || Aungthazi Village || Rathedaung Township
 
I want to return to my native village. I miss my home.  I cry when I miss my home. We will not face livelihood hardships if we live in our village. 
We will be able to send our children to school. A Grade 11 student and a Grade 7 student, who are my younger brothers, dropped out of school. We are not rich people, but we can send them to school if we live in our village. We face various difficulties at the displacement camp.
 
U Aung Phoe Than || IDP || Ngwaryonetaung Village || Buthidaung Township
 
If I have a chance to return home, I will return home now. I can make a living by working on our own farmland in my village. We have abandoned our farmland and cattle. How can we forget our native village? 

We earn a living as farmers and sometimes travel to other areas. If we grow paddy in a timely manner, we don’t need to worry about food. We can go fishing and collect vegetables in our village.