Vox Pop: IDPs affected by Cyclone Mocha in Arakan State share views on their challenges

Some IDPs from various displacement camps in Arakan State talked to DMG about the challenges of recovering from the storm’s damage.

By Admin 31 May 2023

Vox Pop: IDPs affected by Cyclone Mocha in Arakan State share views on their challenges

DMG Newsroom
31 May 2023, Sittwe

A total of 1,156,796 people were affected by Cyclone Mocha which made landfall in Arakan State on May 14, with financial losses totaling nearly K4.7 billion and 148 deaths.

A large number of shelters in various internally displaced camps that were displaced by ongoing military conflicts were destroyed by the cyclone. The IDPs, who have been facing difficulties with their livelihoods since the beginning, are suffering even more from the storm.

Some IDPs from various displacement camps in Arakan State talked to DMG about the challenges of recovering from the storm’s damage.

U Saw Win Chay || IDP Man || from Ceditaung displacement camp, Rathedaung Township

We had everything destroyed by the storm. We are facing various difficulties such as shelters and food. When it rains, we face great difficulties and live under tarpaulins. I also felt sorry for the children. We don’t eat or sleep well, and we still don’t get enough help. We are unable to repair our shelters destroyed by the cyclone ahead of the rainy season. IDPs are facing many hardships. We lost everything due to the fighting between the military and the Arakan Army. When we arrived at the displacement camp, we lived in poverty. We are facing a storm and all hope is lost.

Daw Su Su || IDP Woman || Tin Nyo displacement camp, Mrauk-U Township

Since the beginning, we have been suffering from all sorts of difficulties, with no place to live or no food. We are facing more hardships due to the storm. Our shelters were destroyed by the cyclone and we are currently unable to repair our damaged shelters. When it rains, we face great difficulties and live under tarpaulins. My home was reduced to ashes when a fire broke out at Tin Nyo displacement camp. My home was also destroyed by the storm again. We can’t avoid the troubles in our lives. As the rainy season approaches, we need shelters.

Daw Aye Khin || IDP Woman || Taungmin Kalar displacement camp, Kyauktaw Township

The entire displacement camp was destroyed by the storm. We need clothes, drinking water, shelters and toilets. Since the water is not clean, children and women at the displacement camp get skin diseases. It is very difficult for us because there is no toilet in the displacement camp. Old people get sick because they don’t breathe clean air.

All the rice bags in the camp got wet due to the storm and there was no rice stock at the displacement camp. All IDPs share a rice sack that remained dry when the storm made landfall. We cannot buy rice, so we eat one meal per day. With how difficult things were for us, we didn’t even want the dog we had. There is no rice to feed the dog in a situation where even humans cannot eat enough.

We have no hope. IDPs like us are in the middle of nowhere and are so emotionally damaged that we can’t help but smile at each other.

U Aung Hla Shwe || IDP Man || Wah Taung displacement camp, Kyauktaw Township

We have financial difficulties to repair our shelters destroyed by the storm. We have no regular income. Previously, we made a living by fishing and cutting down bamboo in the forests. I looked at the damaged area where I made my living and was terribly upset.

We are displaced people, living in absolute squalor. Now that we are storm victims, we don’t know what will happen in the future. We don’t know what will happen to our jobs and our children’s education since we became homeless. If we go back to the village, it won’t be convenient, and it won’t be convenient if we stay here [at displacement camps]. If other people are not satisfied with their lives, they have the financial means to begin their lives again, but if we are not satisfied with our lives, we have to start from zero.