People with disabilities in need of post-cyclone assistance

By Admin 18 Jun 2023

DMG Newsroom
18 June 2023, Sittwe

Some people with disabilities affected by Cyclone Mocha in Arakan State are unable to repair their damaged homes and are reportedly facing food difficulties.

With the rainy season ramping up, these people are still living in damaged homes as they have not been able to rebuild them.

“My home was destroyed by the storm. It is not safe for me to live in my damaged home when it is raining. I have no job and I am running out of food. The junta provided me with two pyi of rice,” said U Ah Tun, a disabled person from Botahtaung Ward in Pauktaw.

The 2019 Inter-Censal Survey found that there were more than 500,000 disabled people in Arakan State, 70 percent of whom were supported by their family members.

People with disabilities face various difficulties in their daily lives under the best of circumstances, and the aftermath of Cyclone Mocha has brought new challenges, as well as making old problems worse, said Daw Khin Hla, a disabled person from Kyaukseik Village in Ponnagyun Township.

“I need money because my home was partially destroyed by the storm. My husband’s income is not enough for us and we are worried about my child’s education. Disabled people like us have it twice as hard as normal people,” she added.

An inventory of the damage and losses experienced by disabled people in the storm-affected parts of Arakan State such as Minbya, Myebon and Pauktaw townships is being collected, according to the Rakhine State Disabilities Organization.

U Hla Myint, president of the Rakhine State Disabilities Organization, said there is still very little support for people with disabilities affected by the storm.

“The junta has not done anything specifically for the disabled people. We have prepared to provide persons with disabilities with relief items as much as we can,” he added.

More than 210,000 homes were damaged or destroyed in Arakan State’s Sittwe, Ponnagyun, Rathedaung, Maungdaw, Kyauktaw, Mrauk-U, Minbya and Pauktaw townships by Cyclone Mocha, which affected well over 1 million people.

Hundreds of thousands of surviving storm victims in Arakan State are in need of food, medicine, shelters and clean drinking water, and will need substantial assistance for recovery.