Sports competition held for people with disabilities in Arakan State capital

By DMG 25 Nov 2022

DMG Newsroom
25 November 2022, Sittwe

To commemorate International Day of Persons with Disabilities, which falls on December 3, sporting events were held at the Danyawaddy sports grounds on Friday morning in Sittwe.

Thirty disabled males and females from Sittwe took part in a sprint and two other competitions in which participants competed to collect betel nuts and put threads into needle eyes. It was the first ever disabled sports event in Arakan State to mark the International Day of Persons with Disabilities.

“Art and chess competitions were held at U Ottama Hall in Sittwe on December 3 in previous years to mark International Day of Persons with Disabilities. This is the first time a [physically demanding] sports competition was held,” said the chairman of the Rakhine State Disabilities Association, U Hla Myint.

According to figures from the Ministry of Labour, Immigration and Population, there were 505,503 disabled people in Arakan State as of 2019.

More civilians have since either died or lost limbs due to artillery strikes and landmine blasts as a result of renewed fighting between Myanmar military and the Arakan Army in Arakan State.

According to a DMG tally, three people were killed and 23 others were injured by artillery strikes, gunfire, landmine blasts and explosions of ordnance in Arakan State and neighbouring Chin State’s Paletwa Township in September. Eleven more were killed and 31 others were injured in October.

“The number of disabled people will only increase in Arakan State if the fighting continues,” said Ma Htwe May, who is in charge of the Shwe Min Tha Foundation’s Arakan State branch. “Authorities must take care of people with disabilities. They should provide necessities and at least vocational training for their survival.”