IDP girl dies by hanging in Sittwe displacement camp

27 May 2023

DMG Newsroom
27 May 2023, Sittwe
 
A 14-year-old girl temporarily staying at Thayetoak Monastery IDP camp in Arakan State’s capital Sittwe died by hanging herself on Saturday morning, according to family members.
 
The Grade-6 student has been identified as Ma Khin Win, she committed suicide at her shelter on the morning of May 27.
 
“When I was going to the market this morning, my daughter said she would go with me. I left her at home because of the heat. She entered the home angrily. I also forgot my mobile phone charger and when I came back home, I saw that she died by hanging herself. I feel speechless,” said the mother of the victim.
 
The family of the victim has been in Thayetoak IDP camp in Sittwe for more than two years due to fighting between the military and the Arakan Army.
 
“I was not at home. I received a phone call about her death at around 10 am today,” said U Ba Shwe, the father of the girl.
 
As the IDPs stay in the displacement camp for a long time, there are food problems, and the children, including parents, have to work outside to make ends meet.
 
A women’s rights activist in Arakan State said that most IDP women suffer from family problems as well as food problems.
 
“The poor have few jobs; it is difficult for them to support their families. As people struggle to make ends meet, problems enter their home and women get more depressed. That’s why we see suicides in displacement camps these days,” the women’s rights activist said.
 
The family environment should also help women in order to heal their traumas, women’s rights activists say.
 
More than 70,000 people displaced by the fighting between the military and the AA in Arakan State are unable to return home and remain at displacement camps.
 
The IDPs are facing food, health and education difficulties as well as the effects of the recent catastrophic storm.