Chin State refugees sheltering in India’s Mizoram deprived of access to education: aid workers

20 Jan 2023

DMG Newsroom
20 January 2023, Paletwa, Chin State

More than 200 displaced children from Myeikwa village in Paletwa Township, Chin State, who are taking refuge in Mizoram state, India, are being deprived of their right to education, according to aid workers.

A total of 204 students from primary to secondary school are among the children from Myeikwa village who have been displaced. These students have language and financial difficulties as well as lacking curricula, making it difficult for them to continue their education, said U Tun Tun Oo, an aid worker.

“IDP students from primary to secondary school are deprived of their right to education,” he said, using the acronym for internally displaced people, though the children are more accurately classified as refugees by virtue of their crossing the border into India. “Children want to go to school, but they have financial and language difficulties. It is very sad that IDP children are losing their education.”

He went on to say that local villagers are helping the refugee students to get an education, but there are difficulties.

Air attacks by Myanmar’s military regime prompted more than 600 residents of Myeikwa Village to flee to the India border in August. 

Refugees from Paletwa Township are currently taking shelter in four villages in Mizoram. They are making a living working odd-jobs, said Daw Ah Than Chay, a refugee sheltering in Tutpaungchay Village in Mizoram.

“We have not received assistance from the Indian government. We receive a small amount of financial assistance provided by some Buddhist monks living abroad. We earn a living as odd-job workers. Although it is difficult to live here, we are safe and do not have to worry about our lives,” she said.

Renewed fighting occurred between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army (AA) in Arakan State and neighbouring Paletwa Township from August 2022 to the end of November.

The displaced Paletwa Township villagers who have taken refuge in Mizoram say they dare not return to their homes at the moment for fear of more clashes.

“We will return home only when there is peace and stability in Arakan State. We do not dare to return to our homes for fear of renewed fighting,” said Daw Shwe Yi Soe, a refugee taking shelter in Tutpaungchay Village.

As of January 9, “The total number of people who fled from Myanmar and are presently in India stands at approximately 49,850 individuals. Of this figure, 38,200  reside  in  Mizoram  while  an  estimated  6,950  are  in  Manipur,” the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) said in a report this week.

The total number of IDPs in Arakan State, including those who remain at displacement camps due to the 2018-2020 fighting between the military and Arakan Army, stood at about 90,000 earlier this year, according to a January 11 report from UNOCHA.