Arakan's war victims suffer secondary trauma in form of health woes, financial hardship

By Admin 05 Aug 2025

DMG Newsroom

5 August 2025, Kyauktaw

Arakan State residents injured during the ongoing conflict between Myanmar's military regime and the Arakan Army (AA) are reportedly suffering from chronic illnesses because they cannot afford medical treatment.

With many injured due to airstrikes, artillery attacks and gunfire by the Myanmar military, some require surgery and others need ongoing medical treatment.

"I can't walk because I have shrapnel in my leg, and I can't sleep at night because of the pain. I can't afford to have the shrapnel removed, so I'm using traditional medicine to treat it," said a local woman from Mrauk-U who was injured by heavy weapons fire.

U Shwe Thein Tun from Thinganet Village, Kyauktaw Township, was seriously injured when a Myanmar Navy vessel fired an artillery shell into the village during the fighting in 2019.

He said the injuries caused nerve damage and robbed him of his ability to walk.

"Shrapnel went all over my back and hit a nerve, [paralyzing] me in the lower part. I initially sought medical treatment in the war, but now the roads are closed and the medicine is expensive, so I can't get treatment," he said. "I still have the shrapnel in my body, but I can't get it removed because I don't have the money."

Daw Aung May's son from Kyauktan Village, Kyauktaw Township, was shot by Myanmar military troops in 2019, losing an arm.

"My son was shot by a military column and his arm was amputated. He is now mentally ill and is taking tranquillisers. It is not easy to treat him to normalise his condition," she explained.

Among those who lost limbs or were otherwise left disabled by the fighting are female heads of households and breadwinners responsible for families' entire livelihoods, straining the social fabrics of towns and villages across Arakan State.

Their woes are often compounded by a lack of job opportunities, rising commodity prices, and little social support.