Kyauktaw Twsp landmine victim in need of costly medical treatment

16 Feb 2023

DMG Newsroom
16 February 2023, Kyauktaw

A Kyauktaw Township man who lost his right leg this week in a landmine blast is in need of financial assistance to treat his injuries.

The 42-year-old victim from Lanmadaw Village, identified as U Zaw Moe Lwin aka Maung Chaw, stepped on a landmine outside the village while on his way to cut down firewood on February 15.

He is currently receiving medical treatment at Sittwe Public Hospital, will have to undergo long-term treatment due to the severity of his injuries, and is facing financial difficulties, said Daw Mya Yi, an elder sister of U Zaw Moe Lwin.

“He was donated K100,000 by a philanthropic group. We make a living as daily wage workers,” she added. “I don’t know how to heal him of his injuries. I need help for him.”

Victims of landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERWs) face many challenges in their day-to-day lives.

In July 2022, junta-appointed Minister for Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement Daw Thet Thet Khaing said that from fiscal year 2017-2018 to present, K138.4 million has been provided to a total of 692 landmine victims at a rate of K200,000 per person, state-run media reported.

Landmine victims say they received some support under the National League for Democracy (NLD) administration, but since the military coup in February 2021, government aid has reduced to a trickle. 

“There is an organisation that provides financial support to landmine victims. I run a grocery store in my village thanks to this financial support,” said Daw Aye Mya, a resident of Hngetpyawchaung Village in Kyauktaw Township, who lost her left leg in a landmine explosion.

“Most landmine victims are rural people,” said Arakanese philanthropist and writer Wai Hun Aung. “They [rural people] are inherently poor. Landmine victims need to be seriously assisted by social organisations, INGOs [international nongovernmental organisations] and NGOs, and the government.”

Since November 26 — when the Arakan Army and Myanmar military reached an informal ceasefire — six people have been killed and at least 13 others were injured in landmine explosions in Arakan State, according to a DMG tally.