Displaced Muslims in Sittwe in need of relief supplies

By DMG 23 Mar 2021

DMG Newsroom
23 March 2021, Sittwe

A displacement camp for Muslims in Sittwe is in need of food as aid delivery to the camp was disrupted by last month’s military coup, displaced people at the camp told DMG.

Displaced Muslims at Thae Chaung camp in the Arakan State capital rely on humanitarian aid from the World Food Programme (WFP), which provides them with monthly allowances to buy food. However, there have been delays in cash delivery after Myanmar’s military seized power in a coup on February 1, said camp management committee member U Hla Thein.

“Displaced people are dependent on the WFP to sustain. As the WFP was late in providing supplies, displaced people have had to borrow money to make ends meet. They are experiencing serious hardship,” he said.

The WFP provides a monthly allowance of K15,000 ($10.64) per head, which many of the displaced Muslims say is not enough.

“It is just 500 kyats for a person a day. It doesn’t even cover the costs of snacks for children. But we have to get by on such a small amount to eat, send children to school, and see a doctor if we are sick. We are in serious financial hardship,” said Mahmoud El Zouk, who is sheltering at the camp.

U Hla Thein asked the State Administration Council to grant freedom of movement for displaced people at the camp so that they can go to hospitals in Sittwe in case of medical emergency.

“We would like to ask the new government to allow us to travel freely. Under current restrictions, we can’t go to clinics in Sittwe in case of medical emergencies. I would like to ask for lifting those restrictions,” said U Hla Thein.

Displaced people at the camp have asked the military’s governing body (the State Administrative Council), international and local donors to provide relief supplies for them.

“We are having difficulties because we receive aid from WFP alone. We don’t receive enough aid. So, we would like to ask the Danish NGOs and the new government to help us out,” said one of the displaced people, U Kyaw Hla.

The camp shelters 12,946 people from 2,270 households, and the camp management committee reportedly has to pay rent for the land on which the camp was set up.