Dozens of cyclone-struck villages in Kyauktaw Twsp struggle to recover

By Admin 29 Aug 2023

DMG Newsroom
29 August 2023, Kyauktaw

More than three months after Cyclone Mocha made landfall over Arakan State, thousands of local people from over 30 villages along the upper reaches of the Yoe Creek in Arakan State’s Kyauktaw Township are currently living in makeshift tents as they have received little aid, according to residents.

Local people from those villages say they have received little in the way of rice supplies provided by the military junta or related relief aid, and they have yet to receive relief items supplied by international organisations and local charities.

“We received a little assistance provided from the junta and other social organisations, but those relief items are not enough for us. About 50 percent of homes damaged by the cyclonic storm were repaired on a self-reliant basis and about 50 [percent] have been rebuilt with tarpaulin sheets,” said U Maung Win, the administrator of Thaluchaung Village.

More than 30 villages such as Thaluchaung, Tewa, Likway, Chinmawuntaung, Kyunthaya and Lamukaing are located along the upper reaches of the Yoe Creek. Ethnic Arakanese, Mro and Khami people live in the area, and mainly engage in farming. Local and international organisations report being unable to get to the area due to poor road transport links.

Most villages along the upper reaches of the Yoe Creek can be reached only via waterway, an added hurdle for deliveries of aid supplies.

“Neither the military junta nor donor organisations have provided us with construction materials to repair our damaged homes. We had to sell our jewellery to rebuild our homes. We used tarpaulin sheets to repair our homes,” said Daw San Aye Nu, a local woman from Kyunthaya Village.

A local charity led by Wai Hun Aung, a prominent writer and philanthropist in Arakan State, donated approximately two pyi of rice to each family and the junta supplied three pyi of rice to each family in the village.

The tarpaulin sheets that were put up as a temporary shelter measure are also showing wear and tear some three months after the cyclone hit.

“Three months after the storm, our homes were damaged by the weather. Since our village is an area where transportation is difficult, we would like local social relief organisations or international organisations to provide assistance to us,” said Ko Khin Aung Myint, a resident of Thaluchaung Village.

In Likway Village, villagers said that apart from those who have bought broken rice for consumption, some are starving due to the food crisis.

“We make a living by collecting bamboo shoots. We have to eat broken rice and some people go hungry,” said U Aung Myaing, a resident of Likway Village.

After the storm, many farmlands in the Yoe Creek area were damaged and the local economy is in a state of crisis, with residents facing significant livelihood difficulties.