More action needed to tackle IDP issues: UN

Special to Myanmar Eleven January 5, 2015 1:00 am

More action is needed to deal with internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Myanmar, particularly in Rakhine, Kachin and Shan states, said the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

In its updated operations profile for 2015, the UNHCR said fresh displacement was witnessed in 2014, with continued clashes between the Myanmar national army and non-state groups in Kachin and northern Shan states.

A crucial source in humanitarian aid to the people, the agency noted that significant numbers of IDPs in Kachin and Rakhine states continue to live in camp settings. 

In the coming year, the agency will focus its attention on people without citizenship, IDPs, refugees, returnees and host communities.

In 2012, violence in Rakhine State forced around 140,000 people to flee their homes. The majority live in government-designated IDP camps near the state capital, Sittwe, and in surrounding townships.

In Kachin State and northern Shan State, more than 100,000 IDPs are displaced and in need of continued humanitarian assistance. They are living in camps in both government-controlled areas and those under the control of non-state actors.

In Rakhine State, space in IDP camps is severely limited, and efforts to provide basic relief services have met severe challenges. The situation for most IDPs deteriorated in 2014, particularly in the areas of health coverage and non-food items distribution. The premises and warehouses of the UN and many other international NGOs were attacked and ransacked in early 2014.

"The inter-agency response in Rakhine State has repeatedly emphasised the need for durable solutions for IDPs. At present, there is a continued policy by the government to physically separate the conflicting communities, which limits reconciliation efforts and space for supporting coexistence," the agency noted.

Rakhine State is home to a large Muslim community. Tensions between Buddhist and Muslim communities have affected hundreds of thousands of families since violence between the two erupted in 2012.

Meanwhile, more than 100,000 IDPs live in Kachin State and northern Shan State. The UNHCR has seen the budget for its operations rise since 2012, when a ceasefire between the Myanmar army and the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO) broke down.

"Continued clashes between the Myanmar national army and non-state actors in Kachin and northern Shan states in 2014 led to more displacement and a need for an emergency response. The inter-agency response relies on permission from the Myanmar government to access IDPs in areas under the control of the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO). As a result, only ad hoc missions are undertaken to these areas, limiting the response," the agency said.

It added that protection activities would continue for both Kachin and Rakhine states this year, depending on the conditions of the operational areas, particularly the level of access.

Home returning 

The agency is now working on sending refugees back to Myanmar. 

"In the southeast of Myanmar, UNHCR continues to perform return monitoring to identify the destination of refugees settling back in Myanmar. The aim is to build a profile of areas where interventions can be planned if the scale of returns increases, enabling the Office to respond once spontaneous returns increase. Planning for return is ongoing, including consultations with Myanmar refugees on the Thai border," the UNHCR said.

Residents of Kayin State fled to the Myanmar-Thailand border and overseas due to clashes between the Myanmar government troops and the Karen National Union (KNU). At present, there are about 100,000 refugees. Most of them live in any of the nine refugee camps along the Myanmar-Thailand border built by the UN and INGOs.

"We have to clear land for their living, and the relocation process will go forward only if the programmes to support them are planned. There are civic and social organisations involved, but we still need to include organisations related with the army," said Pahdo Saw Hla Tun, a central committee member of KNU.

Following the military coup in Thailand, there was a move to repatriate up to 120,000 Myanmar refugees living in temporary camps in Thailand. Many of the refugees have been in the camps for years, and an entire younger generation was born and raised in them.

General Prayuth Chan-o-cha, chief of Thailand's National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), said that returning the refugees was one of the issues discussed during his meeting with Myanmar Armed Forces chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing on July 4 in Bangkok. 

The UNHCR noted that increased interest among refugees in returning to Myanmar requires budget estimates that cover potential activities, should conditions be deemed conducive.

"Significant financial support may be needed in 2015 to support shelter repair and maintenance in Rakhine and Kachin states. Given the above, the 2015 budget for Myanmar is set at US$67.8 million," the agency said. 

The agency is planning support for around 20,000 potential returnees in 2015, although conditions are not yet sufficient to support any organised voluntary return.

Planning figures in 2015 

Type/origin/January/December 

Returnee arrivals (ex-refugees) /Myanmar/10,050/40,500

Internally displaced/Myanmar/587,000/514,000

People in IDP-like situations/Myanmar/35,000/35,000 

Returnee arrivals (ex-IDPs)/Myanmar/55,000/78,000

Stateless/stateless/810,000/810,000

Total/ 1,497,050/1,477,500 

Source: UNHCR

Uneasy life on the margins in Mae Sot

By Tan Hui Yee, Thailand Correspondent In Mae Sot (northwestern Thailand)

Silently, the boatman steered his vessel across the still water, propelling it forward by pushing against the riverbed with his long wooden pole. His two passengers didn’t bother sitting down. In half a minute, the boat had crossed a narrow section of the Moei river, from Myanmar’s Karen State, to Mae Sot district in north-western Thailand.

There were no immigration or customs officials to greet the two men as they clambered up the bank. This is not the only such unofficial gateway in Mae Sot through which refugees and prospective workers from Myanmar have streamed into Thailand for years, fuelling the growth of hundreds of factories with their cheap labour.

Some 300,000 migrants from Myanmar are estimated to live and work in Mae Sot.

For years, these migrants have churned out clothes, textiles and other products, many biding their time before making their way to higher-paying jobs in Bangkok. They commonly earn far less than the mandated minimum wage of 300 baht (S$12.09) a day.

]

This is how narrow Moei River can get at some times of the year. The bank on the foreground belongs to Thailand, Mae Sot district. In the background is the territory of Myanmar. - PHOTO: TAN HUI YEE

While the Thai state has described them as security problems, the migrants live in fear of arrest or extortion attempts by security officials.

Textile worker Than Than Htay, 47, has been living in Mae Sot for five years and since acquired a passport and work permit. But she does not allow her two school-going daughters to venture beyond the compounds of her factory dormitory and their school.

“They don’t have proper student cards yet as I can’t afford to pay 2,000 baht to register each child,” she says. “I’m afraid the police will arrest them.”

This uneasy existence extends to a “no man’s land” on the Moei river that lies between Thailand and Myanmar but not policed by either side. Locals warn of drug-dealing on the island, which swells and shrinks with the seasons. 

Mr Kyaw Htet Aung, 19, who has been living there for two years, plays down its notoriety.

“If there are criminals, the community leader will ‘arrest’ them and hand them over to the Myanmar authorities,” he says.

During the dry season, the young man cultivates eggplants for sale on a tiny patch of land. Yet, when the river swells, submerging even some homes on the island, he survives by floating on rubber tubing.

“There are days I don’t eat,” he says.

Years or even decades of living in Thailand have not made the migrants any more comfortable in their host country. All whom this reporter spoke to saw themselves eventually heading back across the border.

Ms Yamin Eain was born in Thailand 24 years ago and has worked in garment factories in Mae Sot for the past 10 years.

She has only been to Myanmar once in her life yet she expects to return for good at some point.

“Life in Thailand is better,” she says. “But we are from Myanmar, so it is better to stay there,” she adds.

tanhy@sph.com.sg

- See more at: http://www.straitstimes.com