Long before Cyclone Nargis, NGOs have been struggling to bring relief to another crisis in Myanmar.
The country is made up of various ethnic groups which have been embroiled in extended conflict for years. Thousands have been displaced in refugee camps and with more adding to that number from the cyclone, coupled with rising food prices, the situation could get out of hand.
Read a first-hand account from a Myanmar national who escaped the situation to tell of the harrowing experiences he had during the conflict.
According to an agency involved, the Thailand Burma Border Consortium,
... soaring global rice and oil prices during the past few months have left the primary provider of food aid US$6.8 million (EUR 4.3 million) under-funded for 2008. Unless additional funds are urgently secured, rations will have to be reduced to half the international minimum standard of 2,100 kcals/ person/ day from August.‘This would have a very destabilising affect on the camps and within a couple of months we could expect to see significant increases in malnutrition,’ explained Jack Dunford from the Thailand Burma Border Consortium (TBBC). ‘The protective community structures afforded by the camps would be undermined and refugees forced to supplement their food by leaving the camps at considerable risk of abuse and exploitation’, he warned.
‘The months ahead are fraught with uncertainty for Burma after Cyclone Nargis. Millions of Burmese have been affected. Huge numbers of people have been displaced and there must be considerable doubts about how quickly the economy can be restored. It is likely that the whole humanitarian response for Burma will have to be re-thought including support to refugees, internally displaced and migrants’, commented Mr Dunford.‘During these uncertain times, it is important to maintain stability in the border areas. Allowing assistance programmes to collapse at this point would only add to the human suffering. Unlike the situation in Burma, mechanisms for delivering effective assistance to the refugees are well established. Resolving the rice price crisis now will ensure stability in the short term enabling a more strategic response to be developed in the post-cyclone context’, he appealed.
More information on the situation can be obtained from TTBC.
TBBC
12/5 Convent Road
Bangrak,
Bangkok 10500
Thailand
Email: tbbcbkk@tbbc.org
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