APSN | Rising number of refugees strains relief efforts

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Rising number of refugees strains relief efforts

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Sai Zom Hseng – Continuous fighting between Burmese government troops and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) has forced a growing number of refugees to flee to the Sino-Burmese border, where they are in urgent need of assistance, according to relief workers in northern Burma's Kachin State.

The number of people displaced by the conflict has increased from 30,000 to 40,000 in recent weeks, with most seeking shelter along the border and others taking refuge in urban areas such as Myitkyina and Bhamo, according to Mai Ja, the vice-chairman of a relief committee currently based in the border town of Maija Yang.

Most of the aid coming in at present is from the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), the political wing of the KIA, and private donors both in the state and overseas, said Mai Ja, whose committee is part of an umbrella group of seven local NGOs known as Wunpawng Ning Htoi ("Lights for the Kachin People").

There has been no support from major international relief agencies, she added. "They [the refugees] fled to the border hoping for shelter and assistance from China, but in reality China won't officially accept them," said Mai Ja, speaking to The Irrawaddy on Friday.

As colder weather sets in, one of the most urgent needs is for warm clothes and blankets. "We were able to provide some blankets, but we didn't have enough for everyone," she said.

Meanwhile, people in Burma's major cities have also started contributing to the relief effort, by offering both moral and material support.

On Friday, about 200 orphans from the Ma Soe Yein Monastery in Mandalay took part in a prayer event to call attention to the plight of people affected by the fighting, a day after sending letters of encouragement and paintings to the refugees.

Several well-known writers also tried to raise awareness of the issue by holding a public talk in Mandalay on Thursday on the need for unity in Burma, a country long torn by ethnic divisions.

Bawa Ah Lin ("The Light of Life"), a group previously engaged in relief efforts for victims of natural disasters, said it planned to collect donations from businessmen in Mandalay to help the refugees in Kachin State.

In Rangoon, the Free Funeral Service Society, led by former actor Kyaw Thu, said that it would donate 20,000,000 kyat (US $26,000) to assist the relief effort in Kachin State.

However, Mai Ja said that any assistance coming from other parts of Burma would likely only benefit refugees sheltering in cities under government control, not those along the border.

Clashes between the two sides erupted in the second week of June. Although there has been no major fighting in recent days, there have been reports of skirmishes in the Maija Yang area.

Although the government recently reached informal agreements with several ethnic armed groups, including the Karen National Union and the Shan State Army, it has not held talks with the KIA/KIO since the second week of August.