Humanitarian workers in northern Burma have expressed deep concern about the health conditions of thousands of war refugees in Kachin State who have been displaced along the Sino-Burmese border for eight months.
Aid workers said that preventable illnesses caused by unsanitary conditions and cold weather are taking their toll on more than 45,000 internally displaced persons (IDP) in two dozen camps as sporadic fighting between the Burmese government army and Kachin Independence Army (KIA) continues. Light for Kachin People said that refugee children in temporary shelters suffer from diarrhea as they must use dirty water and do not have enough toilets. Local humanitarian aid workers reported just five latrines for more than 1,200 people in one camp. Young people in some IDP camps are lacking access to education as there is no school. While much of the water supply is brought to the camps by truck, many of the displaced people have to drink directly from streams or boil pond water while on the run. Many women who are pregnant are having miscarriages. The pregnant women have no choice but to run from their homes to a safe place while many of their husbands are fighting on the frontline. Many of the women are carrying their household possessions with them.
War in Kachin State broke out in June 2011 after a 17-year-old ceasefire between the KIA and Burmese government broke down. Naypyidaw has engaged in peace talks with KIO leaders several times, but no concrete ceasefire agreement has so far been signed.
2012.01.31 The Irrawaddy Kachin Refugees Suffering from Preventable Disease
“Right now there are at least 25,000 refugees on the Chinese side of the border, the majority of them from the Jingpo ethnic group with Burmese nationality,” ChinaAid founder Bob Fu told RFA. He called on the international community to push for access to the area along the Sino-Burmese border and to donate basic supplies.