Rice sacks donate to IDP camps in Maungtaw

 October 1, 2017

U Aye Tha Aung, the Deputy Speaker of the Amyotha Hluttaw, and other donors traveled to Maungtaw yesterday and donated sacks of rice to the IDP camps there.

The Deputy Speaker and entourage donated the rice sacks to the IDP camps in four monasteries in Buthidaung Township and to four monasteries and two schools in Maungtaw Township. The Deputy Speaker discussed about medical aid, food and clothing with the displaced ethnic people and Hindus who fled from the terrorist attacks by ARSA and gave them words of encouragement.

A displaced Hindu villager currently seeking shelter in an IDP camp at a school in Maungtaw said Hindu people are deeply affected by these events. “Every time there is a conflict the IDP camps always provide us with a place to stay, food and medical aid too,” said the villager. “For this we thank the government and we promise to stand together with our ethnic brothers.” There are currently 906 Hindu villagers taking shelter in the school.

Afterwards, U Kyaw Lwin, the Rakhine Minister for Agriculture, Livestock, Forestry and Minerals, said the government is working to restore peace to the Rakhine region and that they are receiving help from the union government, Hluttaw, the Tatmadaw and other administrative bodies.

U Ye Htut, the Deputy Commissioner of Maungtaw General Administration Department, said they are giving priority to security details so that the IDPs can return to their homes. He said they have completed plans to deal with the immediate food requirements and also plan to build more houses in sparsely populated villages. He said that there will be better security if the villages were to reside close to each other and the government is working to provide tractors to harvest the crops. He said they are trying to provide each household with livestock and crop seeds for farming and they will also provide trucks for villages with poor transportation.

Deputy Speaker U Aye Tha Aung and donors said they are sympathetic to the displaced ethnic people, which is why they travelled to Maungtaw twice in the same month. They have donated 140 rice sacks to IDP camps in Buthidaung Township and 225 rice sacks to Maungtaw Township and they will continue their travel to the remaining villages on 2 October.

Naing Linn Kyi, Thant Zin Win

Ref; The Global New Light of Myanmar