Urgent need to rebuild dormitories of Rathedaung IDP camps

Narinjara News, 15 January 2023

The houses at Zay Di Taung east and Zay Di Taung west camps in Rathedaung of Rakhine State have lately damaged and those need urgent repairing, said an in-charge of one IDP camp.

Zay Di Taung east camp has 201 dormitories and those are not renovated for more than three years. There are more than 700 people (209 households) in Zay Di Taung east camp.
The in-charge added that if those houses are not rebuilt, accidents may take place and inmates may lose their lives. He informed that the roofs are almost collapsing and the floors have many holes. Those houses are not safe for women and children.
"The dormitories are not useful. There is no security for women either. We are not in a position to repair those and hence waiting for donors,” said a woman inmate.
Zay Di Taung west camp is also damaged where 10 houses can not be used completely. There are 618 people and 166 households in the west camp.
“About six months back, we were given 50 bamboos and 50 tarpaulin rolls to rebuild the houses. But those were not enough for us. We are now facing financial crisis too. Before the rainy season, the houses should be repaired,” said an inmate of the refugee camp.

 Dormitories of these refugee camps are made of bamboo, thatch and tarpaulins. Those need to be repaired timely.
As the winter cold days begin, elderly people and children are facing problems in these houses.

The families in the camps are also suffering from various diseases as they do not get pure drinking water. All the refugees in these two camps belong to nearby villages, who fled their places in Rathedaung locality following the gun fighting between the Myanmar military personnel and Arakan Army members during 2018.

Currently, both the parties have agreed to a temporary ceasefire, but the military camps still exist in those villages and nearby hills. Moreover, the lack of mine clearance initiatives around those areas are also discouraging the villagers to return back to home.