Narinjara News, March 24, 2023

Internally displacedpeople in Arakan (Rakhine) State are in need of help to rebuild their shelters after theywere damaged or destroyed by strong winds in recent days, IDP camp officialssaid.

According to reports, more than 100 IDP shelters inKyauktaw, Ponnagyun and Rathedaung Townships were destroyed during a squall on20 March.

“The strong winds destroyed 15 shelters in our camp. Werebuilt them together, but they are not strong enough for the rainy season.Most of the shelters in our camp are roofed over with tarpaulins. Only a fewhave dhani thatched roofs. Tarp roofs are usually blown away by strong winds.So it is not safe enough,” said an official of Ganan Taung IDP camp.

The IDP camp, built after fighting flared up in 2022,currently houses 77 households with a total of 350 people.

They were displaced from Buddaw, Kunohnsu, Chaung Tu, andYwet Nyo Taung villages in Ponnagyun and Kyauktaw townships and are not yetable to return to their villages as military council camps are still there.

An official from Pyar Chaung Gyi IDP Camp in RathedaungTownship said the IDPs urgently need help to rebuild their shelters after theywere destroyed by the strong winds.

“These shelters were built in 2020. They are not safe forthe rainy season. So we need help,” he said.

Pyar Chaung Gyi IDP Camp houses 56 households with about 190people displaced from Nga Tauk Tu Chay and Thaung Dra villages. They are notyet able to return to their homes as junta camps are still standing in thevillages.

The displaced people said that it is impossible for them torebuild the small shelters as they have no jobs to earn money.

In Arakan State, more than 200,000 people were displacedduring the conflict between 2018 and 2022, with more than 60,000 still unablereturn to their homes, according to statistics from UN.

Currently, the military council has begun returning IDPs totheir homes and is also putting pressure on the remaining population to returnhome, according to IDPs.