As food and accommodation problems worsen, some Kawkareik residents displaced for over three months by the intense fighting between the Junta and joint resistance forces, have opted to risk returning home.
War-displaced individuals from Kawkareik in Karen State, lacking assistance and relying on monasteries for food, chose to risk the inadequate security situation and return home.
“Impoverished families encounter extreme accommodation hardship during the displacement period. The situation in Kawkareik is not stable enough to guarantee safety yet, with sporadic arson cases still cropping up in the town.
However a returnee told IMNA,” we made the decision to return home, believing that despite the risks, home would ultimately provide greater convenience than any other
place.” He concluded that communication and transportation difficulties posed additional barriers to providing aid to war-displaced people.
In the No. 5 new ward area of Kawkareik, approximately 50 war-displaced individuals have returned to their homes, with only a few returnees observed in other wards.
On the other hand, the Junta troops continue shelling, conducting drone bombings, burning houses, and engaging in looting in downtown Kawkareik until March 20, which has led to many people remaining reluctant to return home.
"I am not sure if our house even stays standing. It might have been burned to ashes. Because of the fighting, nobody feels safe going back home. Right now, all we can do is feel stressed out about it”, said U Maung Kyar, a war-displaced person currently taking refuge in Myawaddy Township.
Since the fighting began in Kawkareik, residents have sought refuge in Mawlamyine, Hpa-An, Thamanya, Kyondoe, Nabu, Eindu, and Myawaddy.
With the ongoing tense armed conflicts in Kawkareik, aid workers are urging war-displaced people to prioritize their safety and refrain from returning home.
The Committee for Internally Displaced Karen People (CIDKP), along with the Karen Women's Organization (KWO), Karen Youth Organization (KYO), private donors, and both domestic and foreign aid providers, are rallying to support the war-displaced people of Kawkareik as extensively as they can.
