Mauungdaw, Arakan State: British Ambassador Andrew Heyn and two others travelled from Maungdaw to Rathedaung Township on the morning of October 6 to observe the local situation of refugees, said a local villager from Shil Khali on condition of anonymity.
“The refugees are from the villages of Anauk Pyin, Mozai Diya, Tharat Pyin, Tha Oo Pyin, Pryin Chaung, and Kudish Chaung of Rathedaung Township. Some of the houses in three [of those] villages, Mozai Diya, Kudish Chaung, and Anauk Pyin, still exist, but houses in the other three villages were completely burned down during the riots. As a result, these villagers went to places like Shil Khali and Donsay Barasara of Rahedaung Township and Khwa Son village of Maungdaw Township to take shelter.”
Refugees in Maungdaw and Rathedaung have been suffering from an acute shortage of food, shelter, medicine, and hygienic conditions due to an absence of NGO and donor support. For this reason, displaced people are taking refuge in the above-mentioned villages where they can receive food and shelter. However, food remains inadequate, and many children, elderly and sick people have died because of the lack of healthcare and food supplies.
Most of these villages are isolated, situated in areas that NGOs do not typically visit, and are cut off from support or rations. The residents are not allowed to leave their villages to buy goods at the market, are prevented from working or accessing healthcare outside the village boundaries, and students are unable to travel freely to school.
“We cannot grow rice in our fields on time for harvest, we can’t go from one village to the other because of movement restrictions, suppression, and oppression. We are facing famine,” said a local elder to the ambassador.
“The ambassador also met with many male and female villagers and asked many questions regarding the recent violence. The ambassador generally asked two questions— how and why the riot occurred and the present situation of the refugees.
Refugees were pleased that the prominent authority visited their area and that they were able to say everything they wanted to express, said a local youth.
The British ambassador and his two colleagues arrived from Rangoon to Akyab, the capital of Arakan State, on October 2.
The delegation is on a fact-finding mission aimed at easing tension between the Rakhine and Rohingya communities. The team is tasked with assessing what kind of assistance they can provide to help resolve the conflict and determining how the communities can once again live together as they did before, a source said.
The delegation returned to Maungdaw that evening.
