Valerie Amos, the co-coordinator for United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief, told the UN News Centre that conditions for thousands of displaced Rohingya IDPs camps in western Burma are “dire” and called on the government to do something about it. Amos released a statement after visiting camps in Arakan State on Dec.5.
Amos was “very concerned” by what she witnessed in the camp. No-one has jobs, the children are not in school and the people’s movement is restricted. “There is an urgent need for reconciliation” and tensions between Muslims and Buddhists “are still running very high”.
“They are living in fear and want to go back to living a normal life.”
More than 115,000 people have been displaced after sectarian violence broke out in June and October - the majority were Rohingya.
The UN envoy urged the government to provide more support to aid agencies, citing security threats to humanitarian workers as a serious challenge for relief effort.
“UN efforts had been hampered by administrative and visa problems, as well as by a lack of funding.”
They have received around a third of the $68 million needed to provide relief for those displaced over the next nine months. There is a shortage of food, water and medical help at the already overcrowded camps in western Myanmar after a new wave of ethnic and sectarian violence targeted Rohingya Muslims in October.
“It is clearly urgent that law and order be restored to prevent further violence, and that access is facilitated so that aid can be provided to those in need,” according to another UN statement.
