Mray Bon: Several villagers in the three villages hardest hit by Cyclone Giri in Arakan State have been facing starvation since the beginning of this month after they lost the opportunity to work at sea due to bad weather, according to many reports from the area.
The three fishing villages facing starvation are Pyin Wan, Own Chaung, and Kyaunt Chaung on Kyaunt Thaya Island a few miles west of Mray Bon, the hardest hit township in Arakan State.
A government teacher from Pyin Wan Village said over the phone that many people in those villages have not been able to eat on a daily basis because they had not earned enough to buy rice from the shops. "I think over 100 villagers in three villages are now facing starvation," he said.
The villagers in these three villages are fisherman and have been facing difficulty since the rainy season started.
One villager said, "We all are fishermen in the area, not farmers. Our survival depends on the sea. Since the rainy season started this month, we have not had any work because we can not go to sea for fishing due to bad weather. The weather is very bad this year with many small storms. The sea is always rough with heavy waves this year so we can not go fishing at sea."
"This is a major reason for villagers' starvation in the area," he said.
However, the other factor contributing to the problem of hunger is that relief from NGOs for cyclone victims has stopped.
Ko Khain Lin, a social worker in Mray Bon, said, "There is another reason for the starvation, because there is not any relief from NGOs currently for cyclone-affected people in the area. Even though NGOs provided rice and other goods to cyclone victims over the last few months, NGOs have now stopped relief to the villagers. This is the main reason for the starvation."
According to villager sources, the villagers have not received rice or other relief from any NGOs since March this year, despite facing many problems, including a shortage of rice.
"We lost much of our property in last year's cyclone, including fishing boats and fishing nets. We recovered our work and our lives ourselves. Some NGOs assisted us with rebuilding our lives, but there support is not enough for our need. So we struggle for rebuilding our lives ourselves," the villager said.
Although there are people starving in the cyclone-affected areas of Mray Bon Township, there is no emergency plan by the government so far to help the villagers.
