Burmese celebrities have personally traveling and donating to relief aid have boosted the morale of Arakanese people who are suffering from recent violent attacks, said a volunteer relief worker.
“The people had their houses burned down and they now have no home to live in. Beside their losses, the problems are unlikely to calm down and their moods are badly affected. But they were found very glad and psychologically invigorated with a sense that they are not forgotten by people when the famous film actors and actresses came and warmly encouraged them with their relief aid,” Ko Aung Kyaw Min from Kyepingyi Ward in Sittwe, who is voluntarily working to assist victims of the recent violent attacks told Narinjara.
The actors and actresses, led by the Chairman of the Myanmar Motion Picture Association, reportedly came and distributed relief to the refugees of unrest in Sittwe on 1 July using funds raised from their dramatic shows.
“They visited nine of the camps and donated money and relief goods to the refugees in the morning of 1 July in Sittwe. Their donations, which included over 90 packs of goods, are said to be worth over 90 million Kyat,” said Ko Aung Kyaw Myin.
The starts, known as Pyi Ti Oo, Nay Toe, Min Maw Kaun, Khant Se Thu, Lu Min, Nay Aung, Nanda, Sai Sai Kham Hline, Nay Htet Lin, Way Lu Kyaw, Min Thwe, Rota, Forkar, Mo Mo Myint Aung, Eindra Kyaw Zin, Soe Myat Nandar, Wut Hmone Shwe Yee, Moe Hay Ko, Aye Myat Thu, May Kabyar, Thin Zar Wint Kyaw, Ratanar Mai, Fu Sone, and May Thinzar Oo, were said to be on the celebrity team handing out donations to refugees.
“I was very glad and broke into tears when I saw the stars I love coming to offer their aid to us,” said a female refugee who is sheltering in the camp of Ray Kyaw Thu Monastery in Sittwe.
The celebrity team reportedly visited the camps of Ray Kyaw Thu Monastery, Sinkuland Ward, Rwa Gree Mrauk Primary School, Padone Ma Aung Myay Monastery, Buddhawmaw Monastery, Su Taung Pyi Monastery, Mingan Middle School, and Mingan Chapel in Sittwe, and have made their respective donations to the refugees taking shelter in those camps.
It was also learned that the team had organized their fundraising shows from 29 – 30 June in the National Theater in Rangoon for the charity of the refugees in Sittwe. According to the official statistics, 78 people were killed, 85 injured, and 3,158 houses were damaged by the fires during the recent violent unrest in Arakan State.
According to the NGO, nearly 90,000 people are still displaced by the unrest. The celebrity team is said to have left from Sittwe for Rangoon on Kambawza Airway in the evening of 1 July.
