People displaced by fighting from Chin State’s Paletwa Township who have sought refuge in other areas of Paletwa Township and neighbouring Mizoram State in India are in urgent need of food, medicine and warm clothing.
Due to fighting, approximately 19,000 people have fled from their homes in Paletwa Township. 15,000 of those people fled to other calmer areas of Paletwa Township and the remaining about 4,000 other displaced people have sought shelter across the border in India’s Mizoram State.
They are all in urgent need of medical and food aid, according to Salai Soe Than, an official with the Paletwa IDPs and Humanitarian Support Group.
He said: “There are internally displaced people (IDPs) who remain in Paletwa Township, and there are also refugees who have reached Mizoram. A public healthcare team has been established for the IDPs in the area under the Paletwa Council's control, but there is a problem with insufficient medicine and food, rice, especially, is urgently needed. During my recent visit to the refugees in Mizoram, I discovered that their livelihood is very precarious, and they are facing a shortage of medicine. Both the refugees in Mizoram and the IDPs in Paletwa are grappling with the same issue of not having jobs to generate income.”
As winter approaches the need for warm clothing and blankets for the displaced people, which include children and the elderly, becomes more urgent. Salai Soe Than said they also need other items such as mosquito nets and he called on donors to help these people.
Most of the IDPs are sheltering in Samee Town in Paletwa Township and other rural areas of Paletwa Township. But they face many problems, the volatile military situation means they can no longer go out and tend to their farms. To make their lives worse, the junta has also put in place travel restrictions in Paletwa Township.
Refugees from Paletwa sheltering in Lawngtlai District in Mizoram State are also struggling due to a lack of employment opportunities and insufficient aid.
Salai Soe Than said: “Almost all war-displaced people do not have permanent jobs; they rely on sporadically available low-paid manual labor opportunities and improvise to support their families. On the Mizoram side, there are not many organisations available to assist the refugees. In conclusion, whether in Paletwa or Mizoram, all war-displaced individuals are struggling without adequate support.”
He also said that any local or foreign donors who want to assist the people displaced from Paletwa Township should contact the Paletwa IDPs and Humanitarian Support Group.
In 2019, heavy fighting erupted between the Arakan Army (AA) and the Myanmar military in Paletwa Township, prompting many locals to flee their homes. When the fighting died down many were able to return home, But, after a ceasefire between the junta and the AA broke down on 13 November 2023 fighting again intensified in Paletwa, forcing locals to once more seek refuge in more peaceful rural areas of Paletwa Township and Mizoram State.
