Memorandum submitted by the Women's League
of Chinland
Fact-findings on humanitarian crises in western
part of Burma, Chin State and the refugee populations in India-Burma
border: How DFID can extend its support for the most vulnerable
population on cross-border programs.
INTRODUCTION
It is an honor to introduce ourselves to the
attention of the British Government. Our organization is called
Women's League of Chinland (WLC), an umbrella organization of
different women's organization based on Chin tribes and nationality
from Burma. We are currently based in India, and at the same time,
we gain access inside Chin State time to time. This document is
prepared by WLC for the Burmese refugee population on India-Burma
border and, the people inside Chin State and western part of Burma,
focusing on women and children who are the most vulnerable populations
because of the endless civil war in Burma. Some organizations
names are put in this document not to advertise, but to highlight
that there are already existing organizations that are doing marvellous
work for their own community, and have experiences of community
based development and assistance. Therefore, we would sincerely
request the British government to consider our needs and appeal.
The particular needs of IDPs in Burma and refugees
in India
— We would like to bring your
attention towards the refugees in India and the people in Chin
State and western part of Burma. The needs of the refugee population
can be divided into three parts; 1) Education 2) Healthcare and
3) Livelihood.
REGARDING EDUCATION
The government of India is not a signatory to
the 1951 Refugee Convention, which enables it to avoid its responsibility
for Burmese refugees. As a result, the condition of the Burmese
refugees in India is "let them survive alone". The Burmese
people try to get work for their survival while job opportunities
in India are extremely difficult even for the Indian citizens;
for the Burmese people who have no prior education or no legal
document, it is almost impossible. The condition affects children's
education. Many Burmese children drop out of school since their
parents cannot afford to pay for the school and admission fees.
Despite these difficulties, there is a small education programme
existing in Mizoram implemented by organizations such as Central
Chin Women Organization (CCWO), supporting primary and middle
school children; Chin Education Project, providing grant for higher
secondary school students; Aizawl Chin Education Committee, supporting
high school students etc. The CCWO is also running an English
speaking class as a vocational training for the young men and
women in Aizawl, who want to continue their study or improve their
English skill. These grants can reach only the poorest children
even though the needs are much higher as the numbers of the students
are also increasing.
REGARDING HEALTH
The Burmese refugees on the India-Burma border
struggle for their daily food. Many times, there is nothing left
to go to hospital when they are sick. Many patients do not go
to hospital, which results in people losing their lives. The other
barrier for the Burmese refugees is language problem. The refugees
who do not speak the local language often receive discrimination
and less attention at hospitals. Again, many patients end without
going to hospitals. Knowing this problem, the community initiated
a small project by running two medical clinics along the border
with financial support from a group of medical doctors from Canada.
However, these clinics do not have regular doctors or nurses but
traditional medics in charge who receive in-house vocational health
training. Aizawl, the capital of Mizroam, India hosts the largest
number of Burmese refugees—above 20,000—but there
is no single clinic for the poor refugees so that they can receive
medical assistance.
REGARDING LIVELIHOOD
Lack of legal documents and job opportunities
make the women most vulnerable. The Burmese women work as housemaids,
weavers at handloom industry, selling vegetables along side of
the road, working at restaurants, framings and small trading.
At worst, women are involved in selling drugs, while many end
up as sex-workers. Many young Burmese women end their lives working
as housemaids to the Mizo families where they are vulnerable to
being abused by their employers in different forms, and even their
futures cannot be improved. Therefore, the women's organizations
such as All Burma Democratic Lushai Women Organization (ABDLWO)
and Central Chin Women Organization (CCWO) initiated small income
generation for women by running handloom industry, sewing trainings,
making traditional weaving and sewing products. However, because
of lack of capital, the project cannot reach as many Burmese women
as the organization would like.
The challenges faced in delivering aid and assistance
to these groups
While delivering aid and assistance to these
groups, particularly in India-Burma border, donors can not easily
visit the border because of the Indian existing law of "Restricted
Areas", in the northeast states of India, includes Mizoram
State. This hinders the Burmese organizations' efforts to support
the refugee communities financially.
Because of the need to work for daily survival,
there are few volunteer workers within organizations or the community.
However, we believe that the workers can be trained to improve
their skills in different fields.
How different ethnic groups are affected by displacement
The Burmese military's presences in Chin State
and the western part of Burma causes different forms of human
rights violations, until the people cannot survive in their own
villages and towns. They flee to the neighboring countries and
other parts of Burma without certainty for their future. The people
who migrate to other parts of Burma need to integrate in a new
society, face new environments and learn new skills, including
farming for survival. Moreover, the Burmese military regime does
not allow effective development for the people in Chin State that
will benefit the community; particularly in agricultural sectors,
where the majority populations are relying on farming. However,
we witness that the people live under poverty whether they are
displaced or remaining in Chin State.
The likely trends in the region in terms of displacement,
and development and humanitarian needs
The WLC's field workers traveled into 45 villages
in 2006 in Chin State and the western part of Burma, and in Sagaing
Division in particular to learn the situation of the people and
below are our findings. It was extremely difficult to travel inside
Chin State because:
(a) There is no other means of transportation
except walking on foot.
(b) The soldiers are patrolling everywhere
and they check identity cards and can loot whatever they want
from travellers.
The villages which our field workers accessed
were in remote areas in six townships of Chin State. None of these
villages had been accessed by aid agencies operating from Rangoon.
The UNDP and some other NGOs inside Burma are providing a limited
amount of development aid in Chin State, but it is only reaching
villages near the bigger towns. The majority of the villages are
not getting any aid, except for some cross-border medical aid
provided by the Chin backpack health worker program and the WLC's
field workers. The situation on the ground for most of the villages
in Chin State is as follows.
REGARDING EDUCATION
There are primary schools at almost every village,
but not high schools. The SPDC has sent only one teacher to each
village. One teacher cannot efficiently teach all the students,
so they are unable to study the entire syllabus in their textbooks.
Many children lose interest in studying and drop out of school.
Those that stay just take the final examination and are moved
up to a higher class without knowing what had been taught in the
previous class. There are many middle school students who cannot
even write their name despite going to school.
The regime is also obstructing community efforts
to set up schools, particularly by the church. For example, there
was a school sponsored by one church at one small village in Chin
State. After two years, the students had improved a lot and it
attracted many students from other villages. But now, the authorities
have forced the school to close down. Many students have stopped
their studies since then because there are no high schools around
those villages, and they are too poor to go to other towns to
continue their studies. At the same time, they have to work at
their farms and help their parents. These are the push-factors
that made many young Chin children stop their education. However,
the WLC acknowledges this challenge and it believes that the community
itself would be able to continue to run the school despite of
the problems caused by the SPDC's authorities.
Now, the parents call for help; "We have
lost our education so we want to send our children to school and
let them have a good education system but the situation does not
does not give us a favour. Our situation or poverty will never
be improved. Please do something". The WLC's field workers
received the same message wherever they went.
REGARDING LIVELIHOOD
In the villages we visited, the numbers of households
is getting lower day by day, because people are fleeing to other
parts of Burma or other countries to try and survive. The villagers
have no other alternative way to earn their living except farming.
Even mothers with babies have to go to work. Their aim is just
to get enough food for a year so that they would be able to survive.
They grow rice, chilli, tobacco, corn and other vegetables in
traditional ways and the productivity is very low.
The soldiers freely move from one village to
another while the villagers are restricted to move around. At
the same time, the army soldiers always demand that the villagers
do forced labour, as porters, or making roads, military camps.
Not only this, but the SPDC is also implementing a plan to grow
tea and castor nut trees. The authorities demand 3,000 Kyat from
each family to buy the seeds and also collect money to buy fertilizers.
The authorities then force villagers to look after the plants.
In order to grow these plants, the authorities seize land without
any compensation. This is a heavy burden for the people in that
area.
REGARDING HEALTH
Malnutrition is a common problem for villagers.
When they are sick, there are no doctors or nurses. So they buy
medicines by themselves and try to cure themselves. Because of
this practice, many have lost their lives. The children suffer
a lot from dysentery. They have no good toilets and bathrooms.
The villagers have no basic knowledge about healthcare at all.
They also have problems with water. In Chin State, the villagers
have to carry water from outside of the village, often from wells
which are far away. If someone is very sick, the villagers have
to carry the patient to the towns, which can take days and nights.
On the way, sometimes patients lose their lives.
The conditions of these rural Chin villages
are typical of the conditions in rural ethnic areas throughout
Burma. Most of these areas are not being accessed by aid agencies
working through Rangoon, and there is an urgent need for cross-border
aid to address their needs.
How donors can assist IDPs in Burma and refugees
in Thailand most effectively.
— By co-ordinating with the local
Mizoram government and central Indian government.
— By consulting with the Burmese
community based organizations.
— By empowering the existing organizations,
that can access both inside and outside Burma from the border
areas.
The following are the calls from inside Chin
State and western part of Burma.
For example:
— The villagers need mosquito
nets during the rainy season so that they can be protected from
malaria.
— The villages need water-pipes
so that they can get more water at their villages.
— Health-training and public health
campaigns are much needed in the communities.
— That schoolteachers can be hired
within the community so that the children will have basic education.
— Stationery and other teaching
materials need to be provided to schools.
The advantages and disadvantages of cross-border
assistance compared to other ways of assisting IDPs in Burma
The advantage of cross-border programmes is
that the help reaches the vulnerable and needy people directly.
There is no control by the military authorities. The disadvantage
is that it needs the courage and risks of lives for the field
workers.
The impact of DFID's policies towards Burma's
IDPs and refugees
DFID's policy towards Burma's IDP and refugees
can create an impact on the SPDC and the neighboring countries
that host the refugee populations. By working through the border-based
organizations, the SPDC will lose credibility by failing in their
responsibility for the effective development of the country. DFID's
policy can also alert the Indian government that as the refugee
population increases, their regional stability can be affected.
The Indian government might also realize their responsibility
to concern their conditions of the refugees and the needs to support
democracy and human rights in Burma.
Notes
[1] Central Chin Women Organization has 11 branches
all over Mizoram and New Delhi, India and is a founding member
organization of Women's League of Chinland.
[2] ABDLWO is also a founding member of Women's
League of Chinland (WLC).
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