Memorandum submitted by the Womens' 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' name are put in this
document not to advertise, but to highlight that there are already existing
organizations that are doing marvelous 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 travelers.
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 remote 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, chili, 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 coordinating 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)
