Magway: A Worsening Crisis in the Making
The following story connects us with May, one of our main volunteers assisting in and around the Magway region. She describes the current challenges facing her community, and the urgent needs that her team is trying to manage, and yet not quite able to do so given the pressure that soldiers are applying. We are sharing her story to our donor community in hopes of being able to collect more funds to immediately send to the HAERG in the life-saving services they are providing.
Upon returning from study abroad, May had hopes and dreams of serving her community. However, her dreams of political progress have been crushed as she finds herself not just in turmoil, but in a struggle to provide basic human rights for thousands of internally displaced people (IDP) in the Magway Region of Myanmar. She, along with the team members of Humanitarian Assistance and Emergency Response Group (HAERG) find themselves on less stable ground, distributing goods to the displaced people who now reside in the camp.
The police forces and military burned down villages and markets in some townships of Magway, resulting in the formation of IDP camps in northern parts of the Magway Region. Many internally displaced people from Chin State have fled to Magway seeking relief, putting strain on local humanitarian resources. In addition to destroying the villages and infrastructure, police forces and military captured innocent civilians based on mere suspicions of contacting or involvement with the People’s Defence Forces (PDF).
The arrested people have been sent to the interrogation center where they have been brutally tortured and even lost their lives. The situation is dire for many in Magway, with thousands of government staff joining the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) unable to work to afford basic needs such as food. The ground situation is chaotic. Schools were reopened by State Administrative Council (SAC) but very few students attend. Irrational restrictions have been implemented such as only one person (male) allowed to ride a motorbike at a time and people have to stop by at the check points to be interrogated.
Big private companies including banks support the SAC and care only about their profit and loss statements. Most of the CDM staff in Magway region do not get support from NUG and are struggling for their survival. The team members of HAERG are stretching their own physical and mental limits in effort to find funds, gather information, distribute food and other required materials for IDP camps. Although the team secured some funding from different sources, the numbers have fallen short in order to provide essentials to the IDPs and CDM staff. All donations are greatly appreciated, and any fund earmarked towards May’s cause will go immediately to their organization.