By Kantarawaddy Times
Saturday, June 11, 2022
Ill equipped Karenni civilians, displaced by fighting between the Burma Army (BA) and resistance groups, are facing additional hardships with the onset of the rainy season as their shelters don’t protect them from the elements.
“When the heavy rain comes, the plastic roof of our hut cannot protect us from the rain. The raindrops land on our foreheads and bodies at night,” a male told Kantarawaddy Times, wishing to remain anonymous.
When it pours, he said everyone is miserable, and sometimes they cannot even cook their rice and curry because their camp get flooded and soaks their firewood.
There are over 200,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Karenni and southern Shan states, most of whom are housed in rudimentary bamboo huts in the jungle.
Schools set up in the jungle camps to provide education for the children are also affected by the rain, which enters the classrooms during heavy downpours. The children and elderly have to use umbrellas or wrap themselves in plastic when they leave their homes to avoid getting soaked.
“Children need many things during the rainy season. They need an umbrella or rain coat when they go to school, and it’s better if they also get rubber slippers to protect themselves from the mud,” said a teacher in one camp who asked that her name not be published.
There’s many IDPs living in remote jungle camps in the townships of Demawso, Hpruso and Loikaw in Karenni State.
