The number of Internally Displaced Persons in Burma continues to grow at an alarming rate. Military operations, development projects and economic hardships all contribute to a situation that is bordering on catastrophic porportions. It is also one of Burma's lesser known problems; international awareness and action remains stagnant while millions of people in Burma face starvation, displacement, and no access to basic fundamental services like education and healthcare. Campaigning to improve the conditions of IDPs in Burma through international awareness and constructive action is a necessity.
Burma has a population of 50 million people. Recent estimates place 2 million of those people as Internally Displaced Persons (IDP). They live precarious and transient lives in the jungles of Burma's ethnic border areas and in the more urban central plains. They are denied the stability of having a home and a livelihood and are forced into a constant state of movement: never having the opportunity to maintain a home, their farms, access to education and medical facilities and peace of mind.
"We have been moving from one place to another every year. Last year and this year have been the most difficult years for us. In the past year, from seeding time to harvest time, the Burmese army troops arrived to our hiding sites very often and every time they arrived they destroyed our paddies. We had to hide from them every time that they arrived."
Burma became independent from the British in 1947. What followed was 15 years of elected parliament and democracy that was hampered by ethnic unrest, lack of unity and economic troubles. In 1962 a coup was staged by General Ne Win which brought the Burmese military into power. Ne Win instigated the Burma Socialist Programme Party and a policy to wipe out the ethnic opposition groups that were struggling to assert their own identities and cultures. In the 1970s Ne Win went even further and introduced the 4 cuts program which was an attempt to cut off food, information, recruits and financial support to these armed ethnic opposition groups. The policy has mostly affected the villagers that live in these ethnic border areas. They are the recipients of Burmese military enacted human rights abuses, forced relocations, extrajudicial killings, arbitrary detention, rape, village destruction, forced labour and portering. All of which has created the ever increasing IDP population that are either forced to leave their homes by the Burmese military or are fleeing Burmese military human rights abuses.
IDPs are denied access to education, especially in their native languages and adequate medical treatment. Only 60% of children in Burma have the opportunity to go to school, 25% of them will actually finish primary school. IDPs have at times set up makeshift schools in the jungles to try and continue their education but the vast majority find this impossible. Fear, constant movement and the daily struggle just to survive make education a very low priority for most IDPs. Healthcare is mostly adminstered through backpack medi-vacs that specifically enter the IDP areas to try and get medical treatment to them. This is often frought with danger and the numbers of medi-vacs are no where near adequate enough to adminster to the IDP population.
IDPs also face many food security issues. The Burmese military will often enter villages and burn down rice barns and crop plantations. They often force villagers to feed their soliders or just take villagers animals for their own use. Villagers are forced to supply the Burmese military with quotas of rice, never recieving any payment for it and then having to buy back their own produce from the military. IDPs are denied access to their crop plantations and have to map out an existence of foraging for berries and jungle food. Malnutrition and starvation are rife amongst the IDP population.
Many IDPs find they can no longer survive in Burma and will flee into neighbouring countries. IDPs are always potential refugees and Burma's neighbouring countries face an increasing burden of support for refugees who flee into their countries. In Thailand there are approximately 130,000 refugees in camps along the border, this does not include an unidentified number who live illegally in Thai villagers along the border. In India there are an estimated 50,000 refugees and in Bangladesh 20,000 refugees who live in atrocious conditions but prefer it to going back to Burma.
For all those who flee though there are many more who stay. They suffer greatly, they live in sub-standard conditions, but they have not yet given up hope. As one IDP said, "We will not be forced from our own land".
IDP Information
IDP Information booklet
A short booklet that gives a brief description of the IDP situation, including some statistics and reasonings behind displacement. It also includes stories and articles about IDP's that have been published in the Burma Issues newsletter.
Thai Research conducted a three month long study of the IDP situation focusing on those living in Mon State. A portion of the research has been turned into a brief case study, which can be viewed by clicking here. The full version will be available in Thai in February 2005. If you are interested in receiving a copy of this report please feel free to contact us.
