YANGON (UCAN): “Children and their families are fleeing because they have no choice, and we are seeing them forced to hide out in jungles and forests and living in terrible conditions,” Inger Ashing, CEO of Save the Children International, said in a January 28 statement noting that at least 150,000 children have been forced to flee their homes as Myanmar’s military has escalated its assault against civilians in the conflict-torn nation.
She said children on the move are at heightened risk of trafficking, abuse, recruitment into armed groups, injury and death. The horrific attack on an internally displaced person [IDP] camp in Hpruso Township in Kayah state on January 17, shows that children in Myanmar are caught between a rock and a hard place.
“UN Security Council members must deliver on their shared responsibility to address the unfolding crisis in Myanmar,” Ashing said.
In the first and second weeks of January alone, children have been killed in several bombings and raids by the military in Kayah and the Sagaing region, according to Save the Children.
It said the scale and severity of violence against civilians, including children and humanitarian staff, has been escalating since the Myanmese military [Tatmadaw] seized power a year ago in a coup [Sunday Examiner, 7 February 2021].
The child rights organisation said violence has particularly intensified in the state of Kayah.
Thawadar [not her real name], had to flee her village in Kayah and is now sheltering in an IDP camp. The 14-year-old remembers the scorching sun and the sound of gunfire on the day she fled.
I was so worried and thinking on the journey … What if weapons hit us? I have always been afraid of the soldiers and I pray they don’t reach the camp. I never want to hear the sound of heavy weapons again
Thawadar
“When I was working on harvesting corn in the field, my aunt came and told us that we also needed to flee as we heard the weapons loudly. It was urgent and we couldn’t take so many things. My mother packed some clothes, pots and plates. Then, we left our home,” she told Save the Children.
“I was so worried and thinking on the journey … What if weapons hit us? I have always been afraid of the soldiers and I pray they don’t reach the camp. I never want to hear the sound of heavy weapons again,” she said.
Kayah, a predominantly Christian area, was also the site of an attack on at least 35 civilians, including four children and two Save the Children staff members, on Christmas Eve [Sunday Examiner, January 9].
The aid workers, both young fathers who were passionate about children’s education, were on their way back to their office after working on a humanitarian response in a nearby community when they were caught up in the attack, according to Save the Children.
Recent UN figures show that 91,400 people in Kayah state have fled their homes since last February’s coup but local reports estimate that the figure is much higher—more than half its 300,000 population.
At least 405,700 people have fled their homes due to fighting within Myanmar since the military coup last year, with that figure increasing by 27 per cent in just the past month, according to the UN.
Save the Children said that, of the total number of people displaced across Myanmar, an estimated 37 per cent are children, many of whom are living outside in the jungle under makeshift shelters and vulnerable to hunger, illness and protection risks.
Nearly 1,500 people have been killed, including at least 50 children, and over 11,000 people have been arrested since the coup.
