A villager in Wadaingkung, Mr. Khin Oo, who made the village census list, said that more than 170 people shifted to Mizoram last June and July from 15 villages having 36 families in Paletwa Township, southern Chin state to escape the famine.

“Cultivation has not succeeded because of bamboo flowering and multiplication of rats, which eat the flowers. The rats destroyed all our plants leaving us with no crops,” he added.

Mr. Khin Oo and 15 families shifted to Mizoram state. From their neighboring villagers about 20 people accompanied them. Most of the refugees are staying in Saiha and Lawngtlai district in southern Mizoram state. They are working as casual laborers.

“Other villagers in Paletwa Township also wanted to accompany us when we left. They are sure to follow soon as there are no jobs, no food and no support from any quarter. There is nothing they can do there,” he told Khonumthung News.

Villagers who have shifted to Mizoram belong to Vadaingkung, Wati, Seihsongkung, Valaungkung, Akikung, Taingwa, Tintaungwa, Sanpiah, Athongkung, Sami, Laungzawkung, Michaungwa, and Drawwa of Paletwa Township . There is no confirmation from other townships.

The natural phenomena of bamboo flowering leads to destruction of crops by rats, causing famine. Records with the Paletwa Natural Trouble Helping Group (2008-2009) reveals that 13,610 acres of cultivated land has been destroyed. The cultivators have lost a total of 99,028 tins of rice in Paletwa Township . Similarly, 4,361 out of 7,150 of peanut (oil-seeds) land have been destroyed. A total of 2, 74,816 tins of oil-seed have also been lost in the famine.

Khonumthung News

The cross, which was jointly erected on the summit by a group of Christian denominations in the region, was removed by a group of people with High School Principal after Township Peace and Development Council (TPDC) made an order, according to Khonumthung News.

A church leader was quoted as saying that the cross was built with donations from the churches on top of the mountain where a prayer service is held once a year. The cross was destroyed without our knowledge, added the leader.

After the destruction, the authorities ordered the local people to clean up the place so a pagoda construction could begin at the same place.

Benedict Rogers, East Asia Team Leader of Christian Solidarity Worldwide, told Chinland Guardian: “This incident is typical of the regime’s behaviour towards Chin Christians. Over the years it has deliberately destroyed Christian symbols in Chin State, in order to denigrate the Chin people’s identity and culture. The regime is hostile to Chin Christians for religious and ethnic reasons. It is one of the world’s worst violators of religious freedom, and it is time that such persecution of religious minorities is stopped.”

“British MPs have called on the UN Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Religion and Belief to investigate violations of religious freedom, and we continue to make that call,” added author of Carrying the cross: the military regime’s campaign of restriction, discrimination and persecution against Christians in Burma, which detailed the regime’s 17-point document headlined ‘Programme to destroy the Christian religion in Burma’ under which the first point reads: ‘There shall be no home where the Christian religion is practised’.

CSW’s report published in 2007 said that in addition to the destruction of crosses and churches, and restriction on the construction of new churches, the SPDC regularly and deliberately disrupts church services, physically assaults pastors and church leaders, and uses pastors for forced labour, particularly on Sundays.

A series of cross demolition perpetrated by Burma’s military dictatorship has been recorded throughout Chin State since early 1990s.

Mawta Famine Relief Committee (MFRC)

Famine seminar in Tipa Town ; Southern Mizoram State ; India .
Date: 17th – 21st January 2009

Conclusion:
The MFRC seminar was attended by more than 1,200 villagers from 123 villages inside Chin State , North West Burma .

Of these, nine villages within Thatlang Township in southern Chin State said they were receiving aid from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

The UNDP has opened bank accounts for the villages in Thatlang Township and village leaders from villages must travel to Thatlang Town to withdraw the money in order to buy food.  The money is sent in local currency, that is Kyats. Many villagers complained that they then had to travel to larger towns in the area to obtain food. For many, crossing the border into India is a more viable option, however in order to purchase supplies, villagers need to convert the kyats into Indian rupees, again many complained that this was extremely difficult, if not impossible. (Note: India and Burma trade in Singapore Dollars and Euros.)

In addition, villagers fear that the money being supplied by the UNDP is limited. They do not know if it will be supplied on a regular basis.

A further nine villages in southern Chin State said they were receiving aid from the United Nations World Food Programme (UNWFP), via Country Agency for Rural Development (CAD).

In order to take advantage of the aid on offer, villagers must “Work for Food”. This means they must take part in road construction activities. They complained that no tools or machinery for road construction had been provided and that they are using pick axes and knives to build roads in mountainous jungle terrain. Only those villagers who take part in these activities are given food. This means a large sector of vulnerable people are being over-looked – inparticular the infirm; elderly; the very young and the disabled who cannot work.

They all argued that the food should be given without conditions of work attached, reasoning that they have been living without proper nutrition since the start of the Mawta or bamboo flowering in 2007 and are physically unable to construct roads or the like at this point in time.

However they all said road construction and accessibility was imperative in the region for their long-term survival and supported any project properly equipped.

In the short term, they requested immediate food drops from the United Nations World Food Programme without any conditions of work attached.

Current state of Mawta:

The Mawta or bamboo flowering has been documented three times in the region – the last time in the 1950s with devastating consequences. The Times of India reported that 15,000 people died as a result of famine triggered by the Mawta.

It occurs approximately every fifty years in the region when the bamboo flowers. It brings with it hundreds and thousands of rats who procreate at an alarming rate and who having eaten the bamboo fruits turn on farmers crops.

This Mawta started in 2007 and is expected to continue until 2011. It affects Mizoram State , Manipur , Bangladesh , Chittagong   — all of which have been able to combat and contain the bamboo flowering this time round with aid from national and international governments.

Chin State in North West Burma is also affected but is in receipt of minimal a id relief. With villagers entirely dependent on the land, the consequences have been devastating and fears are growing that the worst is yet to come as the rats are spreading into areas where there is no bamboo or very little bamboo; such as Kapalet Township and Mindat Township in southern Chin State .  This is also occurring in northern regions such as Falam Township and Tiddim Township.

Impact on Health:

Villagers have been unable to access proper nutritional food since 2007. In many cases they are entirely dependent on the jungle for food. This means digging for yam or eating leaves, jungle animals and the rats themselves.

This has impacted levels of health severely. People are dying of basic infections, triggered by food shortages.

In addition because they have lost their economic dependency on the land, they are unable to access medical treatment in the larger towns where facilities operated by the local government are available but again facilities are minimal and in many cases even if villagers had the money they are turned away by the operating authorities.

While in the region, I as Co-ordinator of MFRC and as a final year medical student opened four mobile medical units on the Indian side of the border with Burma ( Laki Village , Chapi Village and Mohro vIllage and Tipa Town ).

This project was supported by seven boxes of medicine supplied by International Health Partners (in conjunction with The Princes Trust).

I treated approximately five thousand and seven hundred people between the Summer of 2008 and January 2009.  Of these, conditions which stood out in terms of repetition were Gastro-intestinal complaints; malnourishment; low immunity and panic attacks.

Many others were suffering from infections, which because they were not treated at the time have developed into more serious ailments.

Impact on Education:

Education is not free in Chin State . Without economic reliance on account of the Mawta, families in the majority of cases have taken their children out of school.  Teachers have also walked out on account of there being no pay for them.

Many of these school children have since gone to the larger towns in Burma or to the border with India to seek food.  Many families said they had no idea where their children were as many of them have failed to return to their homes.

Fear is a whole generation is being lost and as the younger generation leave – communities fear annihilation.

Impact on population:

In southern Chin State of the 147 villages that MFRC is working in, to date, five villages have emptied. In August of 2008 – only two had emptied. Clearly the condition is worsening.

In those villages where people still reside, the number of people per household has decreased. This is because the young and those that are physically able are leaving their villages to seek livelihoods and food elsewhere. They predominantly head to larger cities within Burma such as Rangoon or Palweta or Hakka in Chin State or they are heading to India ; Bangladesh ; Malaysia and Thailand as illegal immigrants, which in turn has a knock-on effect on social structures in these regions.

Recommendations:

It is clear that Burma ’s own government will not involve itself in the development of the region. They have not given food aid to the people and instead have pushed them into forced labour, without pay for generations.

Large swathes of land in the region have been forcibly turned over to jatropha plantations on the governments orders – creating bio-fuel for international sale. None of these monies — or monies from any other projects, such as  China ; India or South Korea ’s 30-year-gas deal with Myanmar  — are projected back into communities.

Therefore, we at the MFRC — a locally based organisation on the ground — suggest the following:

• · The United Nations World Food Programme in September 2008 made a commitment to provide food for 55,000 people in the region. While recognising difficulties encountered by the UN in securing access to areas, as a first-step, MFRC recommends that the UNWFP use helicopters at its disposal within Burma to drop food aid directly into these areas, which are inaccessible by road, without conditions of work attached.
• · The United Nations Development Programme should focus its efforts on the region’s development. It should be involved in road infrastructure; health and education for long-term security.
• · The United Nations should mobilse its agricultural sector to work in the region, predominantly to educate the villagers on alternative, more viable farming practices.
• · Cross-border aid from India should be considered for those villages, which are nearer India .
• · Food supplies from the larger towns where there is surplus should be distributed to those villages within Chin State where there are food shortages rather than exported overseas.
• · The United Nations needs to make a clear long-term commitment to the region.  Namely, member states (specifically those who engage in business transactions with Myanmar — such as India and China ), should lobby against regional policies, which will further impede peoples of this region.

During this conference, various issues related to famine caused by mawta/mautam phenomenon will be discussed and a review of the past works carried out by MFRC will be presented and discussed as well where many victims will also participate and give their side of the story in persons.

A final year medicine student in Armenia Sasa who is also a Coordinator of MFRC will come all the way from Armenia and attend this conference; many sympathisers and donors from within India and abroad too are expected to grace the occasion.

Many NGOs from Maraland like Mara Thyutlia Py (MTP), Evangelical Church of Maraland (ECM), Mara Evangelical Church (MEC), Congregational Church of India-Maraland (CCIM), Mara Students’ Organisation (MSO), Mara Student Association (MSA), Mara Chano Py (MchP), etc also have been invited to attend this conference.

Map showing Tipa town and Mawta most effected area

Tuipang V (Vaiveng) town, locally known as Tipa Viavaih is the sub-headquarters of Mara Autonomous District Council (MADC), it is also one of the Rural Development Blocks in Mizoram. It is located at the southern extreme part of Mizoram, it is where India’s National Highway-54 (NH-54) official ends. It is an Indo-Myanmar border town, it is only about 20 kms from the border.

Most of the patients were suffering from malaria PF, gastric, pneumonia and other diseases. A report, released by the clinic said,

“There were more than 50 people who had come for a checkup in this clinic from Matupi and Thantlang areas. Women were suffering from a swollen uterus and children were diagnosed with pneumonia and gastric.”

The clinic did not have enough beds for the patients as most of the patients had come from Chin state, as a result some of them had been sleeping on the floor and staying at the houses of relatives.

In Chin state, people are suffering not only from diseases but also from shortage of food as bamboo flowering has occurred in this year, which normally happens only once in every 50 years.

“Due to the onset of famine, Chin people cannot purchase even mosquito nets, sometimes they are going without food all day long. Most of them are suffering from malaria as they sleep without mosquito nets at night. Some are suffering from gastric since they have been eating roots and leaves,”

Ko Unity said.

He added, “Chin people are getting checked free of charge. However, the patients are increasing in number day by day. It’s sure that there will be many more patients this month as they can get free treatment here.”

The clinic was established by the Chin community committee in Aizawl and was set up in the Indo-Myanmar border area of Saiha District’s Mohre village in 2006. They have now started treating Chin people free of charge from this month.

Mawta Famine Relief Committee (MFRC), an NGO established by the famine victims in Chin state has released its Press Release No. 2. Kindly read below:

MFRC PRESS RELEASE No. 2

Mawta Famine Relief Committee (MFRC) is formed by the victims of the Mawta famine in Chin State , Myanmar .

This press release and information contains Mawta Famine Relief Committee (MFRC) stance on working together with political activists who have invited them to join them in rehabilitating and helping the famine victims in Western Myanmar Chin State, for immediate publication:

1.      Mawta Famine Relief Committee (MFRC) was formed because of the ongoing ‘Mawta’ famine caused by a rare phenomenon that happens twice in a century in which bamboo flowers in plenty in the area inhabited by bamboo-landers in Chin state, Western Myanmar. This leads to an increase in the population of rats who feast on the bamboo fruits. Once these fruits are consumed and exhausted by the rats, the rodents then invade crops in the field and villages devouring everything, leaving nothing to the farmers for any harvest which is the livelihood for the people. As we all know Burmese government knew this was coming, but did nothing for the farmers. This leads to food scarcity and the subsequent famine. Kids are not able to attend schools, mothers are not able to breastfeed their babies. There are deaths related to this phenomenon directly or indirectly. The World Food Programme (WFP) investigation team came to Chin state to investigate the claims of famine by the victims, but found none as they didn’t go beyond the state capital. Most NGOs based in the the largest Myanmar city Yangon too have dismissed the same claim for the past 2 years. BBC news correspondent came to Indo-Myanmar border and documented the claims of the victims with proper witness. Because of this, MFRC was formed by the victims of this rare famine. They are the people whom BBC news interviewed them in the border. MFRC is a non-political, non-religious, non-racial organization working directly with the famine victims by the famine victims.

2.      MFRC has Headquarters, Sub-headquarters and branch offices, all the workers are non-paid non-salaried who volunteered freely for this cause. They are community leaders, tribal leaders and religious leaders having grassroot volunteers in 177 villages where Village Mawta Famine Boards (VMFB) are formed. VMFB has over 400 volunteered members at present.

3.      MFRC do not have any one mediating between the donors and the beneficiaries. The victims themselves are MFRC leaders and whatever sympathizers give it to the famine victims reach directly through MFRC leaders.

4.      MFRC therefore, maintains high standard of transparency and accountability. All the ongoing works are recorded and any donations made to the victims are given proper receipts besides putting across their own signatures. MFRC has distributed twice rice bags worth Rs.12 lakh. It always welcomes whoever wants to check these financial records.

5.      In order to carry out quick response to the famine victims, MFRC has 9 rice store houses at Indo-Myanmar border, all the workers here as mentioned earlier too are unpaid volunteers.

6.      Since MFRC is a non-governmental organization formed by the people living in Chin state Myanmar itself, they know how to deal with the security situation often made very complicated by the Burmese military government.

7.      MFRC main works are with bamboo-landers – where there is no formal communication, who doesn’t have someone to tell their story. It works directly with suffering people living specially  in Southern Chin State, southern part of Thantlang towship, Paletwa and Matupi townships.

MFRC requests all the sympathizers around the world to kindly continue to shower your love towards these suffering people through us whose organization is formed by the victims itself.

Rev. Victor Ve U
Chairman
MFRC
29/10/2008

MFRC official website: www.mawta.org

The second round of free distribution of rice worth Rs.12,00,000 (12 lakh) were benefited by 11, 13 and 25 villages of Lautu, Zophei and Khum tribes respectively.

“The third round of the distribution of the rice worth Rs.70 lakh will be carried out mostly among Khumi tribe in southern Chin state, Maras, Lautus and Zopheis too will receive as per their need,”

said Evangelist Ebi, Joint Coordinator of MFRC, who is working at the ground level.

With the sympathisers and donors from around the world, MFRC is able to carry out this blessed work of distributing and rehabiliating the famine victims in Chin state.

As reported earlier, the most effected people by this rare phenomenon is the tribes - Khumis, Maras, Lautus and Zopheis living in the most remotest part of Chin state where no vehicular access is possible.

The Department for International Development(DFID), part of the UK Government that manages Britain’s aid to poor countries and works to get rid of extreme poverty, has provided an estimated 1 million US dollars in financial support through NGOs including UNDP, CAD and WFP, sources confirmed.

“We are very happy to hear about DFID’s generous support in response to the ongoing food crisis in Chin State, and that WFP has now accepted the situation and is also taking steps in the food relief collaboration,” a prominent Chin political figure Victor Biak Lian of Chin Human Rights Organisation told Chinland Guardian.

The programme will initiate to focus on giving food relief to six of the most affected tonwnships such as Matupi, Paletwa, Tonzang, Tiddim, Hakha and Thantlang for the first three months starting from October.

The overall objective of this project is to improve the food security situation of farmers and their family members, affected by rat infestation and crop destruction, as well to enhance rural transportation and communication systems, according to Rangon-based CAD (Country Agency for Rural Development). 

In an effort to bring about a long-term solution, another programme called Food Plus Cash For Work (FCFW) is to be formed, aiming to facilitate road construction and tiered farming in Tiddim, Tonzang, Hakha and Thantlang townships.

A Chin delegation comprising Victor Biak Lian, Cheery Zahau and Sasa met Deputy Director of DFID in London during their visit in June this year, raising awareness and fund for the famine victims in Chin State, Burma.

By Van Biak Thang,
Source: Chinland Guardian

Captain Aung Kyaw Hein from LIB (538) stationed in the Shinletwa military camp in Paletwa Township on September 2 held a meeting and called in village heads from nine village tracts in Paletwa Township, according to villagers in Paletwa Township.

At the meeting, Captain Aung Kyaw Hein told the village heads from nine village tracts to bring eight chickens per village tract or Kyat 15,000 in cash.

The military authorities did not divulge if the livestock and money extorted were meant for military rations or personal consumption.

“The Captain did not mention for what purpose he has been collecting livestock and money,”

a villager said.

The village heads who attended meeting urged the Captain to consider the difficult situation the villages are facing given the food shortage but the military authorities allegedly threatened them with severe action if they failed to comply.

“Though the village heads told the captain that the villagers could not comply as they are facing shortage of food, the Captain told them that they would shoot villagers if they did not,” said a member of the village council in Shinletwa.

On the same day, scared village heads paid the money they borrowed from neighbouring villages, said a member of the village council.

Moreover, Burmese soldiers extorted money from villagers who crossed the border and smuggled livestock to neighbouring Mizoram state in India.

Most villagers in the food crisis hit areas have been smuggling their backyard livestock to Mizoram state and selling it there in order to purchase food and other necessities.

“Once I came to Mizoram searching for a job. On the way, I came across Burmese soldiers. When they found I was carrying a chicken they started asking for the chicken,” said a villager from Bawiri village in Matupi Township.

“As I kept refusing to handover the chicken, they asked for Kyat 2,000 instead. Only after I had given them Kyat 2,000, they allowed me to proceed,” he added

The villagers complained that the junta had not helped address the food crisis that villagers were facing. Instead the military took whatever they could from villagers.

Local human rights groups believe food shortages have brought 100,000 people in the western Chin state to a critical point and are calling for urgent assistance.

The cause is a natural phenomenon which occurs every 50 years, when bamboo plants produce fruit which triggers an explosion in the rat population.

Neighbouring India has implemented emergency measures to deal with this year’s threat in the northern states.

But across the border it’s a very different situation, as Bernadette Sandhu found when she visited the isolated Burmese community:

Listen to Bernadette Sandhu’s report (7 mins 13 secs)

Paul Risley is Asia spokesman for the World Food Programme.

Listen to Paul Risley (4 mins 21 secs)

Source: BBC Radio website

First broadcast September 26 2008

To see more of Bernadette’s pictures from Chin state, click here.