Border News Agency
Ponnagyun, September 22
Displaced persons’ camps in Ponnagyun Township, which is controlled by the Arakkha Army (AA), are in urgent need of food and livelihood assistance as humanitarian support has been extremely limited, displaced people said.
The displaced people are facing severe hardship because they have no employment opportunities and commodity prices have risen sharply.
“We have no work at all, not even a little. None of the people living here have jobs. Rice prices have gone up. Even people who used to feel ashamed to beg are now begging on the streets with bags,” a male official from a displaced persons’ camp in Ponnagyun Township told Border News Agency.
Locals in Ponnagyun said that a basket of Paw San Hmwe paddy, which previously cost around 800,000 kyats, has now risen to 2.4 million kyats. Other varieties of paddy have also increased to between 1.9 million and 2 million kyats.
Displaced people said the rising prices have created an additional burden for those living in the camps.
“Higher paddy prices may benefit farmers, but they are not good for us displaced people. Rice prices have risen dramatically,” a displaced person from Ponnagyun Township told Border News Agency.
Displaced people said they are facing hunger because the camps have not received sufficient humanitarian assistance.
They are calling on the Arakkha People’s Revolutionary Government, international donors, local and overseas donors, and aid organizations to provide food assistance so that displaced people can survive.
