Nearly 500 households in an internally displaced person camp in Sami, Paletwa Township, are without proper shelter after their bamboo huts were damaged by a termite infestation.
“Some houses have already collapsed. Some IDPs are renting bamboo huts from other IDPs in the camp who have taken mercy on them,” Pyi Su, who is helping the Sami IDPs, told Khonumthung News.
There are five IDP camps in Sami town, housing a total of 3,388 people from 818 families.
The IDPs were displaced by clashes between the Burma Army and the Arakan Army in southern Chin State.
The bamboo huts they were living in were provided by the Chin State government and private donors.
“These shelters were built with bamboo, they were not very strong,” Zaw Li Awng, director of the local outreach group People’s Hope, said. “They have been damaged by insects. Some barracks have already collapsed. When the rain falls, people have no hut to stay in. People have no hut to hide in when the sun rises in the sky. They are really struggling.”
Zaw Li Awng said that the Chin State government is preparing to provide new shelters for the IDPs in Sami town, and local civil society organizations and other private donors will provide other necessities.
“We are still waiting for the guidelines of the Chin State government. We are waiting to see what the government will implement. If the government builds 300 shelters, we will build another 200 shelters,” he told Khonumthung News.
He added that there had initially been many private donors who had wanted to help the IDPs in Sami, but the number had dwindled, and now food rations were insufficient as well.