Ethnic Rakhines flee violence in Myanmar

World Today

Ethnic Rakhines flee violence in Myanmar

Many ethnic Rakhines are also fleeing violence in Myanmar. They blame Rohingya militants.

CGTN’s Dave Grunebaum has their story, from Rakhine state.

A monastery in the Rakhine State capital of Sittwe is the temporary home for about 300 people. It’s where they eat, sleep and bathe. They’re among the tens of thousands of ethnic Rakhines that Myanmar’s government says have been forced to flee from recent violence.

Hnin Hkaing is a refugee and said, “There are a lot of people, but this is not our home. It’s crowded at night, which makes it hard for my children to sleep.

Violence flared near here on August 25, when Rohingya insurgents attacked security outposts. That was when Hnin Hkaing decided to grab her children and run. She left her husband behind in their neighborhood in the town of Maungdaw – to protect it, she says. While she and her three children are getting by, every day is difficult.

“My daughter cries every day when I tell her she can’t go to school,” Hkaing said.

The government and donors are providing food and clothes, while a make-shift health clinic has been set up.

“Nothing here is as convenient as when you live in your own home. People are trying their best to make it as comfortable as possible but it’s never the same as home,” Kyaw Hla Sein, refugee said.

While the world watches with horror what’s happening to the Rohingya, the people here are also victims. Naturally all of these families want to go home. But when we asked them if they ever felt they could live peacefully again with the ethnic Rohingya Muslims, their answer was, ‘no’.


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