Myanmar

VIOLENCE AND CONFLICT CONTINUE TO CAUSE SUFFERING

Families across Myanmar have been suffering for years under violence that escalated dramatically in 2012 and has continued in waves. A campaign of violence in 2017 sent 720,000 people to Bangladesh between August 2017 and May 2018.

The conflict has severely affected Myanmar’s children. As of 2019, an estimated 460,000 children require humanitarian assistance. 244,500 people remain internally displaced and live in heavily overcrowded camps throughout the country.

The estimated death toll is at 10,000, but more than 40,000 people are missing and presumed dead, according to a recent report by the United Nations.

The humanitarian crisis continues to escalate. Families have been walking barefoot across borders and rivers, desperately searching for refuge. Those who make it to makeshift camps are suffering through extreme heat and inhumane living conditions. The U.N. has called them “The most friendless people in the world” and has called the violence genocide.

FLOODS ADDED ANOTHER LAYER OF CRISIS FOR THOSE INSIDE MYANMAR

Torrential flooding in Myanmar in summer 2018 added another crushing layer of misery for minorities who have already been suffering from violence since 2012. Heavy monsoon rains flooded large sections of Myanmar, killing at least 16 people and displacing more than 15,000. For refugees from Myanmar in Bangladesh, heavy rains  triggered landslides and flooded their camps, damaging shelters. Oliver Kyaw, Islamic Relief’s country director in Myanmar said, “These floods are the worst Myanmar has seen for 30 years.” 

HOW THE ISLAMIC RELIEF COMMUNITY HAS RESPONDED

The Islamic Relief family has been supporting humanitarian aid efforts in Myanmar since 2012, opening an office there in 2015. The Islamic Relief USA community, in combination with the Islamic Relief global family, has helped hundreds of thousands of people suffering in Myanmar as well as refugees in Bangladesh and Myanmar.

But as the conditions on the ground remain bleak, the number of people who need assistance and the need for more support grows. Please keep those affected and those working to help them in your prayers.