Field visit to Myanmar Refugees at Nghalchawm Refugee camp

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Mission Foundation Movement Survey of Myanmar Refugees:

As of March 2022, it is estimated that 24,582 refugees from Myanmar are currently living in Mizoram.

District	Refugee Camps	Living with Relatives
Aizawl	950	750
Lunglei	772	1356
Siaha	2,591	6,800
Champhai	28,10	3115
Kolasib	0	535
Serchhip	0	486
Lawngtlai	2373	3366
Siaha	1050	719
Saitual	0	662
Khawzawl	0	479
Hnahthial	641	988
Total	11187	19,256
Gran total	30443

 

 

An estimated 2,800 families live in various refugee camps and 4,814 families live with their relatives in Mizoram.

On 6^th June 2022, Mission Foundation Movement sent a survey team to the refugee camp at Nghalchawm Village near Aizawl (Mamit District) to inspect the living conditions of the refugees. An encampment was established at a reserved area near Nghalchawm village. The following is a brief report from the survey:

1)      The refugees here began to arrive around October, 2021 mainly from Ki Hlueng village in Chin District, Myanmar. Most of them belong to Matu tribe.

2)     There are currently 13 families living at the camp site and about 5 families living with their relatives in Nghalchawm village. In total, 91 refugees lives in the area, 16 of them being children. The oldest is 90 years old and the youngest is one year old.

3)      The encampment is a makeshift bamboo hut with tarpaulin roofs. The rainy season in Mizoram is usually from the month of April – October with heavy rainfall expected shortly. Better housing materials and tin roofing is urgently needed.

4)      The refugees often work as day labourers in the nearby villages but jobs are hard to come by and language barrier create several problems. Some of them also make small shops and tea stalls.  

5)      Food grain is the most urgent need. Rice is their primary food and supply is often scarce and they depend heavily on donations from NGOs and the general public. The refugees also grow their own vegetables at the camp site (rice, pumkin, beans, tomatoes, etc).  

6)      Water supply is another major problem, currently, a 500 litre water tank is shared by 13 families which is grossly insufficient. Their main source of water supply comes from donations from nearby villages which can be inconsistent. Currently they get by with the rain water they harvested using small water buckets. Consistent and heavy rainfall is expected from June-July and better and bigger water storage units are very much needed. 

 

7)      Medical aid and health care facilities are another urgent requirements especially for the old aged and children. Currently there is one TB patient who lives in an isolated hut and two mentally challenged individuals. 

8)      The women living here expressed their needs for sanitary pads and better bathroom and toilets facilities with more privacy. 

9)      Electricity is very much needed as there is no formal power supply. This created problems especially for children who needs to study at night.

10)  The smaller children goes to nearby schools while the bigger kids goes to school in Aizawl. School uniforms, school bags, Books, pencils and pens are also needed as they are paying it for themselves. 

11)  The refugees here also need proper Covid Test as many of them have not had proper testing and vaccination yet.

12)  Other immediate necessary items includes: Beds, blankets, mosquito nets, water buckets & mugs, clothes, gas cylinders and stove, etc.

 

Mission Foundation Movement is planning to conduct more surveys at other Refugee camps in the near future. Plans are ongoing to organize free clinics at various camps sites located in Aizawl, Mamit, Lunglei and Kolasib Districts respectively.  

 

 

 

Attachment:
Detail report of the Field visit.pdf