Confusion continues to surround Myanmar’s Cyclone Mocha humanitarian aid response because aid cannot be delivered without junta permission.
This has led to a slowdown in the delivery of aid to the most vulnerable and internally displaced people (IDPs) being left without shelters as the monsoon season begins.
The United Nations OCHA has complained that dispatching aid to those in need, primarily in Rakhine State, is being held up by red tape, while the junta says permission is needed for international and local organisations to deliver aid to those still suffering from the mid-May onslaught by Cyclone Mocha.
A total of over 140 died and as many as 5 million people have been negatively affected by the storm. Six weeks on and a sizeable number of people are still struggling without adequate shelter and food.
This week, local reports indicate some aid is being delivered, and some consignments are on their way.
Chinese aid in the form of mosquito nets and blankets, delivered by aircraft to Yangon last week, has now reportedly arrived in Sittwe, according to a local media report.
Indonesia, acting in its capacity as the current chair of ASEAN, has sent more than $ 500,000 worth of humanitarian aid to the people affected by Cyclone Mocha in Myanmar. The aid was sent from Indonesia on 26 June.
The aid consists of 45 tons of logistics supplies and equipment, comprising tarpaulins, family tents, refugee tents, carpentry tools, instant foods, hygiene kits, blankets, mattresses, and generators, according to an Indonesian government official. Indonesia has also lent a Hercules transport aircraft to Myanmar for the relief work, under the auspices of the ASEAN chair.
Meanwhile, the junta has announced that the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock Breeding and Irrigation will provide 73,397 baskets of paddy seeds to farmers in the storm-hit townships of Rakhine State for planting in the next rainy season under the guidance of the Natural Disaster Management Committee, according to Development Media Group.
Paddy seeds for Paw Hsan Hmwe rice and two local paddy varieties will be transported to Sittwe by military-owned vehicles for onward distribution to farmers, according to junta-controlled media.
While people in the town of Sittwe are getting back to normal, villagers and internally displaced people (IDPs) in Rakhine State continue to suffer, particularly due to the monsoon rains and winds.
IDPs in Rakhine State appear to be the worst affected by the natural disaster. According to Western News, a local media organisation, the IDPs are currently having an extremely hard time due to the bad weather conditions in Rakhine. As the monsoon sweeps in, they are still waiting for humanitarian assistance more than a month after their shelters were destroyed by the cyclone.
According to the report, the IDPs do not have the financial means to repair their damaged shelters, and the few tarpaulins that were donated to them are not enough to provide adequate shelter from the rain and the wind.
According to an IDP camp official in Kyauktaw Township, it is tough for the people because the price of bamboo continues to rise, which makes renovations of shelters more difficult, and the people do not have enough money. WFP food aid is being supplied but not in amounts sufficient to sustain them.
One spokesperson from an IDP camp in Mrauk-U Township said that at first, some charity organisations came and provided rice and some foodstuffs, but now they do not receive any support.
“The Military Council no longer supports anything, and we are experiencing great inconvenience," he told local media.
Local media report that some INGOs are still in discussions with the Military Council to allow them to support Rakhine IDPs as well as Muslim IDPs and the people who were affected by the storm.
IDPs said that the Military Council provided only marginal support to the storm-affected people of Rakhine and no support at all to those displaced by the war between the Military Council and the Arakan Army.
