There isn't enough water or food: Cyclone Mocha survivors struggle as Myanmar cuts off aid

Survivors of Cyclone Mocha in Myanmar are struggling to rebuild their lives as the government cut off aid to affected areas. On May 14, Cyclone Mocha brought lashing rain and winds of 195 kilometres per hour to Myanmar and neighbouring Bangladesh, destroying buildings and turning streets into rivers. Last week, Human Rights Watch said in its report that the junta's aid blockages hindered every aspect of the cyclone response and turned an extreme weather event into a man-made catastrophe.

According to a report by BBC early Tuesday (June 27), Aye Kyawt Phyu who lives in Rakhine's Sittwe said there is not enough food or water and finding either has been much harder with the monsoon underway.

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"It's raining all week. We are struggling every day. The children are studying in a school with no roof," Phyu said, adding that the government should allow aid from outside. She pointed out that in the immediate weeks after the storm, residents received some rice, clean water and oil from outside.

San San Htay, another Sittwe resident, said that all houses collapsed when the storm hit, adding there is nowhere to stay. "When it rains now, I am sitting in the rain. I can't even sleep," Htay added.

UN says only fraction of damaged homes repaired

The United Nations (UN) humanitarian office said that only a fraction of damaged homes had been repaired, the report said. The UN also said that of the 5.4 million people in Myanmar who were in Cyclone Mocha's path, nearly 3.2 million are considered "most vulnerable."

The report said that aid kept trickling in until June 8 when the government banned transportation for aid groups operating in Rakhine. A Rakhine government spokesperson told local media that they wanted to manage the distribution of aid, which he claimed had not been administered fairly.

"NGOs are only interested in helping the Muslim community," the spokesperson said, in a reference to the Rohingyas. He further alleged that even though these international groups said they were donating to cyclone victims, the Rakhine community does not receive it.

Junta names 18 generals to oversee rehabilitation processes

According to the Human Rights Watch report on June 20, the junta named 18 generals to oversee the rehabilitation processes in disaster-affected townships, led by the junta’s deputy prime minister, Adm. Tin Aung San, and its minister of border affairs, Lt. Gen. Tun Tun Naung. San and Naung have been sanctioned by the United States, Canada and the European Union (EU).

"The generals assigned to townships in Rakhine State include Brig. Gen. Sunny Ohn, who served as deputy commander in Rakhine State during the military’s 2017 campaign of crimes against humanity and acts of genocide against the Rohingya, and Lt. Gen. Aye Win, who led two investigations in 2017 that covered up military atrocities," the report added.

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