Myanmar: Help for displaced children and victims of war

A brutal civil war has been raging in Myanmar since 2021. Even hospitals, schools and refugee camps are the destination of balls and bombs. The terre of the Hommes partner organization "Knwo"* provides displaced children in the east of the country with the most necessary.

Karenni/Kayah state, East Myanmar, February 7, 2024: Military Junta fighter planes open the fire on two school buildings. Four children are killed by bombs and machine gun fire, ten more are injured.

Death, fear and constant threat are terrible everyday life for the children of Myanmar. An open civil war has been raging in the country in the country. More than 50,000 people were killed and about three million driven. Most flee within the country, often into makeshift refugee camps away from any infrastructure.

Civilians will aim

There are hardly any safe places. The front lines are confusing: various regional resistance organizations attack the Tatmadaw with guerrilla tactics-Junta answers with blind violence, often do not distinguish between civilians and fighters.

"In the villages around Loikaw, people's houses are often burned down, and heavy weapons are shot, even on the camps of the displaced people," reports Maw Byar Mar oo. She is the coordinator of the Hommes partner Knwo. Once founded as a women's rights organization, the Knwo has concentrated on emergency aid for children and adolescents in the Karenni state: Maw Byar Mar oo and their colleagues distribute food, hygiene products and offer music, sport, dance and play so that the children leave the pictures of the war behind for a while.

Knwo is one of the few organizations that still work here. »Three years after the coup, there are fewer and fewer organizations that can provide help for displaced persons. At the same time, the need increases drastically. These children need psychological help, they need food and medical care, and they want to go to school. "

At some point, Maw Byar Mar oo hopes, they will be able to return to a more peaceful life. Even if she knows that it is not so easy: »Most of the people who fled their villages cannot simply return. Because the army moved landmines there. "