Life in Refugee Camp

                                                                               Bamboo barrack

             My family and I were living in Htun Him ( POCs) Refugee Camp, Thailand. The Refugee Camp has another name: Burmese Students Association (Burmese Students Centre). It has been Htun Him Village.

             Htun Him location was in the jungle and there were a lot of mountains and hills too. We were living in long low bamboo (barracks). There wasn’t protection from the weather.

             Sometimes they came to camp. “THEY” mean UN people and NGOs people.

             In the camp, we got little yellow beans, poor of rice, cooking oil, poor quality of fish-pastes and some salt, we got no other food. We got little food for a month and it wasn’t enough. Sometime (after tree month) we got some chili. We got yellow bean 1 ½ kilogram for one person for one month. One and a half kilogram for 30days. But we were eating it. Htun Him Camp meal hadn’t enough vitamins.

             Everyday we drank water and very dirty water was used for bathing. We got diseases. These were itching and diarrhea (cholera).

             At night there was no light in the camp.

             We planted some vegetables. There were watercress, roselle, and some bean plants. We were eating them.

             In the camp, life had no meaning for my family and me.

             I had so many feelings in the camp. Why was it happening? I didn’t know why.

            These are my personal experience.

            Now thanks to someone, we got experience and documented it. And these are my personal experience.                                                                                                                     

                                                                                             Article by: Kyaw Tun

Poor of rice