Description:
"since June 2011, renewed fighting between the
Burmese military and the Kachin Independence
Army (KIA) in northern Burma has driven an
estimated 75,000 ethnic Kachin from their homes.
Many have fled abuses by the Burmese army,
including attacks on Kachin villages, killings and
rape, and the use of abusive forced labor. About
65,000 have stayed inside Burma, where they
remain at risk. At least another 7,000-10,000
have sought refuge across the border in Yunnan
Province in southwestern China....In the months immediately following the June 2011 outbreak
of renewed hostilities between the Burmese army
and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), some displaced
Kachin were denied entry into China or forcibly
returned to Burma, which put them at great risk and created
a pervasive fear of forced return among the Kachin
refugees who remain in Yunnan. Despite Chinese government
claims to the contrary, refugees in Yunnan told
Human Rights Watch they had received no humanitarian
assistance from the government and major humanitarian
agencies have had no access to the refugees since
they began arriving in June 2011. The refugees are scattered
across more than a dozen makeshift settlements
lacking adequate shelter, food, potable water, sanitation,
and basic health care. Most children have no access to
schools. Needing to work to provide for their families,
they are vulnerable to abuses by local employers, and have been subject to arbitrary drug testing and prolonged
detention by the Chinese authorities..."
Source/publisher:
Human Rights Watch (HRW)
Date of Publication:
2012-06-00
Date of entry:
2012-07-03
Grouping:
- Individual Documents
Category:
Language:
English