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Plight of displaced Burmese children "forgotten"

Eight year old Sanhla lost her mother when Cyclone Nargis struck nearly one year ago. She shields herself from the sun using a rice bag while patiently waiting with her grandmother to collect various food items being distributed. The communities hit by Na Stacey M Winston/ECHO
    BANGKOK

    The situation of more than 300,000 internally displaced children in Myanmar is being forgotten, states a report by Partners Relief and Development and the Free Burma Rangers.



    “People need to know how bad the lives of children in conflict-affected Burma really is,” David Eubank, director of the Free Burma Rangers, told IRIN in Bangkok.



    From 2002 to the end of 2009, more than 580,000 civilians, including some 190,000 children, were forcibly displaced from their homes in eastern Myanmar alone. An estimated one to three million live as internally displaced persons throughout the country, a third of them children, the report released on 7 April states.



    “NGOs need to have a stronger presence on the ground and they need support in reaching these people,” Amanda Carroll of Partners said, citing access as a primary issue.



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    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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