|
YANGON: Myanmar has moved tens of thousands of
homeless cyclone survivors into government-run shelters, pushing
them out of monasteries and schools, several Buddhist monks from the
disaster zone said Thursday.
They said people were relocated
through boats and trucks, and some said it was unclear if there was
enough food and water in the camps run by the government, which has
been harshly criticized over the cyclone relief effort.
About 80,000 people had sought
shelter in schools and temples in the Irrawaddy delta town of
Labutta, which was left in ruins after Cyclone “Nargis” struck
nearly two weeks ago, they said.
Now only about 20,000 remain in
their care at 50 monasteries in Labutta, after the military moved
them to camps set up in the towns of Myaungmya and Pathein, which
escaped the storm with little damage, the monks said.
“People were moved in boats and
trucks to nearby towns,” one of them told Agence France-Presse in
the main city of Yangon, where monks have come to seek donations for
the disaster relief effort.
“We don’t know whether they
can get enough food and water there.”
The United Nations estimates that
550,000 people are now living in temporary settlements, where
accounts from evacuees say there is not enough food, water or
shelter for everyone.
The drive to move people to
emergency shelters could be part of efforts to improve sanitation
for survivors, which state media have said is a priority for the
secretive military government.
But Myanmar has in the past been
accused by human rights groups of forcibly relocating villages to
make way for military operations or construction projects.
--AFP
|
