Freezing Temperatures Hit Remote Areas of Burma

By MIN LWIN

Freezing temperatures have hit residents of Burma’s mountainous eastern and western border areas, making life tougher for marginalized ethnic minorities and many of the country’s political prisoners.

In Chin State, where a famine has afflicted a large part of the population since last year, temperatures have fallen below zero in some areas. According to the state-owned New Light of Myanmar, the thermometer reached -2 degrees Celsius in the state capital of Hakah on Sunday.

Tun Lwin, the director general of the Department of Meteorology and Hydrology, told The Irrawaddy on Friday that temperatures were below the seasonal average in some places, but were normal for this time of year in other areas.

However, he said that nighttime temperatures for the whole country would likely be 3 to 5 degrees below average for the next few days, with border areas of Chin, Shan, Karen and Karenni states experiencing especially cold conditions.

Residents of some of the worst-affected areas said that many people were struggling to stay warm by burning firewood in their homes. “They don’t have enough warm clothes and blankets because they can’t afford them,” said an ethnic Chin man living in Hakah.

Despite the harsh conditions, however, he said that he had heard no reports of death due to the unusual cold.

Many areas also reported heavy fog, which reduced visibility to just a few meters and made transportation on mountain roads dangerous.

In some hillside villages, schoolchildren without winter clothing were being taught outside when the sky cleared, and in classes heated by burning firewood when clouds or fog returned.

Meanwhile, the governor of Thailand’s Tak Province, which borders Karen State in Burma, declared nine districts of the province a disaster area because of the cold temperatures.

The area is home to a large Karen refugee population, and across the border in Karen State, hundreds of villagers displaced by conflict are in desperate need of warm clothes and blankets, according to the Committee for Internally Displaced Karen People.

The cold snap was also adding to the misery of Burma’s political prisoners, many of whom have been transferred to remote prisons in recent months.

“The health condition of political prisoners is getting worse, especially in the labor camps,” said Bo Kyi, joint secretary of the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners—Burma (AAPP). “Without the support of their families, their health will undoubtedly deteriorate further,” he added.

Bo Kyi quoted Min Ko Naing, a leading political activist who was transferred to Kengtung prison in Shan State, as saying, “My prison cell is like a refrigerator.”

But cold temperatures were not the only hardship facing Burma’s more than 2,100 political prisoners.

Zaw Naing Htwe, a detainee at the Four Mile Labor Camp near Taungoo Town in Pegu Division, is believed to be close to death due to harsh treatment at the hands of prison authorities.

Zaw Naing Htwe is currently being held in iron shackles and being forced to perform hard labor by the authorities, and is not receiving enough food and water, according to AAPP.