A whole internally displaced Rohingya family suffering from Tuberculosis (TB) has been languishing without any medical treatments in Sittwe for more than a year.

At first, Aamir Hussein, 65, the head of the displaced family in ‘Thakkay Pyin (Sakki Fara) IDP (internally displaced people) camp, was infected by the TB, one of the widespread infectious diseases in the IDP  camps in Sittwe. Later, as he has been lack of proper medical treatment, the disease has spread to his daughter and two granddaughters; and the rest of his family members.

A year ago, around 35 Rohingya TB patients were admitted to ‘Thakkay Pyin’ clinic. The clinic took X-Rays and Saliva Tests on them upon the admissions.

However, the doctors in the clinic, whom are of Rakhine ethnic origin, citing the medical reports, said that only a few of them were infected by TB, while no signs of TB were found in the other patients including Aamir Hussein. But an ailing Aamir Hussein went to ‘Dar Paing’ clinic to see the doctor. The doctor (who is also a Rakhine) there, too, said that no TB disease was found.

Suffering from the severe disease, the unconvinced Aamir Hussein has given a few more rounds up and down to both clinics afterwards. Every time, he’s been told that no TB was found in him.

Now, after his whole family including his daughter and two of his granddaughters have been infected by the TB, he was told to have been found TB in him.

Unfortunately, there are no medical means available for them to cure the disease. It seems that the hopeless and miserable family, especially the old Aamir Hussein, has been awaiting a sad and slow demise.

His daughter and two granddaughters miserably suffering from TB are:

Husn Ara, 30 (daughter)

Tasmine Ara, 5 (granddaughter)

Yasmine Ara, 2 (granddaughter)

More than 140,000 Rohingyas have been internally displaced by the state-government-backed genocidal violence in June 2012 and afterwards. They have been isolated and ghettoed in the squalid concentration camps known as IDP camps in the outskirts of Sittwe and Pauktaw Townships.

And after the expulsion of the foreign medicos and humanitarian workers by the state-government-backed rioting Rakhine mob in March 2014, no international humanitarian agencies and medical workers have got full access to these ill-fortunate displaced Rohingyas.

The Burmese military has been subjecting the local Rohingyas in northern Maungdaw Township as forced labours for a few days now, according to the reliable reports.

The military from ‘Battalion 352’ in northern Maungdaw has been forcing the locals to carry woods from a few villages such as ‘Ye Nouk Nga Thar and Thaman Thar’ to their camp.

It has been reported that when the locals refuse to follow the military’s orders, they beat the innocent people and also extort money from them. On October 25, the military stopped the following four people on their way to ‘Thaman Thar Market’ and subjected them to put the woods on their vans.

They are:

• Noor Kamal Ajmal Hussein from ‘Nat Chaung-Laung Bouk’ village
• Khalid Hussein Rashid Ahmed from ‘Thet Kaing Nya-Laung Bouk’ village
• Rahmat Hussein Abdu Salam from ‘Thet Kaing Nya-Laung Bouk’ village
• Fau’izullah Noor Alam from ‘Thet Kaing Nya-Laung Bouk’ village

Initially, the four people hesitated to follow the military’s order to be their forced labours. Therefore, the military including the captain beat them up in gang. And they subjected them as forced labours.

Even after that, the military extorted Kyat 20,000 from each of them as fines for hesitating to follow their orders, according to an eyewitness.