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Women flee Nam Lim Pa village for the jungle in Kachin state in the far north of Myanmar in this photo dated Oct. 19, 2012. The Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace (D&P) is not ready yet to commit $50,000 to help internal refugees in Myanmar despite earlier reports.
Women flee Nam Lim Pa village for the jungle in Kachin state in the far north of Myanmar in this photo dated Oct. 19, 2012. The Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace (D&P) is not ready yet to commit $50,000 to help internal refugees in Myanmar despite earlier reports. CNS photo/Partners Relief and Development via Reuters

D&P funds for Myanmar on hold

By 
  • May 17, 2013

The Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace (D&P) is not ready yet to commit $50,000 to help internal refugees in Myanmar.

D&P officials contacted The Catholic Register to correct a story that appeared on our web site May 16. Despite an email from a D&P official to Fr. Noel Lat, director of Karuna Myanmar Social Services — Myitkyina, announcing an immanent  $50,000 contribution from D&P's emergency fund, the organization says it has not yet received a project proposal from the Burmese Caritas group.

"Development and Peace is ready to send $50,000 from its emergency relief fund to Caritas Myanmar's work with the Kachin refugees," read the D&P email to Naw Lat.

No formal commitment has been made at this time and D&P program officers await a proposal before making a decision, said D&P spokeswoman Kelly Di Domenico.

"We have worked with Caritas Myanmar in the past," Di Domenico said.

D&P sent $600,000 to Myanmar, also known as Burma, in the wake of Hurricane Nargis in 2008. The storm killed more than 130,000 and left over two million homeless.

About 100,000 minority Kachin people are stuck in some 15 camps along Myanmar's border with China as government troops and the Kachin Independence Army patrol highways and villages in Kachin province. Caritas Myanmar has been providing food and medical supplies to the displaced civilians, Bishop Francis Daw Tang told The Catholic Register in February.

Both sides in the conflict are accused of human rights abuses. Both sides have used anti-personnel mines, government troops have used systematic rape and torture to intimidate the population and the Kachin Independence Army uses child soldiers, according to a recent report by Human Rights Watch Asia.

"The Burmese army is committing unchecked abuses in Kachin State while the government blocks humanitarian aid to those most in need," said Elaine Pearson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch in a press release. "Both the army and Kachin rebels need to act to prevent a bad situation for civilians from getting even worse."

Toronto Kachin activist Pri Ja N-Jang approached D&P about providing aid to her people. Most international NGOs are banned from Myanmar. Church agencies have the best access to internally displaced persons in camps.

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