Communities Displaced Due to Flooding from Dam Project

By Free Burma Rangers • January 17, 2011

Entire communities in northwestern Karen State have been displaced due to extensive flooding from a new dam project on the Shwe Gyin River. This project was initiated by the SPDC government in Burma and is due to be completed by the end of January, 2011. FBR relief teams on a mission in the area conducted a reconnaissance of the nearby Burma Army Mae Zaung camp.

The unit there is Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 349, which is responsible for security of the Shwe Gyin Dam project. According to one villager who once lived where a lake now stands: “I lived at Mae Zaung Ywa and my family survived by planting orchards. I planted dogfruit trees and lemon trees, and every year I made a living and never worried for myself or my family. Since the SPDC started the Shwe Gyin dam construction, all my orchards were flooded and I had to leave my village. I now live in Shwe Gyin town. Many of my friends in my village fled anywhere they could, and some went to a refugee camp. I have had to restart my life to survive, and now I do not have a regular income. I just work day by day and worry about my future.”