A 30 years old woman lost her final battle after years of fighting in aRohingya ghetto
In an isolated and restricted Apaukwa ghetto of Kyauktaw township, an improvised Rohingya widow who was suffering from an unknown chronic medical condition for more than 2 years, fought hard to seek a treatment in the township – but to no avail, as racism, discrimination and persecution of the Muslim minority reaches to an unprecedented level since 2012.
Her case came to broad-light after a visiting international NGO worker spotted her and assured her of bringing to General Hospital Sittwe, however she needed more than 400,000 Myanmar kyats (€296) for treatment and transportation (not to mention as extortion fee of authority) since there are no government subsidies in medical treatments for the Rohingya community.
In the morning of August 30, Hanfuri, daughter of Mohammed Habi pleaded for the help on social medical – the last resort available for Rohingya patients living in ghettos and internally displaced camps across Rakhine State, with the help of a fellow Rohingya as her condition continued to deteriorate.
On a video message, “I have been suffering from a medical condition for nearly 2 years. I have tried various channels for many times, but I never received any response or help. I have a mother of a child and please help me whatever you can to get the treatment”, appealed very profoundly weak and ill-looking Hanfuri.
Aung Aung Sittwe (http://aungaungsittwe.com/), a Rohingya activist who initially shared the video for the help, received a call from her father in the following day who confirmed that she finally lost the battle leaving behind a young child and a stain of medical persecution on her stateless Rohingya people.
The bereaved father who has lived together described his daughter’s years of suffering as “hell on earth with no chance of treatment and dignified death”. He also said that after repeated requests to the government, she was denied of the medical treatment his daughter humanely deserved.
Despite living 96.7 km away from the State’s main hospital, General Hospital Sittwe, she was not allowed to the hospital without the government permission which includes compulsory travel permit from one township to another, application of varying degree of hassles and bribery for referral to be considered to the hospital.
As the entrapped minority live under numerous discriminatory and aggressive laws and polices especially employed against them with ravaging human rights abuses, the lack of medical treatment quickly takes tolls and many hapless and treatable Hanfuris dying each day right under our nose.