Wa Kra Poe, a 30-year-old refugee from Myanmar, survived about two weeks without dialysis after President Donald Trump stopped foreign aid.
“She never complained about what she was going through,” said the husband of the Meila refugee camp along the border in Taimian, where the couple lived with their two-year-old daughter, Thaw Wah, thaw. I say it.
Despite a pledge from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, life-saving aid was for refugees like Wah K'ler Paw who relied on care from US-backed organizations, to 90 days. You will be exempt from USAID Freeze. Trump's decision It's fatal.
Along the border, US government aid freezes force countless charities and NGOs to suddenly stop and cut jobs from refugees from Myanmar. I was forced to. This includes the International Rescue Committee (IRC). This forced them to stop operating medical facilities that serve seven refugee camps.
The decision sparked Wah K'ler Paw's husband in a hurry to find a way to continue dialysis. She was eventually admitted to a Thai hospital where she could provide dialysis, but by then it was too late. She passed away on February 16th.
Wakula Poe isn't the only one who has suffered the fatal consequences of freezing aid.
In early February, Pe Kha Lau, 71, another refugee from Myanmar, passed away in the Umpiem Mai refugee camp after struggling with breathing. Four days ago, she was discharged from the camp's medical facility, and from there the IRC was forced to withdraw from the IRC.
For reasons unknown, NGOs such as the IRC, which operate at the borders of Taimyanmar, are not granted continued exemptions despite Rubio's exemption. The IRC did not respond to requests for comment from the Guardian.
Even areas where the program was given exemptions, work has reportedly been suspended as USAID relies on them to distribute assistance Cannot access amidst the political turmoil in Washington.
The refugee camps that stretch along Thailand's mountainous border with Myanmar live in 90,000 people, mainly from Karen minorities. Most have lived in camps for decades after fleeing the battle between military and ethnic armed groups. Others have recently arrived and fled the fatal conflict that has seized Myanmar since the military took power in a widely opposed coup in 2021. The IRC funded healthcare for many people living in unstable circumstances outside the camp.
Last year, the US was the single global aid donor. Paying $223.5 million in USAID funding I contributed to Myanmar and 31.6% of the country's humanitarian response plan.
At Umpiem Mai Camp, the fundraising freeze has also derailed the basic necessities. The refugees are currently building wells. Because they couldn't afford fuel to generators that powered the water pump system once operated by the IRC, and delivered water to residents for drinking and washing. Additionally, the Waste Removal Service provided by the IRC has stopped along with refugees in exchange for filling the waste, according to Bweh, secretary of the Karen Refugee Committee. Thai doctors visit camps and cannot come every day.
“I won the lottery, but I lost my ticket.”
In the event of an emergency, people are rushed to the local Thai hospital. However, those deemed less urgent must seek permission, pay fees to leave the camp and fund the transport. For refugees who have no right to work in Thailand, it is affordable.
“If you don't have the means to go to a local Thai hospital, you won't get treatment,” says Kanchanathornton, founder and director of the Burma Pediatric Medical Fund, which supports and funds the costs of surgical treatment for children and adults. says. A patient once cared for by an IRC.
Her staff are desperately trying to arrange a relocation from the camp for patients who need something from their heart to orthopedic surgery.
Refugees living outside the camp also noticed that they had been stripped. Mar Mar Aye, 59, was receiving IRC-funded care for the head injuries that persisted during the democratic protest that broke out after the 2021 coup.
Joining the street protest, she urged the troops not to fire at the young protesters through a megaphone, but they ignored her. A group of soldiers surrounded her, beat her, hit her on her head and chin before putting her in a truck and sending her to the infamous Insane prison.
The injury left her unconscious, experiencing memory loss, suffering from sleep problems and headaches. The IRC began funding her care in January. This includes multiple medications taken twice a day and is recommended to undergo surgery.
She was scheduled to discuss the business in February, but she didn't move forward due to a halt on funding. She's not alone, she says, others have cancelled the surgery too. Another woman who asked not to name herniated requires treatment for an in-diameter hernia. Her medication was covered in IRC, but no longer. “It looks like I lost my ticket after winning the lottery,” she said.
Dr. Tawatcha Yingtaweesak, director of Tha Song Yang Hospital, a Thai government hospital, helps manage the healthcare facilities at Mae La Camp in the absence of IRC. For now, he says they are dealing with it, but he's worried about the future. This is because the rainy season is likely to lead to more illnesses.
“Access to treatment is a fundamental human right, and now they live in a big compound, and that's like a cage to them,” he says.
It was not fair to suspend the budget abruptly, he added. “It affects the image of the United States and makes the world think they are heartless.”
