Young BCMF patients’ father killed by escalating conflict in Eastern Burma

The ongoing conflict in eastern Burma is very real and very tangible for many of BCMF’s patients. In fact, it would not be inaccurate to say that all of our patients (children, adults and women) have been either directly or indirectly affected by conflict in Burma – particularly when it comes to accessing basic health care.

 

Today we received news that one of our young patients, Chit, lost his father to the conflict in eastern Burma. Chit came onto the BCMF program when he was two months old and successfully underwent surgery in Chiang Mai in February 2010. He travelled to Chiang Mai with his mother while his father stayed behind to look after his three older siblings. His father is a farmer and he continued working on a farm growing beans to sell at the market to support the family while Chit was undergoing treatment. After his operation, Chit returned with his mother to his family’s village. Chit remains on the BCMF program as he still needs to travel to Chiang Mai for follow-up appointments. In June 2011, Chit’s father was returning to the village by line-car (a utility vehicle whereby passengers ride seated on benches that form two rows in the back tray behind the drivers cab). The line car was caught in the cross fire between opposing armies and Chit’s father became a civilian casualty.

 

Chit’s story is one of hardship – like many of the other children who find their way onto the BCMF program via the Mae Tao Clinic. The family’s hardship was further exacerbated by Chit’s medical condition (hydrocephalus) which required surgery and follow-up in Chiang Mai. His parents have endured many challenges in their effort to get Chit the medical care he needed for his condition. Now his mother has to face future challenges on her own. She will have to find a way to support her four young children as well as care for Chit. Chit will require future follow-ups in Chiang Mai to make sure his shunt (the tube that drains the excess fluid from his brain) doesn’t get blocked or infected. Chit was also scheduled to have surgery on an ingroin hernia later this month. Given the circumstances, Chit and his mother won’t be able to make it back to the Mae Tao Clinic for their departure on the BCMF patient van on 16 June 2011. His surgical appointment will be re-scheduled and BCMF will do whatever we can to support his mother through this difficult time.

• Read Chit’s Post-Operation Success Story
• Read more about the situation on the Thai-Burma border

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