Myanmar storm survivors fear forced labor

Published: May 15, 2008 at 9:26 AM

YANGON, Myanmar, May 15 (UPI) -- Survivors of the Myanmar cyclone are reported being herded into government camps and fear they will used as forced labor.

Reports from Rangoon say the camps do not have food, water or shelter. The United Nations says it believes more than 500,000 people have been relocated into such camps.

A senior U.N. official told The Daily Telegraph he feared the survivors will be moved back shortly to the delta to plant the next rice crop, which must be sown in the coming weeks.

A farmer at the devastated town of Bogalay in the heart of the delta, who lost nine relatives in the storm, said survivors wanted to stay at monasteries but instead were being moved to government centers where they broke stones at construction sites, The Daily Telegraph said. They were said to be paid $1 a day but provided no food.

© 2008 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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