Burma Human Rights Network’s report: “We also have dreams” Food Aid Feeding over a million refugees is a tremendous ordeal. The logistics are difficult and the cost is vast. The agencies that feed the refugee population provide a life-sustaining service that should be applauded, yet when speaking with refugees food aid was one of the most frequent areas of concern for them. Nearly 93% of refugees BHRN spoke to said that the rations they received were not sufficient to feed their family for an entire month. Some said the food they received was spoiled. Many also complained of having had to live on only rice, dried fish, and lentils for years. Do you receive enough food rations ? YES 7.7% No 92.3% This problem is compounded by the lack of job opportunities for refugees. While 92 percent of refugees said they did not receive enough food, many also said they wanted the opportunity to work to earn money to buy more food. This was worsened dramatically by the Covid-19 pandemic which forced merchants in the camps to shut down their shops, shrinking the tiny economy inside the camps even more. A 30-year- old woman interviewed by BHRN said, “No, the food is not enough. We have to buy all the items. We have to borrow rice from one another. But because food is scarces we can’t loan to each other, so we have to buy the rice by taking debts. We also have to buy dried fish, consumables, and all other things.” www.bhrn.org.uk 11