A makeshift village that had formed in a forest on the outskirts of Taunggyi was dismantled by city authorities late last month, just days after it had been featured in a photo series that won first place in the Shan State Photo Festival.
The community of 37 people, mainly adults with leprosy and their children, was originally from the town of Loilem, located around 70 miles east of the Shan State capital. They set up tents and shacks in a forest east of Taunggyi’s Sulamuni Pagoda and begged for money in the city and along surrounding roads.
The group was the subject of the photo series Outcasts, which took the top prize at the first Shan State Photo Festival in Taunggyi on Dec. 23. Photographers Nora and Nyi Myo Sett said they hoped the attention raised by their victory would lead to people assisting the community.
However, rather than receiving assistance, the “outcasts” were cast out of the city by the Taunggyi City Development Committee on Dec. 29. The committee instructed the 37 members to leave their makeshift village and arranged for them to be transported back to Loilem.
Taunggyi City Development Committee executive officer Aye Ko told reporters that the community had to be removed since they were not legal residents of Taunggyi.
The residents of the makeshift community reportedly left without resistance.
Although leprosy is treatable, people with the disease face severe discrimination. In Myanmar, it is not uncommon for children with leprosy to be abandoned by their parents or for adults to be banished from their communities. Community members often refuse to do business or to come into contact with their neighbors who have leprosy.
As of 2016, Myanmar was one of 16 countries that report more than 1,000 new leprosy cases per year.
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