In the Wa region the effect of the June 2005 opium ban may not really be felt until early 2006, after the next harvest season, as farmers still have opium from the previous season. However, some farmers have not been able to pay back the advances of the opium traders because of the poor 2004 drought-affected opium harvest. These loans are paid back by selling opium at a previously agreed price, usually lower than the market price. The rest of their opium is sold in the market in small portions whenever farmers need to buy something.
Bans on growing opium have been implemented primarily to appease the international community—particularly
Wa officials claim that the ban will be strictly enforced. “Whether the villagers are happy or not, they have to obey the order,” said Wei Ai Jung, UWSA chairman of Nam Kham Oo Township in the
There are serious questions about the sustainability of the opium ban. International agencies warn that “the significant gains that
The UWSA has called for international support to prevent a humanitarian crisis following the 2005 opium ban. It has also ordered the relocation of tens of thousands of Wa villagers from their mountainous homelands in the northern Wa region to lower-lying areas. Many of them have been moved to the fertile valleys of southern
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