KISSAPA- As the authorities are unable to relocate Thinbawgwe villagers with new land plots from the Southern Maungdaw Township, Rakhine State, the villagers are now living in farmsteads as workers while some households are now waiting for new land plots, according to the sources.
“Thinbawgwe village had been demolished and only nine households remain in the village. Other households are now moving. The authorities’ act blocked the ethnics who wanted to resettle again in Maungdaw Township despite there being vacant and virgin lands in Maungdaw Township, no authorities are allocating those lands for the villagers. As ethnic had to catch the fish at the sea, they are undermined by Bengali fishing boats. The government must have more influence on the seas,” said Lawyer Khin Win who is also acting chairman of Ethnic Village Sustainable Committee from Maungdaw District.
As for the families that had moved in at the AGE farm, they are now waiting for new land plots and are struggling for their living.
“There were about 140 houses in the Thinbawgwe village. Later, the village was demolished and 35 households were sheltering in the compound of Kyaungpandu monastery. Town elders and administrative authorities ordered us to relocate to new Inn Din village. Afterwards, Thinbawgwe village was being demolished. While sheltering at the Kyaungpandu monastery, some had to move to nearby places due to their children’s education and health problems. Later, they were moved into the embankment of Gindaw Creek because their houses were in the way of the construction of new road. And then, they earned a living as a farm worker at the AGE farm. In the past, the current location was an Arakan village named Nyaungchon, comprising with 12 houses. At present, the villagers earn their living by catching crabs. For catching the fish at the sea, Maungdaw Emergency Aids Association loaned Ks 1.5 million to the villagers. And even though villagers bought the fishing boat, the fishing vessels from the Bangladesh trepass into our waters to catch fish. We cannot compete against them so the boat is just idly docked. Our aim is for our land and village. The reason why we did not go and live in the new Inn Din Village is because it is very much like a refugee camp; houses and places are almost adjoined to one another. It doesn’t feel like a village at all where we could grow our own fruits and vegetables as well as poultry. There is also the issue of regional security and development. Why we are here now is because we are waiting for our village land issues to be settled,” said Sein Aung.
The officials from Ethnic Villages Sustainable Aids Committee in Maungdaw District visited AGE farm on December 8th and comforted the Thinbawgwe villagers.
The authorities removed the houses in Thinbawgwe village on July 9th and they ordered the villagers to relocate the Inn Din village. But, the villagers didn’t accept their plan and they transferred to Kyaukpandu monastery. From there, they built the huts beside the road. However, they moved again into the farm because their huts were involved in the road construction.
