KALADAN NEWS

Dated: June 22, 2005

 


Arakanese Face Risk

 

Maungdaw, June 22: People in Arakan are now facing serious trouble in living in the land of calamity and scarcity.

 

During the couple of weeks, there is high temperature that causes water crisis in various places of Arakan State, while the people have no more tube-wells for drinking water.

 

Villagers are being engaged in forced labors for the construction site of roads, model villages, bunkers, camps, to cut wood and bamboos from forest through various means Nasaka and military officials, while the villagers themselves cut the same materials for their families and that causes to lack of incomes and environmental destructions in the area, said a community health worker, who preferred not to mention his name.

 

Due to the lack of water, incomes and environmental effects, people become sick and have to face various diseases in their poorly living areas and they are also deprived of appropriate health facilities and treatments. There are no more health centers in the area for which people are at the risk of losing their lives. So, they are compelled to cross border to have medical treatment in its neighboring Bangladesh by any means and they would pay a huge amount of bribe to the concerned authorities, he added.

 

Furthermore, rice crisis brings the people into risk and transfer of rice from one house to another and one place to another is seriously restricted under the newly adopted policies in Arakan State.

 

As a result, many people think to leave their ancestral homeland (Arakan) to find better places in proper Burma and neighboring countries for their survival. Likewise, some Rohingyas tried to reach to proper Burma (Rangoon) through river ways, where a lady gave her last breath, whose dead body was thrown into the sea in last month.

Though the rest could reach to Rangoon, were arrested and put in jail with the charge of illegal aliens in Burma, said a relative of victims.

 

These crises are found in Arakan after the sack of Gen. Khin Nyunt, last year and imposing of sever restrictions over Rohingyas after newly appointed Western Command Commander Brigadier Gen. Khin Maung Myint in early June this year.

 

The land of Arakan has become into a land of crisis of scarcity of rice, while it was once known as a granary of Southeast Asia. # #

 

For further information, please contact at:

Phone: +880-11227 138

E-mail: kaladanpress@yahoo.com

Website: http://www.kaladanpress.org / http://www.bnionline.net