Maungdaw, Arakan State: The Burma border security force (Nasaka) began checking household lists and collecting money for several forms in Rohingya communities of northern Arakan State, according to a village authority head from Maungdaw.

The Nasaka started confirming the details of household registration lists and taking group photographs of families on January 7, the village authority head said.

“The Nasaka started checking and photographing at Block 1 and Block 5 on January 7. But, Nasaka officers were collecting 3000 kyat per family in Block 5, and only 1500 kyat per family in Block1 where the community is a mix of Rakhine and Rohingya, and the Block Authority Head is also Rakhine.”

“The checking and photographing is only process to Rohingya community, not for other ethnic such as Rakhine.”

“Block 5 is a fully Rohingya community with a Rohingya Block Authority Head. The Nasaka forced the Block Authority to pay more money for each family.”

“The Nasaka also demanded 3000 kyat to list newborn babies, and 3000 kyat for a dead person to be removed from a family list. In addition, if someone is not present at the time of checking, he or she will be listed as “runaway”. The family will have to pay a large amount of money to remove such a person’s name from the household list,” said a village elder from Maungdaw.

In rural areas, the Nasaka is requiring families of the Rohingya community to have a property book, which costs 5000 kyat per book. The book details the family’s property, including land, shops, bicycles, domestic animals, and farming equipment for shrimp cultivation, said a businessman from Maungdaw.

“Such property books already exist for the concerned departments that take taxes as per the law. Why do the Nasaka need to require new property list books, with new book fees and other taxes for property items?” the businessman asked.

“The purpose of the Nasaka listing and photographing belongings of the Rohingya community is to collect more money and reduce the population of Rohingya in northern Arakan State,” said a politician from Maungdaw.

“Every time the Nasaka runs this program to check the family lists and photograph every family, the program earns 20 million kyat from the Rohingya community. The Nasaka run this program twice a year.”

“In the rural areas, most of the Rohingya community is very poor and working for their family’s survival with a basic hand-to-mouth system. How can they afford to pay more money that the Nasaka demands?” the politician asked.