Maungdaw, Arakan State: Burma’s border security force (Nasaka) began checking household lists and collecting money for several forms in Rohingya communities of northern Arakan State, said a schoolteacher who declined to be named. 

The Nasaka personnel of Nasaka Area No. 6 of Maungdaw Township started confirming the details of household registration lists and taking group photographs of families in Sarfaddin Village of Maungdaw Township on March 7.

The Nasaka started checking and photographing at said village, with the Nasaka officers collecting 3,000 kyats per family. The checking and photographing is a process only required for the Rohingya community in Burma.

The Nasaka have been demanding 6,000 kyats to list newborn babies, and 6,000 kyats for a dead person to be removed from a family list. Last year, the Nasaka collected 3,000 kyats for each newborn baby and 3,000 kyats to remove a deceased family member from a list. This year, the Nasaka Commander of Nasaka Area No. 6 has doubled the fees.

The setting of fees depends on the Nasaka officers. There are eight Nasaka areas in Maungdaw Township, and collecting money from villagers is different in each area, said a trader from the locality. 

Villagers have to submit copies their family lists and another two copies of marriage permission documents when they want to make any changes to their family lists.

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 local elder.

The purpose of the Nasaka listing and photographing belongings of the Rohingya community is to collect more money and to encourage a reduced population of Rohingya in northern Arakan State, said a youth from the locality.

In the rural areas, most members of the Rohingya community are very poor, and are working for their family’s basic survival with a hand-to-mouth system. These villagers are facing serious difficulties to pay the increased fees.

An elderly woman said, “We are human beings. So we have limitations to what we can bear of the Nasaka’s persecution. It is like the Burmese government is burning us after pouring petrol over our bodies.”