Members of the Rohingya community from southern Maungdaw are being prevented from collecting materials for their thatch roves by Rakhine in the nearby villages of Sommona and Udaung, according to a farmer who didn’t want their name used.
The Rohingya have always relied on collecting materials from valleys near the mountains side to renovate their homes before the raining season. Now, new settlers are stopping them, said the farmer. Previously, the Rakhine – who arrived about 4 years ago - allowed them if they paid them money but now they are blocking them from entering the valley.
Rohingya villagers worry about when the rainy season comes." We won’t be able to stay inside our homes when it rains,” said one villager.
Since sectarian violence broke out last year, there have also been reports of Rohingya not being allowed allowed to grow rice by local authority during the rainy season. Some of the state’s Muslim population are facing food shortages.
