State authorities have resettled over 130 Buddhists from neighboring Bangladesh to Maungdaw Township in Arakan state recently, according to a local villager who didn’t want his name used.
The villager said 44 poor families from Mosoni Para and Aye Maung Para in Bandarban District in Bangladesh were assisted by Rakhines from Arakan state. They were promised homes and support from the government in Zeadi Pyin and other villages where they were resettled.
The families were each given homes on 2 acres of land suitable for farming. A trader who also didn’t want his name used claimed they would also get cows and rickshaws at a later date, but this information hasn’t been verified. Some claim the land was recently confiscated from Rohingya farmers after sectarian violence between Muslims and Buddhists broke out in June and October of last year. The violence has displaced over 100,000 people – the majority was Muslims.
