Maungdaw, Arakan State: Villagers in Maungdaw Township are being forced to pave stones for the Maungdaw-Bawli Bazar road of by Burma’s border security force (Nasaka) since June 22 even as they suffer from the effects of recent floods and landslides, said an elder preferring not to be named.
The Nasaka personnel of Nasaka Headquarters of Kawar Bill of Maungdaw Township forced villagers to attend to the road destroyed by recent floods. The villages near Nasaka headquarters’ are Kawar Bill village, Pawet Chaung, Maung Nama, Ngatha Gru and Krakru Pyin.
The Maungdaw-Bawli Bazar road was severely damaged by the flood, creating communication difficulties for Nasaka. They want the road rebuilt immediately. And they don’t care for the suffering of the local people because of the recent floods, said a local trader.
The Nasaka authorities distributed 25 feet of road per family to be rebuilt and to pave stones carrying it from nearby forests on Maungdaw-Bali Bazar road.
A businessman said, “Some of the NGOs pay money for the damaged road construction, but the authorities did not provide the money to villagers, who have been working on the road site. The Nasaka takes the money and forces villagers to build the road.”
Besides, the officers of Nasaka Headquarters recently set up two gates near Nasaka Headquarters. Only one gate existed there before. The Rohingya villagers have to cross the gates to go to Maungdaw or to go to Bawli Bazar. The Nasaka collects Kyat 500 per person, Kyat 200 per rice bag, Kyat 200 per bag of chemical fertilizer and Kyat 500 per rickshaw puller per day. Now, Rohingya travelers have to pay double the money because of two gates. They are suffering from difficulties to go from one place to another, said a local village elder on condition of anonymity.
Villagers in north Arakan have to provide forced labor in building maintenance and construction, forced cultivation, agriculture labor, construction and repair of basic infrastructure and sentry duty, carrying water, washing clothes for the army and Nasaka, cooking food and cleaning army camps and Nasaka camps.
Failure to provide the number of days of labor ordered for each household leads to harassment, beatings and other abuses such as the retributive abuse of family members.
The Nasaka are committing human rights violations against the Rohingya community while the international community and other NGOs are trying to help the flood victims, said a schoolteacher.
