Six construction companies have been rebuilding 96 schools in areas of Mray Bon Township that were hit by Cyclone Giri since December, and some have been using villagers as forced labor, said villagers and relief workers...
Six construction companies have been rebuilding 96 schools in areas of Mray Bon Township that were hit by Cyclone Giri since December, and some have been using villagers as forced labor, said villagers and relief workers.
"96 schools are being constructed by six construction companies in Mray Bon Township with government funding, but some managers in the companies have used villagers as labor without paying wages," a relief worker said.
The six construction companies - Shwe Su Pan, Taw Win Thisa, Anna Wa Min, Htoo Htoo, Pyo, and TNG - have received contracts from the government to rebuild schools in Mray Bon Township. Each company is constructing 16 schools in the township.
"Not all of the companies are using forced labor, but one or two are involved in it. Anna Wa Min Company especially has used villagers as forced labor with the help of village councils in order to misappropriate funds meant for wages," the worker said.
"Most villagers are innocent naturally and some managers take the opportunity to use villagers as forced labor without any payment. Even though there is no payment for the villagers they are working as instructed by the managers and village chairmen because many villagers are eager for the new schools for their village and they feel they have a duty to help the company in the construction of the schools," the relief worker said.
The government is allocating 14 million kyat for construction of schools that measure 40 feet by 30 feet, 21.6 million kyat for schools measuring 60 feet by 30 feet, and 43.2 million kyat for schools that measure 120 feet by 30 feet.
The government is providing the funds at the promised rate to the construction companies, but some managers are using forced labor so they can take the extra money for themselves.
According to a source, the money for school construction in the affected area of Mray Bon Township has been supplemented by funds UNICEF provided to the government. The education ministry is responsible for rebuilding the schools in the cyclone-affected areas of Arakan State.
