Maungdaw, Arakan State: The authorities were still using forced labor on March 5th in theMaungdaw and Buthidaungareas of Northern Arakan State, where the Rohingya people reside, according to an NGO worker who asked not to be identified.
This, despite the fact the new government insists forced labor does not occur.
“The Burmese border security force (Nasaka) and General Engineer (GE) are collecting Rohingya people from the villages where the authorities are repairing the Maungdaw-KyeinChaung Road,” the source said.
“Every day 300 Rohingya people are working on the road without food and wages. The Rohingya are carrying their food from their home to work on the road.”
Most Rohingya day laborersare collected by the village administration officer as per the order of authorities to supply labor. A village has to supply more than 50 people to work on the road, depending on the population, a village administration officer from Maungdaw said.
“The authorities are not giving us any wages to pay the laborers who workon the road. Most of the laborers are day workers and their families depend on their work. If they have to supply labor for free, the families starve.”
Similarly, the government’s Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) No. 552 has been using forced labor by nearby Rohingya villagers to build the battalion base for the last two years, a village administration officer from Buthidaung Township said.
The laborers supplied by the village administration work cutting grass, building roads, clearing the compound, carrying water, working on the confiscated land and erecting fences, while supplying their own food. The army officers are not giving any wages to the laborers, said a school teacher from the area.
