Thinzar New, 11 March 2022

About 200 peoplerendered homeless as their houses were evacuated by the authorities  in Sittwe, the capital city of ArakanState. At a time when the State ispassing through a turmoil situation and theprice of commodities is increasing, 100 houses at Pyitaw Tha- Ye Chan Byint railway route section faced theaction.

Soon after the eviction on 9 March morning, the occupants became homeless. Most of the residents wereIDP families from Rathedaung, Kyauktawand Paletwa townships. Some families from Sittwe are also affected.

The government informed that both sides of the railway line will be cleared as the railway department isplanning to reopen the Sittwe- Ye ChanByint section which was closed after the 2012riots.

Daw Kyaing Shin Phyu, a refugee from Sein Sin Village under Paletwa Township, lamented that they have noplace to live now.

“The refugees arein trouble here again. Even the children cannot go to school now. We have to pick up empty water bottlesfrom the streets of Sittwe to survive,”she added.

Kyaw Tun Maung, a resident of Sittwe, said that if the demolition takes place the government should haveprovided alternate lands  to them.He expressed dissatisfaction that when government officials demolished the squatters' houses, theydid not try to build new housesfor the refugees.

The demolition was materialized after the authority issued a notice in the last week of February to remove thesquatter settlements along the railwayline by 1 March.

Many of those displaced people were already affected by the civil war in Rakhine State and now they aresurviving as daily wage earners in Sittwe.