As Yangon turmoil sends Arakanese back west, a job-scarce state awaits 

By DMG 04 May 2021

DMG Newsroom
4 May 2021, Sittwe 

In the aftermath of the military coup, some returnees to Arakan State from Yangon are facing difficulties due to job scarcity in the state, the returnees said. 

Thousands of people who had been working in Yangon Region, given limited employment prospects in their native towns and villages, have returned home in recent weeks due to political instability set off by the February 1 coup, said Ma Aye Mya Yi, a resident of the Arakan State capital Sittwe.   

“I returned home two months ago. There are no jobs here. I am working part time when someone needs more workforce. I want to work in my hometown, but there are no jobs here,” she said. 

Ma Khin Khin Nwe, a native of Minbya Township who arrived back from Yangon recently, said she was helping with housework at home because she has not found a job since returning home. 

“Previously, I sent money home because I had a job. Now, I am jobless so far in my hometown and I have to be thrifty with household expenditures,” she said. 

Returnees said they felt forced to return home as the factories in the commercial capital that had employed them were shuttered due to the political turmoil. But facing likely joblessness back home, many intend to return to Yangon once the situation becomes less volatile. 

U Khaing Kaung San, director of the Wan Lark Foundation, said the relevant government authorities and businesspeople need to work together to address job scarcity in Arakan State, which remains one of Myanmar’s poorest and least developed regions.  

“It is convenient for returnees if they are working in the agricultural sector because people in Arakan State are depending on vegetables imported from other regions and states in Myanmar. If they want to work at a factory, it is not convenient for them because there are no factories in the state,” he said. 

U Khaing Kaung San said the state does not have enough electricity for sizable manufacturing operations, adding that the previous government did not follow through on plans to establish industrial zones. 

Colonel Min Than, a member of the military-led Arakan State Administration Council, has said the council will help migrant workers find gainful employment upon returning to Arakan State.  

“If returnees are jobless, the Arakan State Administration Council will arrange to get a job for them. There are jobs related to agriculture and livestock in the state,” he said in March. 

Tens of thousands of people travelled back to Arakan State following the February 1 coup and ahead of the Thingyan holiday in mid-April, adding to the ranks of returning migrant workers; many also headed home from Thailand and Malaysia during the COVID-19 pandemic.