Abaungthar villagers return to Paletwa in face of livelihood woes

By Admin 30 Mar 2023

DMG Newsroom
30 March 2023, Sittwe

Many of the displaced residents of Abaungthar village in Chin State’s Paletwa Township who have recently returned to their village have gone back to Paletwa town, citing the difficulties of earning a livelihood in their village.

The Abaungthar villagers mainly engage in farming, but it is too late to grow paddy and other crops now, and the Myanmar military also has not cleared landmines for them, said the villagers.

The villagers also do not feel safe as both Myanmar military and Arakan Army (AA) troops are stationed near their village, and they worry that renewed clashes could break out at any time. All this considered, they have returned to the town to make a living doing casual jobs, said one villager.

“In previous years, we could not reap the harvest because of the fighting. We are concerned that we may experience a similar situation this year. So, we didn’t work on our farms and returned to the town,” he explained.

The Myanmar military sent 445 residents back to Abaungthar in late December after they were displaced by the latest fighting between the military and the AA. 

Out of 118 households in Abaungthar, more than 70 have returned to Paletwa town, and only around 30 households remain in the village.

Some of them are renting houses in Paletwa town, while others live in makeshift tents on vacant land with permission from landowners.

“Though they say fighting won’t happen, we dare not stay,” said a resident who has returned to Paletwa town. “There are military outposts along the way to Paletwa. We can run nowhere if fighting breaks out. And houses are also ruined. So, we rent a house in Paletwa for 30,000 kyats per month.”

The male members of some families that chose to stay in Abaungthar are also working in Paletwa.

“Villagers have to rely on Paletwa town. As we can’t go into the forest to collect vegetables, we have to buy them from the market every three days. In large families, women stay in villages, and men go to the town to do casual jobs,” said a resident.

Many houses are crumbling in Abaungthar, and some cannot afford to rebuild them. Some 6,000 residents have returned to their homes at the arrangement of the Myanmar military since the latest ceasefire was reached in late November.