Evictees in Sittwe say future looks bleak

12 Mar 2022

DMG Newsroom
12 March 2022, Sittwe 

More than 300 people who were forcibly removed from squatter homes in the Arakan State capital Sittwe earlier this week are struggling to adjust to their new realities, with many homeless, hungry and lacking legitimate prospects for a roof over their heads. 

Nearly 100 people living along the railroad between Sittwe Railway Station and Sittwe University Railway Station were forcibly removed on Wednesday. More than 200 more people were also left homeless the following day after they were evicted from the cemetery where they were living.

 Many of the people who had been squatting in the cemetery compound are taking shelter at a monastery in Sittwe’s Setyone Su ward. But others remain at the cemetery, now living in makeshift huts near their demolished houses. And some railside squatters have also returned to Sittwe Railway Station, where they have built new makeshift huts.

 Daw Soe Soe, one of the cemetery squatters, said: “We hurried out of fear [when authorities removed our house] and we could bring nothing from my home. The monk said we can stay at his monastery, and we are staying there. I want to live back there [in the cemetery]. I have nowhere else to go.” 

Daw Soe Soe said she and other squatters are living in makeshift tents at the monastery. Meanwhile, some railside squatters have been forced to beg bowl after their homes were forcibly removed, said Ko Nyi Nyi, who had fled from Kyaukphyu village in Kyauktaw Township following past fighting between Myanmar’s military and the Arakan Army. 

“We have nowhere else to go, so we have to stay back near the railway station. We are helpless and have to eke out a living by begging. I have no money to move to another place. And I dare not return to my village for fear that fresh clashes may break out,” said Ko Nyi Nyi. 

Arakan State’s military government has been criticised for its handling of Sittwe’s squatter populations in recent days, with some calling for them to be compensated with land at a suitable alternative location. The Arakan State military council, however, has yet to officially announce how it will handle the evictees going forward.