With residents pinned down, village facing risk of food shortage

By Aung Htein 27 Jun 2020

Aung Htein | DMG
27 June, Ponnagyun

Residents of Pain Nae Daw village in Arakan State’s Ponnagyun Township are not being allowed to venture outside the village and are facing risk of food shortages as a result.

Tatmadaw troops have been deployed about 1 mile east of the village since early May and open fire if villagers step outside the village, residents said.

“We need to go outside the village to do cultivation. But they [the Tatmadaw] shoot at us. So, we dare not go outside the village,” said a villager who declined to be named. “Where can we get food if we are not allowed to cultivate outside the village?”

Villagers have to ration their rice and other basic foodstuffs, and share oil, salt and chili with each other, residents said.

In addition to a lack of food security, villagers are also worried about their precarious healthcare situation, said U Aye Tun Sein, the administrator of Pain Nae Chaung.

“If someone needs emergency healthcare, he or she might die on the way because we cannot go to town and it takes about three hours to reach the village of Poe Shwee Pyin,” said U Aye Tun Sein.

DMG attempted to contact Brigadier-General Zaw Min Tun, spokesperson of the Tatmadaw True News Information Team, for comment on the situation at Pain Nae Daw village, but he could not be reached.

Villagers have sought help from the government because food scarcity could become acute next month if they are not allowed to go outside the village.

The village is located on the Ponnagyun-Rathedaung road and there are more than 200 houses in the village, with more than 1,000 residents.