Students unable to return home due to military’s land and water route blockades in northern Arakan

By DMG 27 Oct 2022

DMG Newsroom
27 October 2022, Sittwe

Correspondent students from Buthidaung, Maungdaw, Rathedaung and Pauktaw townships attending Sittwe University say they are unable to return home as Myanmar’s military regime has blockaded both land and water routes in northern Arakan State.

The correspondent students completed their exams on October 26, but some from these townships are finding it difficult to return home due to the military’s travel restrictions.

“The military junta has prohibited ferryboat services from operating water routes between Pauktaw and Sittwe. When I phoned my family members, they told me that ferryboat services were told to suspend operations,” said Ma Su Su Khin, a correspondent student from Byainethail Village in Pauktaw Township. “Some students from rural areas were brought back by small boats. No ferryboat from my native town comes to Sittwe. So I will not be able to return home for the time being.”

Buthidaung Township residents including university students are having difficulty travelling as the military has blocked both land and water routes between Sittwe and Buthidaung.

“We came here by a ferryboat. The water route was closed two days after we arrived in Sittwe. I am worried that I will be stranded in Sittwe. We hired a boat to return home via a water route that cannot be checked by the military,” said a resident of Buthidaung.

Maungdaw residents wanting to return home from Sittwe, are finding that they must take a waterway from Sittwe to Buthidaung town, and then travel onward to Maungdaw by car. However, this route is relatively convenient only for people from downtown Maungdaw and not for residents of northern Maungdaw Township, where military tensions are running high.

“We could go directly by boat to our villages via Yay Chan Pyin Village in the past. Now, we have to take the waterway from Sittwe to Buthidaung town, and then go to Maungdaw by car,” said a correspondent student from Minke Village in Maungdaw Township.

“People in our area must pass a security checkpoint near Aung Zeya Village to return home. People sneak in and out of the security checkpoint in the morning. People have to spend the night in Aung Zeya village to sneak in and out of the security checkpoint,” he added.

A security checkpoint set up by the Myanmar Navy allowed university students in Rathedaung Township to go home for one day only on October 27, said Ma Aye Aye Nyein, a correspondent student from Cedipyin Village.

“If you go without permission, the Myanmar Navy will check and send you back. The villagers submitted a letter to the Myanmar Navy to allow university students to return home. I returned by a boat through Pardaleik Creek and arrived at home,” she told DMG.

Students from Minbya Township are also worried about travelling through Mrauk-U by car due to the closure of the main waterway, so several are planning to go from Pauktaw, but there is no boat to pick them up, so they have not returned until now, said Ma Soe Thandar Win, a correspondent student from downtown Minbya.

“We are planning to return home by car through Pauktaw as Shwe Pyi Tan ferryboat services have halted operations. Previously, if I returned home, I was not tired and did not need to spend extra money. If I return home [currently], I have to spend more money and spend one night in Pauktaw,” she added.

The Sittwe University Students’ Union has issued a statement encouraging correspondent students to contact the union if they have any difficulties in returning home.

The Shwe Pyi Tan ferryboat service, which operates an extensive network of sea transport options in Arakan State, was forced to halt its operations linking Sittwe to outlying destinations including Minbya, Mrauk-U, Rathedaung and Buthidaung townships since September 15.

On October 19, Shwe Pyi Tan was also told to suspend its Sittwe-Pauktaw operations until further notice.