Arakanese migrants jobless in Wa State as border closure hits construction projects

By Admin 16 Nov 2024

DMG Newsroom
16 November 2024, Sittwe

More than 500 Arakanese migrants employed at construction sites in the Wa Self-Administered Division of northern Shan State have been left without work due to the closure of border gates by Chinese authorities last month.

Since the second week of October, over 500 Arakan State residents working at construction sites in Mongpauk Town, Wa State, have been jobless as the border closure has led to a shortage of cement and other construction materials. 

“We have been without a job for nearly a month since we ran out of cement. There are no other job opportunities here besides construction,” said Ko Naing Phyo, an Arakanese migrant worker in Mongpauk. “There are about 30 Arakanese workers at our construction site alone. Many more were working at other sites. Most of them have not been paid by their Chinese employers.”

Some workers are going hungry as they still have not received overdue wages from their Chinese employers.

The Arakanese migrants are unable to return to Arakan State due to financial constraints and a patchwork of armed conflicts along the way back home.

Another Arakanese migrant in Mongpauk said: “Construction sites have ground to a halt because China has suspended supplying cement. We heard that the border gates might be closed for about three months. Employers did not pay our wages for last month. Here, Arakanese workers face a lot of swindling from both fellow Arakanese and Chinese employers. I want to go home now as I can’t work. However, it is not safe to travel, and I also don’t have money.”

The closure of the China-Myanmar border gates including in Wa State has caused a shortage of construction materials and other commodities in border towns, leading to soaring commodity prices.