Interviews of Rakhine/Arakanese victims of the Bengali Muslims

FEAR
We fled here (to Sittwe), because we are afraid of the Bengali Muslims. On that night (June 14, 2012), about 3,000 Bengalis came to attack our village. The next morning, there was a deadly fight against our villagers with the swords and machete. Htwan Oo Zun - manual laborer, Bryaiphru Village, Maungdaw Township ______________________________________________________________________________________ We are afraid of Bengalis. They burned down houses and killed us in mass. Everyone had to run in panic and disorder. I could not run well, so some men helped me. Only because some security personnel arrived in time and fired a few shots in the sky, did the Bengalis hesitate a little, and that gave us the opportunity to escape their slaughter. Hmwe Tha - 86 year-old grandmother, Nay-Bi-Sate Village, Rathaydaung Township
______________________________________________________________________________________

The Bengali Muslims entered the nearby forest near our village, so we dared not to go into the forests. Our villagers saw many Bengalis while they were working on the farms. So, they returned to the village, fearing attack by the Bengalis. Our villagers are facing difficulties because we are not able to find vegetables and fish outside of the village. We are scared of attacks from the Bengalis. We work on farms and do road construction. Since individual villagers work in different locations quite further away from each other, they found it difficult to work on the farms because they were fearful of possible attacks by Bengali Muslims. U Shwe Maung - Village Headman, Maungdaw Township
______________________________________________________________________________________

Why did you take refuge in this camp, at this age? I fled my village to escape a probable Bengali slaughter. What kind of threats did Muslims issue to your village to make you leave? They burned a nearby village and killed fellow Arakanese villagers there, which made us more than sufficiently believe that we would face the same fate, if we stayed. How many houses were burned in that village? About 100 houses. San Tun Phyu - 77 year-old elder, Nay-Bi-Sate Village, Rathaydaung Township
______________________________________________________________________________________

The difficulties we have are really because of fear and distrust of Bengali Muslims. So we dare not even go to the forests. Bengalis attacked our village at night three times, so we had to flee three times to escape their attack. When we came back to our village we had to flee again. We cant stay safely, because of Bengalis. Chait Naing Warm - Maungdaw Township ______________________________________________________________________________________ We are afraid of the Bengali Muslims. We are afraid to go out of the village without two or three people to accompany us. They always watch out for a chance to attack us. We work on plantations in the hills, but we dont go to the farms, because we are scared of the Bengalis. Ko Htwan Sein - manual laborer, Maungdaw Township 1

FEAR
We are afraid of Bengali Muslims. So we dare not go into the forests to get firewood to sell it as part of our livelihood, and that makes it very difficult to get food for ourselves now. We are frightened of the Bengalis because there are only about 1,000 Arakanese people around here (Maungdaw). But there are more than 100,000 Bengali people around here, and our village is surrounded by many Bengali villages. So we are very worried about our safety because the Bengalis could attack us and be violent to us anytime. So, any of our village people could be killed if the Bengalis come to be violent and fight against us. Aunty - from Maungdaw Township
______________________________________________________________________________________

Why did you move from your village to this refugee camp? We ran away from the Bengalis slaughter. Are you afraid of them? Of course I am. Did Arakanese from all the nearby villages have to flee? I think all Arakanese from adjacent villages fled too. Do you have any willingness to go back to your villages? Yes of course we do. Every villager wants to go and settle back in, but, they are afraid of possible danger and attacks from the Bengalis. Sein Kyawt Phru - 76 year old grandfather, Nay-Bi-Sate village, Rathaydaung Township.
_____________________________________________________________________________________

Why did you come here? I came here in fear of Bengali attacks. How many Bengali villages are there near to the Nyaungbunhla Village? There are five Bengali villages. . How many households are there in Nyaungbunhla Village? There are 40 households in Nyaungbunhla Village. Did all the villagers of Nyaungbunhla flee here (refugee facility)? No, only elderly people, children along with their parents fled here. The males stayed to protect and guard the village and their property. Are they able to work in their village? No, they cannot work, as they have to be so careful for their security. And also they dare not work in their farm fields because they may be out of sight from the village, and the Bengalis may attack them. How many men do you think stayed in the village? I think there are about 30 people. Daw Kryar Zan - 90 year old grandmother, Nyaungbunhla Village, Rathaydaung Township

FEAR
Why did you move here? We arrived here, because were afraid of Bengali attacks. The Bengalis started to fight against us, so we dared not live in our village and we fled to here. What had happened to your houses? Our houses were burned down, by the Bengalis, including all the possessions and belongings. What is your family business? I worked at an ice factory called Shwe Ngar. All the family members were sent to safety in the city. Only my son and I are working in the village now. How many family members do you have? There are 9 family members including one junior monk. Do you have any thoughts about your family future? I dont have any ideas on how to continue our family livelihood. And I dont know what to do for our livelihood. So Im praying that we could live in our village peacefully. I, along with my family, want to live in our village even though we have difficulties, since its our native place where we were all born and grew up. We really wish to live in our village peacefully, as we have a sentimental attachment to this place. What do your children do? All of my children, except one, are students. So, how about their education? They dont attend school now. Their school and the place where they live no longer exist, Htwan Thein Phru - father, Maungdaw Township

FEAR