The Narinjara News

(3 June 2009)

www.narinjara.com

 

 

NEWS IN ENGLISH

 

Arakanese women leave state to find work

Arakanese Migrant Worker Killed on Thai-Malaysia Border

 

 

NEWS IN BURMESE

http://www.narinjara.com/burmese.asp

 

 

Ordinary people suffer form high price of Bamboo

Two riot police battalions on western border to be replaced with border security force

 

 

 

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Narinjara News

Rathidaung, 3 June 2009

 

 

Arakanese women leave state to find work

 

Economic hardship in Arakan State is forcing many women to leave for the eastern side of Burma to work as day labourers in a company which is seeking employees from Arakan.

 

“The economic situation in Arakan state has been worsening by the year since 1988. This year is the worst, so women are also leaving the state like men looking for jobs in other parts of Burma,” a teacher in Rathidaung said.

 

Yuzana, Oil-Palm Company, has offered people from Arakan state work in the oil-palm gardens located in Tanintharye division, near the Thailand border. So many unemployed women in Arakan state have left Tanintharye division to join the company as day labourers.

 

A woman from Rathidaung said,” Many young women from the northern part of Rathidaung Township, one of the most neglected areas by the Burmese junta, left their villages for Tanintharye division to work in the oil-palm gardens.”

 

The company is also providing travel fees as well as advance money for food to the women coming from Arakan state to work in the oil palm gardens.

 

“We have received 30,000 Kyat as salary from the company after joining and the company also provides food and traveling expenses. So we are placed comfortably. Many women from across Arakan state left their homes for Tanintharye to work in the oil-palm gardens,” she said.  

 

The Burmese junta has neglected Arakan state, never bothering to build factories and industrial units since the country’s independence in 1948.

 

The teacher said,” our state is very rich in natural resources but it is very poor because there is no job opportunity for the people.  The government has not built any factory in our state leaving us with no opportunity for work. There are only two job opportunities in Arakan state for young people -- one is joining the Burmese Army and another is becoming rickshaw pullers.”

 

Many Arakanese youths, both educated and uneducated, left the state for neighbouring countries including Thailand and Malaysia and Burma proper in search of jobs.

 

This year women also followed the men. They left Arakan state for other parts of Burma, especially Tanintharye Division to work in the many oil palm gardens as day labourers.

 

“Women leaving the state have to do with this year’s economic slowdown. Many farmers in Arakan state are facing severe economic crisis after paddy and rice prices plummeted, the,” he teacher added.

 

This time last year, 100 baskets of paddy was 200,000 Kyats in Arakan state but this year the same amount of paddy is only 90,000 Kyats.

 

However, there is no government plan in place in Burma to help the farmers overcome the economic crisis.

 

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Narinjara News

Dhaka, 3 June 2009

 

 

Arakanese Migrant Worker Killed on Thai-Malaysia Border

 

 

An Arakanese migrant worker in Malaysia was killed a few days ago on the Thai-Malaysia border as he was traveling back to his home country, said a fellow worker on Thursday..

 

The victim was identified as Oo Shwe Thein, the 30-year-old son of U San Hla Phaw and Daw Shwe Yin Nu from Kyaw San Village in Arakan State's Ponna Kyunt Townhsip. 

 

"I heard that he died in some incident, but I am not sure how he died. Most people think that he was killed by some miscreants," said his fellow worker.

 

Oo Shwe Thein arrived in Malaysia in September 2008 and had been working in a furniture factory for nine months.

 

According to another worker, the victim is said to have left to see his broker who brought him to Malaysia to reclaim his Burmese national ID card so he could return home. His death was discovered after ten days when his wife phoned to inquire about his delay.

 

The worker added that the broker's name was Tin Tun from Tan Kho Village in Ponna Kyunt Township and he is currently working in Thailand.

 

The body of the victim is now at the SP Hospital on the border and will be cremated on Wednesday. The deceased left behind his wife, Ma San Mya, and a one-year-old daughter.

 

More than 100,000 Arakanese are currently living as migrant workers in Malaysia and Thailand due to the economic crisis and shortage of jobs in their homeland, caused in large part by the army's monopolization of local businesses.

 

 

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Narinjara News (NN) was founded by a group of Arakanese in exile in Bangladesh from Burma in 2001 seeking to voice for the people depriving of human and democratic rights and to pave the way for them who are struggling for those rights. The Narinjara News is an independent organization, not affiliated with any political party or organization. Any opinion or advice relating to our News Agency is warmly welcomed and please email to: narinjara@...

                                                         

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