Recent evictees in Ann struggle to get back on their feet

By DMG 27 May 2022

DMG Newsroom
27 May 2022, Ann 

A group of locals whose homes and shops were recently removed in Ann Township, Arakan State, are having difficulties finding new shelter and feeding their families. 

About 200 homes and shops built in Ann’s airport area and former office space for the General Administration Department, a police station and a public hospital were demolished earlier this month, locals said. 

After police issued an eviction notice with a May 20 deadline, the township administrative body said the affected people would be given alternative land or cash compensation. However, they have yet to receive any such assistance, the evictees said. 

“Township officials told us that we will be given replacement land or compensation. But we have not been notified about replacement land or compensation since our homes were demolished,” U Thet Lwin, an evictee, told DMG. 

“Some affected people have rented land to build makeshift tents. Some evictees are staying at their relatives’ homes. We are trying to survive in the midst of adversity in our own way,” said another evictee. 

Ko Myo Lwin, a social activist from Ann Township, urged the local government to provide humanitarian assistance to those affected by the mass eviction. 

“An order has been issued by the local police to remove homes and shops. Evictees have had to demolish their homes in a time of crises, both politically and with the Covid-19 pandemic,” he added. 

U Hla Thein, a spokesman for the Arakan State military council, said the evictions and demolition of houses and shops in Ann Township was due to the recent elevation of Ann to a district-level jurisdiction. 

“Homes and shops belonging to the evictees were built on land owned by the General Administration Department. We need to build government offices on those lands because Ann was promoted to district-level [status],” he said. 

“We have already consulted with the evictees to build new shops for them. We have given replacement land for the evictees,” the Arakan State military council’s spokesman claimed. However, U Hla Thein did not specify when or where the new shops would be built for the evictees.