Kyauktaw Rohingyas fear starvation amid Rakhine attacks

Following two high profile attacks on Rohingyas as they ventured out of their villages to earn a livelihood, a sense of terror is currently prevailing among the beleaguered community in Kyauktaw township. Many are fearing that Rakhine vigilantes backed by the regime are tightening the blockade on Rohingya villages with the prospect of starvation looming over many households as many are unable to go out to earn a living. The blockade has been in place since 2012 and has lead to chronic food shortages in many areas as Rohingyas are prevented from leaving their neighbourhoods to reach the waterways and the forests from where most of the impoverished community earn a living. Dozens of Rohingyas have been killed as they left their zones to catch fish or cut wood. But there is no work in the villages, and if the Muslim men cannot reach the waters or the woods, their families must starve. Local activists allege many children have died because of malnutrition, made worse by the denial of all healthcare facilities in Muslim zones.
Much of the agricultural land owned by Muslims in the Rakhine majority zones have been seized by Buddhist nationalists.
Since 2012, the Muslim community in these Rakhine majority areas have been living under s tate of terror, imprisoned in the IDP camps or in villages.
The renewed tensions however set in after two Rohingya men from Kyauktaw were attacked by vigilantes.
Kyauktaw lies on the west bank of the Kaladan River, the point that traditionally marked the end of Muslim majority zone. That has long been forgotten, as the township has become a Buddhist majority area with most Muslims driven away or killed. Buddhist nationalists are however not satisfied and want Kyauktaw and the entire Arakan completely Muslim free.
Many fear their goal is close to success. Life for Muslims in these regions have never been easy under Burmese rule but over the last few years, Buddhist nationalists have gained one victory after another at a very rapid pace marking the end of Muslim existence in Arakan.