Special Video Interview with Rohingyas from Refugee Camp, Arakan- Burma (2)

Interview with Rohingya Part-1

A: Interviewer 

B: interviewee (one couple) 

B: Regarding to the criminal case from Kyaut Ni Maw (the place where Rakhine Buddhist “Ma Thi Dar Htway” was raped and killed. This is the source that ignite this Rohingya Genocide). The Rakhine sparked this riot saying that you Muslim did such a bad thing to us. Actually, we have been living here since our ancestry. There were no Rakhine here at that time. All places are belonging to Muslim. The Rakhine immigrated here bit by bit later.The Muslim have been discriminated and suppressed so that they moved to Yangon and foreign (for their better life). This village is called Rohingya para by Muslim terms and we can call Zay Haung Maw Late for the whole village generally. This Zay Haung Maw Late village can be divided by the three wards of Kyaung Tan Lan, Yuu Pa Taung and Maw Late. There were 120 Muslim homes but they sold out theirs homes to Rakhine and moved out to the safer and better place as there are such suppression and discrimination. Frequently, if there were some problems, they made huge suppression towards us, minority Muslim. By the time this riot was began to broken out, we gave hundred calls to the police station and polices asked us who were marching to your villages who were making problem and noise, whether Muslim or Rakhine. When we answered that they were Rakhine and the police said that “Ok, then, it’s not important and no problem” and ended the phone conversation. There are so many cases like that in the past. It has been 4 times that they committed such violence to us when in 1985, 2000, 2004 and 2012 respectively. This 2012 riot is the most inhumane case. We assumed that this 2012 case is like the same case in the year mentioned above so that we didn’t go out and we remained inside of our homes when the violence was blasted. If we would know that this is such a critical crisis, we would run away and moved out from this place in advance. And why we still remained inside our home is there is a Mosque in our village and we don’t want to go away parting from this Mosque. And I m not so much in desperate on what people lost theirs homes and prosperities but I am very much in miss our Mosque and our Holy Quran which were burnt and destroyed. 

A: I heard that they are injures case currently? 

B: Yes, in my family, 5 people got injured. My 3 children are living in The Chaung (Refugee camp) currently and another one is in the other place. Here my head got injured as well. (The interviewee is showing his head). The person who is familiar with us in our village did not beat us but the person who is not familiar beat us. They are from our village too. They beat us saying that “U Muslim beat and kill our Rakhine in Maung Daw”. On 10th Jun, 2012 at 8:00 AM, they were throwing stones onto our Mosque severely. There were so many Rakhine who threw the stones harshly. The involvers are Ya.Wa.Ta (Authority), the employer Saw Win Kyaw and groups from Sein Video and how the authorized person U Hla Wai from Kyaung Tan Lan told to Rakhine is “don’t burn, don’t blast fire. Do what ever except theirs death”. Why he asked not to set fire is Rakhine homes and Muslim homes are near each other and they were afraid of theirs houses would be on fire too. Previously, there were 120 Muslim homes in our village of Zay Haung Maw Late but now only 36 were left as the rest sold out theirs home (to shift to safer place). Around 10:30 or 11:00 , I heard with my ears that the business man who live near to AZG made conversation with the Authorized person U Hla Wai from Kyaung Tan Lan ( when the riot is on going) to separate and to control the groups of Rakhine and Muslim such as he will control the Muslim and he want U Hal Wai to control the Rakhine. But he did not do instead he run away and was hiding in his homes. And this U Hla Wai did not speak out upon such violence towards us by Rakhine. We were hiding in our home to avoid this stones throwing by Rakhine. But, they push theirs knives into our home from every corners so that we family kept ourselves to station at the center of homes not to catch up by Rakhines knives. And our one window leave was opened and one guy said “Aunty, I m not involve in this riot, but my friends are”. So, we jumped out from another very high window and we assembled at that place. But they tied our children’s body saying that we would not do anything and looked for my husband. They threatened me that if my husband would not come out from home, they would search inside and if they would find they would kill him then. (Husband) So I came out leaving the two old women in home. Once they saw me they started to beat me with steel rod. Here is the effected arm resulted from this beating (the man is showing the injuries) I can’t straight my hand, need to bend like this all the time and now I m feeling dizzy always. The violence was sparked in this way, at 8:00 Am, they did throw stones and arrested every body to beat the head. They beat only head.

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Interview with Rohingya Part-2

A: Interviewer
B: interviewee (one couple)

B: And they brought us along with them saying that “you are required to send to police station”. When we reach to Yat Kwat Sone (Sone Ward), where there are a lot of Rakhine, almost all are Buddhist. So we though that we/our lives are going to be finish. My family except my two sons Saw Moe Kyaw and Saw Hein kyaw were brought to this ward. So we family were reciting the kalaymar (Muslim recite this verse when they are nearly to die). My son Saw Hein Kyaw was beaten with steel rod and he currently he is suffering dizzy, can’t move his body, if he do dizzy is starting to give trouble him. He is not getting remedying. We are not getting any surgery also. One thing we were lucky at that time is, we were asked to sit near to one stream where one women and one from one car shouted to the Rakhine croed who brought us here that “why you are keeping all these people, just finish all. They are finishing our Rakhine in Maung Daw.” But, one Rakhine boy who is my customer, used to buy tea from my shop replied that “how can we beat all this crowd” and send us to the police station. This is real process. On the way to police station, one old person aged 50 beat me with small steel plate that resulted major injury here in forehead. (Showing her forehead). We were very much afraid of this Buddhist crowd. Some are familiar with us, some immigrated here not too long. They are familiar with us so they didn’t beat us. There are also some Chinese, so we thought that they are not beating us because other are also existed at the site. Then we reached to the police station. When we reached there, police office said ‘Don’t you know that it will happen like that? Why you all are not staying away from your houses?’, then I answered, how do we know that and it was never happened before. Then inspector of the station took picture of both of us. Then they sent those injured people to the hospital using the police van. When reach to hospital, the treated us nicely. Dr. Thein Htay Aung treated my wound. Then a Rakhine Man, U Nay Win, gave us a meal, food and tea. It happened on Sunday, and on Tuesday, we are dismissed from hospital. There are only one officer following our vehicle and left all of us.

A: Where did they leave you?

B: They left us near ‘Thel Chaung’.

A: So it is very far?

B: Yes, we have to walk by ourselves to reach here. There are a man called Sunny who is from our village had left at the hospital. That man came to the hospital during evening time while we are fainted.

A: That Sunny is also from the village where your brother who had killed?

B: Yes, my own brother was killed and a child too. They don’t let us to be alone. If they see us alone, they will not let us escaped and kill us. There are three people died immediately on 10 June. My younger brother, my sister’s son-in-law and my cousin brother. Sunny died on hospital. And Kyaw Zin Htoo who dismissed hospital with me on 12 June passed away on 18 June here.

A: Do you willing to stay back at your own place where conflict was happened?

B: Yes we have to go back to our own place. Where else can we go? This (Myanma) is our birthplace. My parents were Burmese citizens with proper national ID cards. We were all born here. What is our crime? We are being persecuted simply because we are Muslims here in Rakhine State.

8/17/2012

Translated by snowy (RB Team)