Rakhine exodus accelerating, local residents say
Play
Women from Rakhine, especially its villages, are continuing to leave the state in search of work, and the exodus appears to be accelerating, residents of the northwestern state say.
Most go to Thailand to find jobs, village residents say.
The exodus began about three years ago and accelerated this year, said Myauk Oo, a supervisor of a road checkpoint. “There is no work here for women except farming, but this pays just enough to eat and it is hard work. They are leaving the villages in search of better jobs,” he said.
A resident of Kyaukchaytan village agreed. “There is no work in our village. Most of the women have gone to Thailand,” he said.
Some younger women have fled without informing their parents, road checkpoint officers said.
“We catch some at checkpoints. We always check to prevent human trafficking. We send them back to their parents,” one checkpoint officer said.
Other residents of the state say that most passengers on buses from Sittwe, the state capital, to Yangon are leaving in search of work.
