Border News Agency
Kyauktaw, June 18
Some Rakhine civilians who travel outside Arakan Army (AA)-controlled areas are reportedly being targeted and trafficked by human traffickers, according to local residents.
These traffickers are not only extorting money from Rakhine civilians but are also allegedly selling them to the Myanmar junta, according to family members of those who have personally experienced such incidents.
Family members of those who have experienced it firsthand say that the human traffickers are selling Rakhine civilians to the Myanmar junta at security checkpoints, military bases, and battalion outposts along the routes to Yangon.
“It costs at least 2 million kyats to get from Rakhine to Yangon. Brokers arrange the journey through their own connections, but there are many difficulties along the way. Once we pass through AA-controlled areas and enter territory controlled by the junta, the brokers who come to pick us up speak Burmese. After that, some people are sold to the junta,” a Rakhine civilian who personally experienced the journey told Border News Agency.
Rakhine civilians say that those traveling from AA-controlled areas to Yangon have to pay human trafficking brokers at least 2 million kyats per person, with some townships charging even more.
They also claim that these brokers operate within an organized trafficking network and have allegedly bribed certain AA officers and local administrators in order to traffic Rakhine civilians.
Family members of those who were trafficked say that these trafficking groups charge up to 6 million kyats per Rakhine civilian and then sell them once they reach areas under military control.
They also stated that those who were trafficked are being forced to serve in the junta’s military, and are pressured to sign documents claiming they joined the army willingly, even though they were conscripted against their will.
Family members of those who have been trafficked say that if victims refuse to sign documents falsely admitting they joined the military voluntarily, they are subjected to beatings, mistreatment, and even denied food and water.
Additionally, the families of those forcibly conscripted are reportedly facing threats and extortion from the traffickers.
“My son was on his way to join his father and brother in China. But along the route, the broker sold him to the junta, according to people who traveled with him. The broker later contacted my son and husband in China, claiming that he had been arrested by the junta and demanded money to get him released. They extorted money from us. My son has been completely trafficked. Since he left the country illegally due to financial hardship, we don’t even know whom to turn to for help,” said the mother of a young man from Kyauktaw Township who was trafficked and sold to the junta, speaking to Border News Agency.
The Arakan Army (AA) has declared a state of emergency concerning national defense in its controlled areas since March 18, and officially prohibited travel outside of these territories.
As a result, anyone found transporting people out of AA-controlled areas for money will face legal action, according to the announcement.
However, locals say that many Arakanese people are still unaware of the measures to prevent and take action against human traffickers, trafficking networks, and related groups. They also point out that some remain unaware of the emergency national defense directive that mandates military conscription.
Arakanese civilians report that, in addition to being forcibly trafficked into military service by the junta, women are also being sold into forced marriages in China and trafficked into sex work against their will.
