Hello everyone, Tharli Swa Par (Greetings in Arakanese). Welcome to Lay Waddy FM. Our team member, Kay Zuu, has covered the impacts of the Kyauk Phyu Deep Seaport on the livelihoods of the residents of Maday Island, where the project is being implemented.
At the beginning of June, rainfall has already fallen in many parts of Rakhine State, prompting farmers to prepare for rice planting with the arrival of the monsoon season.
Rainwater is flowing smoothly from the high to low ridges of the fields, and farmers are preparing their fields for cultivation.
However, many farmers in Kyauk Phyu Township are left looking at their fields, which are no longer allowed to be cultivated, feeling bitter and resentful as this season arrives.
A large amount of farmland in Kyauk Phyu Township was seized for the Shwe Natural Gas and Oil Pipeline project, causing farmers to lose their right to cultivate their land.
The farmland of U Tun Aye from Malakyun village was among the lands seized.
“Almost all my fields have been seized for the pipeline. Now, there is no stable job. I am working as a vendor, growing eggplants and chilies. But without the ability to grow paddy, it is not enough to support my family. There are many difficulties in supporting my family. I want to get back my right to grow paddy on my farmland”.
For more than 40 years, U Tun Aye has focused on farming to support his family. However, about 3 acres of his farmland were confiscated for the project in 2010.
He mentioned that since the area is rural with few jobs other than farming, his family’s livelihood is facing hardships. Every farming season brings feelings of bitter resentment.
“Farmers rely on their farmlands for their livelihood. Without farmland, sustaining our livelihood is difficult. I miss my farmland, especially during this rainy season. Seeing the land I am no longer allowed to work on makes me sad,” said U Tun Aye.
The Shwe Natural Gas and Oil Pipeline Project, which started in 2010, seized and developed farmlands. The project begins in Kyauk Phyu Township and extends to Ann Township, Magway, Mandalay Divisions, and through Shan State to China.
About 20 villages, including Mala Island, Pyaing Sae Kay, Kani, Mi Kyuang Tat, and Maday Island, are affected by this project in Kyauk Phyu Township. Many farmers like U Tun Aye lost their farmlands.
“About half an acre of my farmland was seized. For the whole village, about 10 to 20 farmers lost their land because of the pipelines. I feel pity when I see those farmlands, knowing we no longer have the right to work on them.”
No less than 200 farmers are affected by these projects, with thousands of acres of farmland in Kyauk Phyu Township confiscated since 2010, according to those monitoring the project. Farmers lost their rights to work on their farmlands.
The authorities set a compensation of between 1,800,000 and 2,000,000 kyats per acre of land and confiscated it for 30 years.
U Tin Win, a farmer from Malakyun village, said the 30-year compensation is insufficient even for three years.
“The money they give is not enough for a year. Some people received a lot of money because a lot of land was confiscated, but they are farmers and don’t know how to invest it. Some built houses, some bought motorcycles. Now, they have no money left and only lost their farmlands,” said U Tin Win.
The compensation, between 1,800,000 and 2,000,000 kyats per acre, was decided unilaterally by the authorities. Additionally, some farmers had to wait up to two years to receive it.
Farmers said the authorities forced them to sign documents to give up their land with coercive threats.
U Hla Tun, a farmer from Maday Island, said, “They forced us to sign a contract stating that if I asked for more compensation or reworked the farmland, I would be sued. We tried to refuse to sign, but they have authority, so we were afraid.”
There have been more than three protests in Kyauk Phyu Township regarding the distribution of the project’s benefits to residents, including the losses and sufferings of the farmers.
In the end, the farmers realized they would lose their farms and compensation fees, so they accepted the compensation decided by the company.
U Tun Aye said the compensation is unfair and arbitrary for farmers who have lost their entire livelihood.
“For people with many acres of land, losing one or two acres is not too painful. But for those of us with only a few acres, it means losing our livelihood for life,” said U Tun Aye.
Moreover, the military council prohibited farmland owners from going near the pipeline and threatened to arrest them if they spoke to the media about it, continued U Tun Aye.
“I can’t even look closely to see what’s happening to my farmland. I was told that after 30 years, your farmland will be returned to you. Come back at that time. Now, the military council is operating in that area, so I am worried about answering this interview,” U Tun Aye said.
In fact, China, Myanmar, South Korea, and India have respective shares in these projects. The main share, up to 50.9 percent, is owned by China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC).
Since 2013, 12 billion cubic meters of natural gas have been exported every year from these projects. Oil exports have been at least 13 million tons every year since 2017.
Therefore, these projects primarily benefit China, and the Myanmar authorities receive billions of dollars annually.
However, local farmers had to pay exorbitant amounts of land and lost their cultivation rights, said U Myint Thein, a resident of Mi Kyaung Taek village.
“For the benefit of foreigners and the Myanmar military, our local people have to sacrifice our farmland with very little compensation. We get nothing from the projects.”
Whether it is foreign or local investment, the authorities need to analyse the potential side effects on the environment and the local population’s losses when starting a new project.
However, the authorities are not transparent about the environmental impacts and the consequences of this project, both in the present and long term.
There was no land replacement for the farmers who suffered, and no alternative business opportunities were provided.
As a result, farmers like U Tun Aye, who can only work on farmland, face food crises and long-term worries about their family’s future.
“I face financial hardships, leading to social difficulties. It impacts my family severely. Therefore, I want them to create new farmlands to replace the lost ones.”
Many farmlands in the Kyauk Phyu region have been developed through traditional self-reliance systems and farmed from generation to generation.
However, some farmers who had their farmlands confiscated have no land to pass on to their children, and the honor of being a farmer has been lost under this project.
This program is sponsored by the Earth Journalism Network (EJN). You can listen to the Rakhine news program on Lay Waddy FM every Thursday via Mizzima Radio. Additionally, it’s available on Lay Waddy FM’s Facebook page, website, and YouTube channel.
