Ten members of the persecuted Rohingya Muslim ethnic minority have been detained in Yangon after fleeing internal displacement camps in Rakhine state hoping to find work.
Five men and five women who had paid brokers to take them to the commercial capital were arrested after their van was stopped by local police in Hmawbi township, The Voice Weekly reported. Another 20 escaped on foot.
“We stopped the car and investigated. The people in the cars couldn’t speak Burmese,” said an officer, who was not named.
The plight of the Rohingya has worsened since clashes with Buddhist communities in Rakhine state in 2012 killed scores and left some 140,000 confined to dismal internal displacement camps. Tens of thousands have fled overseas, placing their lives in the hands of brutal traffickers.
The detained men and women, who were forced from their homes after their village was burned down in the violence, had paid K50,000 each to brokers based in Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine state, according to an officer from Hmawbi township police station.
“The immigration office is enquiring about this, as they had no authorization. They will take action according to the law,” the officer said.
Photo / Internal displacement camps outside Sittwe, Rakhine state / Coconuts Yangon
