I. Human Rights Violations and National Verification Cards 60 An internal UNHCR report from February 2018 said that the requirement of the NVC “to renew the fishing boat licenses continues to impact the livelihood, food security and overall protection environment of the Muslim community and is still the main issue of concern of IDPs [internally displaced persons] in central Rakhine.”206 A 45-year-old Rohingya man living in a village in Sittwe Township explained to Fortify Rights the consequences of the NVC requirement on his access to livelihood in Rakhine State: The government makes fishing very restrictive . . . I can’t travel for work or go outside. I have a very small paddy field. I was fishing before, but now I cannot since I did not take the NVC. I can’t travel. It’s very difficult. I sell [rice] to the Rohingya village close by. If I don’t have the NVC, I can’t do anything. It’s very difficult if we don’t have permission to travel or work.207 Several Rohingya told Fortify Rights that they had to accept the NVC in order to maintain their livelihoods. For example, a Rohingya fisher, 30, in an internment camp in Rakhine State, said: Last year, in September 2018, the authorities told me I could not fish. Without the NVC, we cannot move or work, so I had no choice but to take the NVC. The government authorities told me, I must take the NVC or I can no longer fish. This was the police and immigration. I cannot travel outside the camp. I can only go fishing. I can only go once a week. It’s very difficult to sustain my life. Taking the NVC was the only way I could feed my children.”208 Another Rohingya fisher, 32, in an internment camp in Sittwe Township similarly said: I have had the [NVC] for one year. I had to take the card, or I would not be able to fish . . . [The authorities] told me personally, “If you don’t take the NVC, you cannot fish any longer.” It was the only choice I had. The situation here is very difficult . . . Before I took the NVC, I also had to pay between 5,000 to 10,000 Myanmar Kyat (US$3 to 6) to the police every two or three days.209 Rohingya without the NVC are subject to extortion by the Myanmar authorities. For example, a Rohingya man in his 20s from Sittwe and now confined to an internment camp, told Fortify Rights: Inside our camp, we have only one business, which is fishing. Just a few months ago, the immigration [authorities] stopped all the fishing boats and told us we are not able to fish. It happened in Sittwe after August 25, [2018]. People didn’t accept the NVC cards, so when people tried [to conduct their] business, they couldn’t survive. There are nearly 500 [fishing] boats, and in one boat, there are nearly 10 people. If you count 10 people in 500 boats, you can get an idea of how many [fishers] accepted the card.210 The government-imposed restrictions extend to Rohingya engaged in other livelihood activities as well. For example, a 22-year-old Rohingya shopkeeper running an electric shop in Maungdaw Township said: I was stopped at the checkpoint by police. They checked everything that I bought for my electric business and asked me why I didn’t have an NVC if I was running a business as a Rohingya. They said they would take all my goods away unless I paid them. They said I couldn’t be running a business without an NVC. I had to pay 20,000 Myanmar Kyat (US$14) to make it past the checkpoint . . . It is very difficult to run a business now in Myanmar without the NVC.211 206 UNHCR, Citizenship Verification Exercise in Rakhine State. 207 Fortify Rights interview with B.H., Sittwe Township, Rakhine State, Myanmar, January 11, 2019. 208 Fortify Rights interview with C.B., Sittwe Township, Rakhine State, Myanmar, January 14, 2018. See also, the July 2019 report by Burma Human Rights Network that documents Rohingya accepting NVCs to fish. “Rohingya fishermen in particular report having been pressured to accept NVCs. Fishing provides essential income for many Rohingya and around Sittwe it is key to survival for many Rohingya.” See, Burma Human Rights Network, National Verification Cards, p. 23. 209 Fortify Rights interview with C.C., Sittwe Township, Rakhine State, Myanmar, January 14, 2018. 210 Fortify Rights interview with J.S.S., location undisclosed, December 13, 2018. 211 Fortify Rights interview with D.A., Maungdaw Township, Rakhine State, Myanmar, March 8, 2019.