after the announcement of complete taking over of the town, the people started escaping. This
resulted in heavy loss of livelihood. In the testimonies, we come to know that families lost not
only their homes but shops, farmland, and livestock. Such items are very vital for subsistence and
dignity of life. Mohammad Faisal, a former merchant, in his testimony revealed that he lost
property worth 70 million Myanmar Kyat, including crops, land, motorcycles, and livestock.
Sabeku Nahar’s family-owned grocery and Zomila Khatun’s inherited farmland were both
obliterated. Enamul Haq, a rickshaw driver, had his house destroyed and livestock stolen before
being beaten by AA members for pleading to recover them.
This targeting of livelihoods left survivors without livelihood and entirely dependent on
humanitarian aid. Following the massacre of 2024 Buthidaung, the AA seized Rohingya property
in the area. Homes, farms, and communal buildings were looted. They were also systematically
razed to the ground. Even properties not immediately destroyed in the initial attack were later
bulldozed or burned to prevent any return. They are not just occupying our land, Zomila says,
they are erasing us from it. Military bases are now being erected on the occupied land, cementing
AA control and preventing any future claims by Rohingya survivors. Zomila emphasizes that this
is not accidental; it is a calculated campaign to destroy evidence of Rohingya presence. Before
the attacks, Zomila’s husband owned a shop that supported their family. However, years of
conflict and systemic discrimination denied them the right to work, and his business was
eventually shuttered. Now I am without any livelihood, she says, we have nothing left. Not land,
not income, not even safety.” Living in exile in Hyderabad, India, Zomila now represents the fate
of thousands of Rohingya who have been forcibly removed from their homeland, stripped of
livelihoods, and made invisible to the very country they once called home.
Jani's account is no different from Zomila’s. His family had depended on farming for generations.
Their land was fertile, supporting rice, vegetables, and fruit cultivation, as well as livestock. But
the ongoing conflict stripped them of everything. We had chickens, cows, and rice fields. All
gone. Our farm, our tools, and our food were destroyed or stolen. The destruction was more than
economic. Schools, mosques, and community spaces were targeted to sever the community's
cultural and spiritual roots. This wasn't just the loss of infrastructure, it was the erasure of
identity. Jani inherited his land and home through generational lineage. Yet this ancestral claim
was wiped out when the Myanmar junta and now the AA began systematically seizing Rohingya
77
Select target paragraph3
Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents