Occupants of an old cemetery in Sittwe were notified by the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration to move by 27 August.
The directorate is going to construct an office building on the plot in Sittwe city’s Set Yone Zu Ward and released notification on 7 August to remove 18 houses from the plot.
The directorate notified the dwellers again on 19 August to move from the location, said Daw Than Than Nu, a resident from the old cemetery area.
“We have no place to live and we can’t afford to rent a house. We thought we could live easily in the old cemetery. At first the area was covered with wild growth, so we cleared out vegetation and other natural growth before we built houses. There was no notification it was private property. We are now evicted from the area,” she said.
Daw Sein Nu, another resident from the old cemetery, said that the government should consider the troubles they face if they are evicted from the area.
“How can we get by during rainy season if we have no place to live now? We’d like to keep staying here. We want to demand the government to allow us to live here,” she said.
She asked the government if it can arrange for shelter for the inhabitants.
They sell flowers and vegetables grown in the area to earn a living, so they want to stay in the area, she said.
The residents were daily wage workers from Pauktaw and Rathedaung townships and moved to the old cemetery area over the last four years due to conflicts and the lack of job opportunities in their regions.
