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INTERVIEWS by RICK HEIZMAN

in NORTHERN MAUNGDAW TOWNSHIP


in September 2017, January, 2018, and October 2018

(The massacre of Hindus in Kha Maung Seik Village tract,


northern Maungdaw Township, is mostly in the HINDU VICTIMS category)

Moe Sein Oo
from Nant Thar Taung Village,
Maungdaw Township, Rakhine State, Myanmar
Interviewed at refugee camp in Maungdaw,
September 2017
(Nant Thar Taung 3)

The Bengali Muslims attacked our village on August 25,


around 3:00 am. While policemen were guarding the
village the Bengali terrorists threw two bombs. Luckily,
the two bombs did not explode. The policeman shot
back, but, some police guns became jammed. Then many Bengalis came and were shooting
constantly. All the villagers gathered in a building that we thought was safe. But, they were
shooting for hours.

In the morning, 5 policemen from Tay Chaung joined with 10 of our Nant Thar Taung Village
police. The Bengalis started to retreat when the reinforcements started shooting.

We decided to flee for Taung Pyo town. The police commander of Taung Pyo told us that we
would not be safe in our village with just 15 policemen and we should wait for Army troops.
Then, when we had about 20 army troops and 15 policemen, all the villagers and students,
totaling 300 people, went to the safety of Taung Pyo town by foot.

We stayed in the Taung Pyo school building for 3 or 4 days. Then later, the situation got
worse and we moved and stayed inside a Border Guard Police outpost for 5 days. Then we
came to Maungdaw under the security of Army troops.

We fled our village on August 25. The Bengali terrorists burned our village on August 28. So,
we can only live in our village with better security, and healthcare too.

Our village is very close to Bangladesh. This is very worrying. We have lost rice and paddy.
We have lost everything. When we had to flee, we only had the clothes that we were wearing.

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U Tun Shwe
from Nant Thar Taung Village,
Kun Thee Pin Village Tract,
Maungdaw Township, Rakhine State, Myanmar
interviewed in refugee camp, Maungdaw,
September 2017
(Nant Thar Taung 1a)

I am U Tun Shwe, Village Administrator of Nant Thar


Taung Village, Kun Thee Pin Village Tract.

It was around 3:30 AM of August 25 that Bengali


Muslim terrorists came to our village and attacked the police outpost until 6:00 AM. One
BGP (Border Guard) policeman was killed.

We fled from our village around 3:00 PM and it took 4 hours to arrive in Taung Pyo
Town, because the roads had landmines that the Bengalis put there.

And, they set fire to 41 households, our Buddhist monastery, and the Charity Education
Center building in our village. We saw this with our own eyes from a hill.

We arrived to Taung Pyo around 6:30 without food. We stayed there for about 15 days.
Then we came to Maungdaw town on September 10.

It is not possible for us to live together with these Bengalis anymore. This is an invasive
war to occupy Maungdaw, Buthidaung and Rathedaung and create a separate Islamic
land.

If we live together again, these Bengalis will do this kind of violence again and again.
So, it is not possible to live together with Bengali Muslims

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U Tun Shwe
from Nant Thar Taung Village,
Maungdaw Township, Rakhine State, Myanmar
Interviewed in Nant Thar Taung, October 2018
(Nant Thar Taung 1b)

[I first interviewed him in September 2017]

I am U Tun Shwe, the headman of Nant Thar Taung Village.


The entire population of Buddhists, tribal ethnicities, and
Bengali Muslims is about 789 households. The tribal
ethnicities number only about 40 households or 200 people.

On the early morning of August 25, 2017, at 3:00 am, our village
was surrounded by thousands of Bengali Muslims. First they launched an attack on the
police outpost by throwing an initial bomb at the outpost. The bomb failed to explode, but it
fizzled with smoke, and as they all began to rush and attack the outpost the security forces
responded in defense. The Bengalis, who had surrounded the police outpost, were shooting
guns at the police almost all morning. They laid many of their homemade landmines around
the Rakhine part of the village, and around the police post.

This attack had started at 3:00 am and went until 6:00 am. The Bengalis would attack and
then retreat, regroup and attack again, and retreat again, regroup and attack again. At
around 9:30 am, 8 army troops arrived, thankfully. But, only 8 army troops, and thousands of
Bengalis on a rampage.

They said it is too dangerous to be here now, we needed to move everyone to the town of
Taung Pyo Let Wea. But many villagers were fearful to begin walking to Taung Pyo Let Wea.

[It would take about 4 hours to walk to Taung Pyo, and the villagers would be exposed, and
there were only 8 troops to protect 500 villagers.]

They decided to wait for more security forces to arrive, but, nobody could say when that
would be. Around 11:30 am some additional troops arrived and the villagers started the
dangerous walk to Taung Pyo with the security forces surrounding them for protection.

However, they spotted many landmines that the Bengali Muslims had laid along the paths
and the dirt road, so they had to walk slowly and carefully as the troops and villagers in the
front carefully looked for the landmines.

All together there were about 500 people in the group. We finally arrived in Taung Pyo around
7:00 pm. We were saved by the police and army - if not, we will have all been killed.

But, even after arriving in Taung Pyo we were still under threat from the Muslims - they were
so close and so many. We stayed in Taung Pyo for 10 days, and then we were transferred
down to Maungdaw [normally a 4-5 hour drive, but probably a lot longer as ambush sites
would have to me checked and cleared]

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Kyaw Hla Aung
from Nant Thar Taung Village,
Maungdaw Township, Rakhine State, Myanmar
Interviewed in Nant Thar Taung, October 2018
(Nant Thar Taung 2)

I am Kyaw Hla Aung. On August 24, 2017, I went to the


market. The monk was absent from the monastery as he
had gone to Maungdaw. One policeman and the village
chief had heard some rumors that the Muslims were going
to attack us, but the village chief didn’t really believe it.

Then around 3:00 am we were attacked. On this side of the village there were many Bengalis
on the hill, and on the other side of the village there were 1000s of Bengalis surrounding the
village. The Bengalis attacked with guns. They were shooting everywhere - at the monastery
and the school, and at the village and the police outpost. The few policemen were shooting
to protect themselves, there were thousands of Muslims, and many who had guns. They
were shooting for several hours. 1000s of Bengalis were yelling, shooting, and throwing
homemade bombs.

At about 9:20 am some army troops arrived. We very frightened villagers felt a bit better, but
still we were overwhelmingly outnumbered. We all tried to flee in one direction, but stopped
with the fear that we could easily be killed - slaughtered on the way. The monk called the
army and implored them to rescue our villagers and students. After a few more army troops
arrived we all started to flee - in one big group.

On the way, on our escape path, near Nant Thar Taung school, we found some landmines.
Even when we were getting close to safety in Taung Pyo the Bengalis still were coming after
us and shooting. After staying in Taung Pyo, for a short time, we transferred to Myoma
Monastery, in Maungdaw town - where we still are now.

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Aung Kyaw Kyaw / Ray Naing Oo
from Nant Thar Taung Village,
Maungdaw Township, Rakhine State, Myanmar
Interviewed in Myoma Monastery, Maungdaw,
January 2018
(Nant Thar Taung teacher 1a)

My name is Aung Kyaw Kyaw, and I teach at a


monastic school in Nant Thar Taung Village, in
northern Maungdaw Township.

On August 25, 2017, around 1:00 AM, ARSA militants made a surprise attack on police
outposts around here. We heard guns shooting all night. All the students were so frightened
and didn’t know what to do.

In the morning security forces came in trucks and told us it is not safe here, the fighting is
still going on, there are a lot of militants, and fighting will continue. So, the army took all of us
to the nearby town of Taung Pyo Let Wea for safety.

A few days later ARSA terrorists reached the Nant Thar Taung monastery school and temple
complex and took it over. They killed the old monk who stayed there to watch it. Then they
were shooting from there at the security forces. The security forces even had to retreat back
to Taung Pyo because they only numbered 8, and the militants numbered several hundred,
and had guns. [This area is very close to a remote jungle-covered part of Bangladesh where
weapons can easily be smuggled across the border. The border is no longer the Naf river.]

The ARSA militants then destroyed the school, the dormitories where the students lived, and
the temple, breaking and smashing all images of the Buddha, and then setting fire to
everything. We had to stay in Taung Pyo, and then we were moved down to Maungdaw town
on October 10.

We are lucky, we can stay in this large monastery and temple complex in Maungdaw. And,
we can continue learning, because we all love knowledge.

Eventually we want to go back to our small villages - as long as we are safe. We hope to live
honestly and harmoniously. We don't want to be chased off our land.

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Ray Naing Oo / Aung Kyaw Kyaw
from Nant Thar Taung Village,
Maungdaw Township, Rakhine State, Myanmar
Interviewed in Myoma Monastery, Maungdaw, Oct 2018
(Nant Thar Taung teacher 1b)
[I first interviewed him in January 2018]

I am Ray Naing Oo. My hometown is Myebon, but since 2012


I have been teaching at the Nant Thar Taung school. During
the 2012 attacks by Muslims I was in Taung Pyo, because my
parents were posted there, they work in the government. My
father is a policeman, and my mother works in the
Immigration department. There was no violence in Taung Pyo at that time, but we were
worriedly watching and being careful. Also during the October 9, 2016 violence I was in Nant
Thar Taung. I, and the students didn’t sleep well that night, because we could hear yelling all
night coming from the surrounding Bengali villages.

On August 24, 2017, some of us heard that the Bengalis were going launch attacks very
soon, but I didn’t want to believe that. On August 25, 2017 at around 3:00 am I first heard a
gunshot, then I heard many Bengali men yelling loudly, but I didn’t know what they were
saying. Then the Muslims started attacking the Nant Thar Taung police outpost.

At the school we all didn’t know what to do. We all gathered in one big room. We were so
frightened and we had nothing at all to defend ourselves, not even a stick. There was so
much shooting at the police outpost. Nearby Nant Thar Taung there are some other Rakhine
Buddhist villages that were also attacked until about 5:40 am. However the Bengalis were
still shooting in Nant Thar Taung until about 6:00 am. At 6:30 am the policemen came down
from the hilltop outpost to the village and gathered everyone together in the largest room of
the school. So, then there were no policemen in the outpost and the Bengalis went up on the
hilltop. Everybody could see the Bengalis shouting and strutting around like they were kings.
After that they put some landmines around there.

The monk who founded the school in 2012 called the army and implored them to come
rescue everyone, however, the army was overwhelmed and badly outnumbered. Roads had
landmines that the Bengalis had planted during the night, many bridges were all or partly
destroyed, many villages needed immediate help and rescue, and as well there were 1000s
of armed terrorists to pursue.

So, the army said they will send troops, but they didn’t know when they would arrive. The
monk and others said they could not risk staying there at night, because they feared being
slaughtered that night, so they thought they all would have to start walking to Taung Pyo
soon, as it might take 4 or more hours.

On the west side of the village there was a small river, and there was a Bengali village across
that river. It is called Rohang. I could hear the men yelling loudly. It was in the afternoon.
They were yelling, “Zinjabad!, Zinjabad!” [“Victory!” Or “Forever!” - as in “Islam Forever!” or
“We Are Victorious!”]

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We started walking. On the way, near the fence, we found many landmines. It was terrifying,
we all had to walk single file, and step in the same place.

We finally arrived in Taung Pyo police outpost. It was absolutely full of Rakhine Buddhists,
and tribal ethnicities - and now we - 500 more people - arrived. So we continued until we
reached a Buddhist monastery. We spent one night there, but didn’t sleep well at all,
because we could hear gunfire and the loud yelling of Bengalis, and we were too frightened
to sleep.

The next day we went to a police outpost. Then we move to another police outpost in
another town nearby. We had to stay there for one month - it was a very difficult situation.
Finally our monk contacted the head monk at the Myoma Monastery in Maungdaw and
Myoma welcomed all of us to come and stay there. We are so grateful.

We are still here [at Myoma Monastery, more than one year after we fled for our lives] In the
future, we would like to go back to Nan Thar Taung - many students come from there - but
our school and monastery was totally destroyed, and it is still not safe enough for us there.
We need a large security force to protect us, and also we need good transportation so if we
need to escape from attacking Bengalis we can get away quickly. As well, a good road
enables security forces to arrive quickly if they are needed.

[To visit Nant Thar Taung, as I did, it requires one to walk part way, up a very steep rutted
path up a hill - about 20 minutes - then take motorcycles for an additional 20 minutes (or
continue walking for over an hour) - each way - there is no vehicle road to the village.]

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U Serena
from Nant Thar Taung Village,
Maungdaw Township, Rakhine State, Myanmar
Interviewed in Nant Thar Taung, Sept 2017
(Nant Thar Taung monk 1a)

I founded a large school here - in Nant Thar Taung in 2012. It


is very close to the Bangladesh border. The free education
monastic school that I built here to educate the children in
this distant and poor area was completely burned and
destroyed by the Bengali Muslim terrorists.

Please show the world this situation. We have come back here to show people around the
world what is happening, so they can know and understand this terrible reality. The brutal
and cruel Bengalis burned this valuable school.

We are here in Nant Thar Taung Village. On August 25, 2017, in the early morning, the
Bengali Muslims attacked. They attacked this village and other Buddhist villages in the area,
burning and destroying the houses of the villagers. Look, everything is gone, burned and
destroyed. All the people had to flee for their lives.

Here you can see that the Bengali Muslims damaged the pagoda by making a hole looking
for jewelry and other valuables that may be inside it [put there as an offering when it was
built.]

The Muslims want to destroy the Buddhist people here and everything Buddhists believe in -
our faith in Buddhism, our Rakhine State, and our nation of Myanmar. They want to destroy
everything.

I came here to this remote border area to help sustain the Buddhist culture and the Buddhist
faith here. Buddhism is suffering because the Bengalis are increasing so quickly, and trying
to eliminate Buddhists and Buddhism from this land.

Can you explain how you see the future generation of Buddhist people and their children in
this border area?

It is not easy to build a school here, but I came here to educate the children and teach our
Buddhist faith - and now there is destruction around us. I have an idea about how to
strengthen the Buddhist roots here - but the future and safety are uncertain.

Over there whatever you see is Bangladesh, it is just 5 or 10 minutes to the border.

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U Serena
from Nant Thar Taung Village,
Maungdaw Township, Rakhine State, Myanmar
Interviewed in Myoma Monastery, Maungdaw, Oct 2018
(Nant Thar Taung monk 1b)

I am U Serana. I founded a large school in Nant Thar Taung


Village in 2012. Nant Thar Taung is a diverse village with
Rakhine Buddhists, Diagnet, Thet, and Mro tribal ethnicities,
and Bengali Muslims.

It is especially important to educate the tribal ethnicities in this part of northern Maungdaw
Township who usually are too poor to send their kids to school. However, this village is
surrounded by large Bengali villages. There is a lot of opposition to this school among the
Bengalis, because they don’t want proper education.

[Note: So many Bengali Muslims greatly prefer the Islamic madrassa schools and the Arabic
language schools - both of which teach nothing useful, and in fact, just teach hatred of all
non-Muslims]

During the 2012 violence, and the 2016 violence there was no violence in Nant Thar Taung
because there was good security at the time. However, on August 25, 2017 innumerable
Bengali Muslim terrorists attacked 30 police outposts at the same time. Over 1000 Muslims
surrounded and attacked the police outpost at Nan Thar Taung.

After all the non-Muslims of the village fled the terrorists burned the village, the monastery,
the police outpost - there is nothing left. Since that time we stay in Maungdaw town, at
Myoma monastery, with 400 students. The government plans to rebuild the village, and the
monastery and our school, but it has not started yet.

In the future, if the government can just build, or rebuild villages for the ethnic minorities in
this part of northern Maungdaw it will be better and more peaceful.

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Asta Lun - Muslim
from Taung Pyo Let Wea,
Maungdaw Township, Rakhine State, Myanmar
Interviewed in Maungdaw town, October 2018
(Taung Pyo Muslim)
[Note: As I was setting up to interview several people there,
and while all of us were waiting for the noise of the pounding
rain to lessen, I noticed this man and all the other Buddhists
and Hindus there having nice friendly conversation with each
other - like old friends happy to catch up. It was only when I
started to interview him that I learned he was Muslim - the
only Muslim there.]

I am Asta Lun - I am a Muslim. I am from Taung Pyo Let Wea.

I went to Bangladesh after the attacks on August 25, 2017, along with many Muslims. I lived
for 7 months at ‘Zero Point’. [A strip of land between the Myanmar and Bangladesh border
fences near Taung Pyo Let Wea] I was repatriated back to Myanmar on April 13, 2018. First I
went to the temporary facilities called Myoma town.

The reason I went to Bangladesh was because starting in 2016, in Buthidaung and
Maungdaw there was the appearance of Harakah-al-Yaqin [previous Arabic name of ARSA].
That militant group was influencing the young men, actually influencing everyone, and then
they attacked 3 Border Guard Police bases [on October 9, 2016]. A year after those attacks
the group influenced the villages, and then eventually they attacked 30 security outposts at
the same time on Aug 25, 2017.

Leading up to those attacks the Harakah-al-Yaqin militants campaigned in all the Bengali
Muslim villages for all the people to join the coming attacks that they were planning. They
threatened severe punishments for anyone who worked with or in the government, including
village headmen. [and, he was working in the civil government]

The militants launched their attacks on Aug 25, 2017 - I was in Taung Pyo Let Wea, and I saw
with my own eyes as they burned the Buddhist villages first. After they burned the houses
they stole all the cows, chickens, buffaloes, and others, and took them all to Zero Point, very
near to here. The Bengalis all started to move across the border, but the terrorists stayed
inside, in hiding.

I went with the Bengalis to Bangladesh, and spent 7 months there until I was able to come
back. During the time that we (Muslims) were refugees in Bangladesh, the terrorists came into
the camps and were looking for certain people who they accused of giving information to the
authorities, or, didn’t embrace the terrorists plan, and terrorists confronted or killed them.

One day ARSA militants tried to kill me, but somebody warned me just in time. I then left
Zero Point and rented a house in Bangladesh [he may be a good businessman in order to do
that]. While I was in that house I survived another assassination attempt. Then, after that,
ARSA, colluding with Bangladesh Police, forced me to leave the house and return to the
refugee camps. I felt it would not be safe, at all, to stay in Bangladesh, and I decided to go
back to Myanmar. So, I contacted my department [in the government of Myanmar] and my

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supervisor, U Than Aung, and told him that I will apply again for my job in the Maungdaw
district.

At the moment [interview was Oct 5, 2018] the ARSA militants have power and influence
over the people in the camps in Bangladesh. They threatened Bengali Muslims that they
must join them or they will be killed. Sometimes people would be kidnapped and disappear.
As far as I know over 200 Bengali people have been killed by them. Many of the Bengali
people in the camps would like to come back to Myanmar, but they have a lot of fear of
ARSA. Even for me, I am back in Myanmar, but, I receive a lot of death threats by phone,
from ARSA members.

I think about my home and things in Taung Pyo Let Wea, but nowadays I’m in Maungdaw.
[Taung Pyo Let Wea is right next to the border, and therefore more easy for the ARSA
militants to infiltrate, and while Maungdaw is also close to the border, it has more security
forces, making it harder for ARSA to infiltrate]

Sein Nu
from Taung Pyo Village,
Maungdaw Township, Rakhine State, Myanmar
interviewed in refugee camp in Sittwe, Sept 2017

(Diagnet 1)

I am Sein Nu, and I am from Taung Pyo Village. I am


Diagnet ethnicity.

One night we started to hear the terrible news about


Bengalis attacking security outposts and villages,
burning them and killing people. And, we heard that
the Bengalis were kidnapping the pretty unmarried girls
among the Hindus, Buddhists, and tribal people. All of this was frightening.

So our village fled quickly, there were no security forces around and we were terrified. Two
people – 1 Mro, and one Burmese were caught and killed as we fled. We had to walk so far,
but finally there was a bus that we could use to get to safety in Buthidaung. And then we
managed to get to Sittwe.

Now I am so sickened by this situation made by the Bengalis and so scared. I don't want to
go out anywhere. I don't know anything about my village, and all the villagers, or whether our
homes are burned or not.

This is the third time I have had to escape from these crazy violent Bengalis. I don't want
them near me.

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Phru Maung - Diagnet ethnicity
from Wai Lar Taung Village,
Maungdaw Township, Rakhine State, Myanmar
Interviewed in Maungdaw town, October 2018
(Diagnet 2)

[Around October 8, 2018, the 14 year old son of this


couple was murdered by Bengali Muslims, in far
northern Maungdaw Township. The parents, and the
body of their son were driven down to the town of
Maungdaw - an 8 hour drive on rutted and muddy dirt
roads, at night. I and my team were nearby when we heard about it, and came to see them.
They are members of the Diagnet ethnic people, and speak their own Diagnet language. One
of their fellow villagers translates from Diagnet to Arakanese language, speaking as if he is
the father. These tribal minorities are especially targeted by the Bengali Muslims, and they
have no way to defend themselves.]

I am Phru Maung, and my son is Hla Mying Aung, 14 years old. We live in Wai Lar Taung
village.

My son is a student at school - grade 6. He needed to buy some school books. He went by
motorbike to Kha Maung Seik in the morning to get the school books. As he was returning
home he was brutally killed.

My wife and I were waiting all day for him, then it was 5 PM, 6 PM, but he didn’t show up.
We informed the Border Police, and we all began searching for him. At 6:30 PM his dead
body was found. Last year, in 2017, my nephew was similarly killed by Bengali Muslims.

We don’t know where to live now, where to move to, it is not safe for us. We have no
security, security is very weak. My son was killed because security is not adequate enough
to protect us from Bengali Muslims.

Bengali people from Bangladesh come across the border nearby, illegally, and they may be
hiding or walking through the mountains, we don’t know where they are hiding, but we live in
the mountains, and everyday we have to walk and work in the mountains, we have to work
or else what can we do?

Mother: It will never end. There are many things in my heart that I want to say, but I lost my
heart. So, these attacks and murders by Bengali Muslims will happen again and again.

I am so worried about our other children. Now it is not safe living in our village. We have
abandon our village, and move to a safe place.

We have to face the reality of this kind of violence. It is not safe for us to live in our village
anymore.

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Musha Mauk
from Kyun Daung Village,
Maungdaw Township, Rakhine State, Myanmar
Interviewed in Maungdaw town, October 2018
(Kyun Daung 1)

I am from Kyun Daung, near Nant Thar Taung Village.

Since I was young I lived there. Our whole family lived in


one home - the only Buddhist home in a Muslim village.

In 2012 the Bengali Muslims launched attacks throughout


many parts of Rakhine State, but, around here they didn’t
attack because we were united.

But, some of the Bengalis didn’t want to accept me and my family because we were
Buddhists. They did not want even one Buddhist family to live in their village. They conspired
to put me in prison by informing the police that I had a handmade gun. I was arrested and
sentenced to one year in prison, but I was released after 6 months.

On August 25, 2017, at 3:30 am, Bengali Muslims launched huge attacks in our area. Me and
my family had to flee in chaos and join other Buddhists from Nant Thar Taung and other
villages and walk to the town of Taung Pyo Let Wea for safety.

We suffered a lot of difficulties and hardships. 40 acres of rice fields were taken from me by
the Bengalis. The Bengali Muslims want to make the land an Islamic State - only for Muslims.

I used to think we could all exist in balance with our religions - Buddhist, Christian, Hindu,
Muslim - I thought there was a balance there - somehow. In that latest attack on Aug 25,
2017, I was so disillusioned because the Bengalis stole everything in my house and burned
it, there was nothing left.

My grandfather survived the 1942 huge massacre of 30,000 Buddhists by the Muslims. He
was a strong man, and eventually went back to reclaim his land in his village and lived there
again - in Nant Thar Taung Rakhine Village.

Before the Aug 25, 2017 attack some of us Buddhists could see that the Bengalis were
preparing to launch another wave of attacks. We would see or hear strange things and report
to the police. I understand and speak Bengali language. The Bengalis were preparing to
destroy and kill us.

The two leaders, former Mawlawi [Imam] Abu Caw, and Mawlawi Anna War of the village,
had convinced and organized the young Bengali men to join the militants, and take the
militant training. The training involved how to use knives and swords effectively and how to
make and shoot jingalis [slingshots with sharpened bicycle spokes] and guns skillfully, and
other fighting techniques.

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There is the old Kyun Daung Village, where I lived, and the new Kyun Daung Village. The
militants have 3 lookout points on the path between the two villages. That way they can warn
if any government staff is coming for any reason, and the Bengalis can hide the weapons
and explosives they were training with or making.

I had a Bengali name as well - it was Gawd Li. But then, the Bengali leader told everyone,
“Don’t call him Gawd Li, call him Musha Mauk.” [The Rakhine man with a mustache.]

Before the attacks in August 2017, many Bengalis in the village demanded to me and my
family, “Don’t live here anymore. Move from here now.” I was very patient, and I called other
Bengali Muslim neighbors and I told them that some Bengalis were trying to intimidate me
and my family to go away and never come back.

Some of the Bengalis tried to persuade me to join with their agenda. They did not want any
government schools, health department workers, or anything to come to their village. Then
some Bengalis tried to burn my house several times. The situation was getting bad.

At nighttime Bengalis would shoot jingalis by slingshot at my house, and shine bright
flashlights at my house. They finally succeeded when I had to take my brother to Maungdaw
town for a medical emergency, and Bengalis used the firewood I had stored in the house to
torch and destroy my house.

I pleaded with the Bengalis, “Can we just live peacefully here? We have lived here for a long
time already, so can we continue to live here in peace? Nowadays we hear about this kind of
thing happening in other villages, but, until recently, not in our village. So, let’s live together
peacefully, as we did before.” I pleaded.

Then some Bengalis attacked me and tried to kill me with swords, and I had to run for my life
out the western entrance to the village.

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U Aye Tha Hla
from Aung Mingalar Village,
Maungdaw Township, Rakhine State, Myanmar
Interviewed in Aung Mingalar, October 2018
(Aung Mingalar 2)

I am U Aye Tha Hla. I am a member of the Aung Mingalar


village committee.

In the 2016 violence the police headquarters not so far from


here was attacked, at about 1:30 am, and the Bengali Muslims
killed 11 police officers. That night I didn't really know what happened, but I heard the distant
gunfire. In the morning I learned what happened, and that 11 police officers were killed.

Then we became very afraid, and we did not feel safe here, and we decided to move to
someplace safer. First we moved all the children and women to a safer place. That was in
2016, after attacks and incidents in 2012 and 2014.

Before, we used to work together with Bengali Muslims, go to the mountains together, doing
business together, but after the October 2016 violent attacks on the Buddhists we heard
about the RSO [Rohingya Salvation Army - the dominant Bengali Muslim Islamic terrorist
group before ARSA].

After the 2016 attacks it was noticeable to us that the Bengalis no longer would come to
Rakhine villages and no longer do any business with us. So, we became afraid to go to
Bengali villages.

Then, they attacked us again on Aug 25, 2017, and those were the largest attacks against
us. Now I am too afraid to go far: to the forest or mountains, or to work in my distant rice
fields. I can only do agriculture very near my home here in Aung Mingalar Village.

We hear about international pressure and international threats to us. We don't know when
the Bengalis are going to attack us again and or when we have to flee for our lives. We are
living with constant fear of being slaughtered by the Muslims.

At the moment there is some security - there are Border Guard Police around our village, but
in my opinion, the security is not reliable. The reason the security is not reliable is that they
have to patrol around the area, and there are only 7 officers here - they can't be everywhere.

I have know some Bengali people for a very long time. They have told me that the situation is
not good. The Bengalis will not work with us or buy and sell anything to us anymore. I asked
some of them whom I am very familiar with and worked together with in the past, “Why?
Why can't we work together anymore?”

They told me that if any Bengalis worked with the Buddhists they would be killed by their
own people. Some of the Bengalis will inform ARSA about other Bengalis who are still
15
friendly with and working with Buddhists and ARSA will assassinate them. That's why it is
too dangerous for us to go to any Bengali village - because the Bengalis will not speak to us
out of fear of the ARSA terrorists who can kill them just for talking with a Buddhist.

It's a very dangerous situation. I heard from my Bengali friends that the plan is to seize and
occupy Maungdaw, Buthidaung and Rathedaung, and declare it an autonomous Islamic
State for Muslims only.

Shwe Hla May


from Aung Mingalar Village,
Maungdaw Township, Rakhine State, Myanmar
Interviewed in refugee camp in Buthidaung, Sept 2017
(Aung Mingalar 1)

Question: Tell me why did you flee your village? And, tell me
your experience.

Answer: So-called Rohingya came with bombs, mines, and


swords. We had nothing to protect ourselves, that is why
we fled our village.

The only reason we survived was that security forces arrived


just in time. If not, the Bengali Muslims would have killed us all that night. They want to
eliminate our Rakhine Buddhist ethnic people.

They wore black suits and masks. The reason for wearing masks is that they themselves are
from nearby villages and they did not want us to recognize them by seeing their faces. They
had long swords, good guns, but we had nothing. We did not even have a good stick or
sword.

How can we protect ourselves? We are troubled so much.

Question: Were you starving at that time, while fleeing?

Answer: at least we had water to drink, and we shared the little bit of food that we had.

My baby, she already has had to flee three times from violence. The first time fleeing
violence, she was less than one month old.

How can we Rakhine people manage our future to be better if we have to flee again and
again like this? How can we do business for our livelihood? How can we raise our education
level? We can do nothing now.

If possible, it would be better to send the Bengalis to where they belong. It is a great loss for
our Rakhine people. We are the minority here. Only a small number of Rakhine are left now.

Bengalis can do whatever they want.They are too foxy.

The Bengalis are not killed by Rakhine people. But, the Bengals have killed many of us.

16
May Than Htay
from Thayar Kyong Village,
in Maungdaw Township, Rakhine State, Myanmar
interviewed in refugee camp in Sittwe, Sept 2017
(North Maungdaw 1)

The Bengali men always talk to us, Buddhist Rakhine


women, so crudely and boisterously. We are really afraid of
them. On August 25, 2017 they attacked our village. We had
to flee our village so suddenly. Some of us villagers were
hacked to death with swords and others with us were
wounded. We had to run to the mountains nearby.

In the mountains we found some Bengali handmade


landmines and then we were even more scared, and afraid to go in any direction. But, we
were also afraid of the Bengali terrorists. It took us a few days to cross the mountains. We
need the government to get rid of all of the terrorists and drive away the Bengalis. We are so
afraid of them. We cannot live near those violent people.

In northern Rakhine State the Bengali Muslims outnumber us. They have a lot of weapons
and we have almost nothing. There is not enough security here, and we don't have anything
to protect our village and families, so we cannot live together with the Bengalis who just
want to kill us. I would rather live poor starving and die in Rakhine State than live near the
Bengalis with their cruel violence.

When we were hiding in the mountains I saw a security vehicle on the road nearby. I ran over
to it and said,"Please help us, take us to a safe place.” There was only one security vehicle
and it was already full. The officer said he will come back here and rescue us later. By then
Bengalis were coming out of villages and watching. I was so frightened and mad, and said,
“then just pull out your guns and shoot all of us." So, now if the vehicle left then we would be
slaughtered by the Bengalis. So, then the security officer changed the plan and we walked
with the security to the mountain town of Taung Pyo Let Wea.

On that long walk up the mountain there were some Bengali villages where they watched our
slow progress. And, homemade landmines were found - it was frightening.

If the government brings Bengalis back here, the next generation of them will be worse, we
cannot live with those violent and cruel Bengalis. There is not enough security here, and we
don't have anything to protect our village and families, so we cannot live together with the
Bengalis who just want to kill us.

I would rather live poor starving and die in Rakhine State than live near the Bengalis with
their cruel violence. We need the government to get rid of all terrorists, and drive way the
Bengalis. We are so afraid of them.

17
Name unknown
Yet Nyo Taung Village,
Maungdaw Township, Rakhine State, Myanmar
Interviewed in Maungdaw refugee camp, Sept 2017
(North Maungdaw 2)

Bangladesh is to the west of our Ywet Nyo Taung village.


Big Bengali villages surround our village on the east, north,
and south sides.

One day (in late August 2017), over 500 Bengalis with black
masks on, and holding guns and swords, marched from Tha
Yet Oak Village to our village around 12:00 PM and opened fire. We had nowhere to run, so
all the villagers gathered and stayed in the monastery. We heard so much gunfire. We called
to the Navy and authorities for help. The Navy came and shot back, and the Bengalis
retreated.

Question: Were they wearing masks?

Answer: Yes, they were wearing masks and they were putting bombs along the pathways.

Villagers from Tha Yet Oak village saw that. They had guns, swords and sticks. The police
shot back, but there were too many Bengalis.

We could not go anywhere at that time. We were surrounded by Bengali villages from every
corner. We stayed in our houses during the day, and stayed in the monastery at night.

During the 2016 violence, two boys from our villagers were murdered by Bengali terrorists.
Their bodies have not been found yet and still no information has been heard about them. No
one in our village was killed this time. A Bengali village is very close to our village. We never
did any harm to them.

They told us that they knew that the Buddhist Rakhine, policemen, and soldiers would not
harm them. They were more afraid of the Bengalis hiding in the mountains. The Bengali
villagers were afraid of being hacked and killed if they did not flee. They also told us to flee
after they had left their village.

Two days after they fled, the Bengalis with black masks marched towards us. We were very
frightened and stayed at the monastery. We even thought we all would die that day.

We arrived here with the help of an aid distribution boat. Many of our villagers are still
trapped in the village. Our village has nearly 40 households. Around 20 of them

are still in the village because roads are blocked.

We have been very troubled living there. We could not even go out from our village to go
fishing or something. No one dares to go to Maungdaw town because the Bengalis put
landmines in the road.

18
Aung Soe Than
from Min Gyi Village (aka Tula Toli),
in Maungdaw Township, Rakhine State, Myanmar
Interviewed at refugee camp in Sittwe, Sept 2017
(Tula Toli 1)

My name is Aung Soe Than, and I come from Min Gyi (also
known as Tula Toli) in Maungdaw Township.

As you come to my village you must cross a small stream.


Nearby are many Bengali villages. On that day (Aug 25,
2017) first the Bengalis attacked the security outpost, then came into our village with
weapons, yelling, killing, and setting our homes on fire. We had to run so fast to save our
lives.

We ran to the Buddhist monastery and joined other villagers who also had to flee. We spent
a fearful night in the compound. The next day we all fled to the mountains, and spent 3
fearful nights with no food and no water. It was especially difficult for the young children, and
the old people. Education was disrupted, and health issues were many.

The Bengalis are so cruel. They kill us and they burn our homes. They think they are the
majority people, but in our Rakhine State we Buddhists are the majority. These Bengali
immigrants should behave like guests in our homeland and not make trouble. But, they are
not like guests. They have no respect or decency to us. Around the world people should not
behave like they do. Why do they think it is right to kill us and steal our land?

They live in our land, they drink our water, and eat the food from our land. But, they are so
ungrateful. Why do they kill and threaten us, again and again? They are so cruel. We cannot
live together, or near the Bengalis. We are too frightened. We don’t want our families killed by
them.

If the Bengalis in Bangladesh come back to here we are too afraid to live near them. We
need to rebuild our village and live peacefully with the other ethnicities. But, not the Bengalis.

Nobody can live in peace with Bengalis.

19
3 Interviews with Bengali Muslims
from Ngan Chaung Village,
Maungdaw Township, Rakhine State, Myanmar
Interviewed in Ngan Chaung, January 2018
(Ngan Chaung Muslim 1)

[We interviewed several Bengali Muslims, around 2-3


hours north of Maungdaw town. We had heard that this
village had not fled to Bangladesh, and that the village
had a different and much more positive attitude than most
of the Bengali villages. So, we stopped there to talk - in
Ngan Chaung Village.

Our guide told the Bengalis, “You can say anything to us, you don't have to fear anything
from us, we are not reporting to any authority, and we will accept whatever you say. We are
just looking for truth, whatever it may be.”

To start, I told the interpreter (off-camera) to tell them that they can talk - with no questions
asked, for awhile - about the situation of the village, the Burmese Army, ARSA, their safety,
or anything.]

Interviewee 1: There are no Muslims from the surrounding Bengali villages here anymore,
they left to go to Bangladesh - but we are still here. The Burmese Army has been protecting
us, [from ARSA retaliations] and gave us food supplies, [because bridges had been bombed
by ARSA]. There are no teacher here now [since August, 2017] so the children cannot go to
school.

[Questions are from Rick Heizman]

Q - What happened here on August 25, 2017, when attacks were launched all over?

A - The night of the attacks there was a lot of shooting going back and forth, all around

us - militants shooting at Security Forces - and they were shooting back. Some of

our villagers started to flee, but a Military officer said, "Don't flee! It's too
dangerous! Stay here, we will protect you, stay here!”

When the soldiers were near our village in the darkness, they shot up in the air, to flush

out the militants - that’s when some of our villagers thought they should run, but the

officer shouted, "don't run, we will not harm you."

Q - Has the Burmese Army committed atrocities here? Or has the Burmese Army been

bad to them or fair to them?

A - The military did not burn our village, so we could stay here. The military protected

us, [From ARSA, for being a peace-seeking village.]

20
Q - Do you know of any women in your village, or any Bengali village, who has been raped?

A - Nothing happened in my village, and for other places I don't know.

[a 2nd man there was asked the same question and responded, "I don't know of any.”]

Q - Did ARSA come to this village to recruit men like you?

A - We didn't have ARSA militants in our village. I don't know any ARSA members or militants.

[The next Bengali Muslim man did not want his face on camera, my sense was that he was
more fearful of ARSA retaliation, which has happened quite a lot in villages which did not
follow ARSA.]

Interviewee 2:
Q - Do you fear The Burmese Military, or do you fear ARSA more?

A - (in English) Our villagers do not fear the military.

[Notice - he did not say that about ARSA.]

Q - Why does your village not go to Bangladesh?

A - Other villages around here were shooting [attacking Security Forces], so they had to flee

[after the attacks failed] but our village was peaceful so that's why we didn't have to flee.

Q - Has the Army been abusive to you, or is the Army okay? Do you trust the Army, or not

trust the Army?

A - The Army protected our village that night from the militants.

[There have been many cases where the Islamic militants have savagely cut the throats

of fellow Muslims who don't agree with them. In fact, the very next evening, in

Buthidaung, a Muslim leader was brutally executed for these reasons.]

Q - Do you know of any women in this village, or any Bengali village, that has been raped?

A - (in English) No.

21
The 3rd interview was with a group of 5 men, the
tallest one in the photo was the primary speaker.]

Interviewee 3:
Q - Why did you not go to Bangladesh?

A - There were about 5000 Bengali villagers

around this cluster of villages, our village is

about 500 people. Our village people stayed

here, but from the surrounding villages most of them fled.

Q - Do you feel basically safe right now, being here?

A - Yes, we feel safe.

Q - Do you know of any women in your village, or other Bengali villages, that have been raped?

A - No women or girls were raped in our village, and for other places I don't know because I

was not there at other places, but I did not hear about any such problems.

[Our translator told them to say what they know, we are not reporting to any authorities,

we just want to know.]

Q - The night of August 25, you heard a lot of gunfire around when other villages were

attacking [the police posts] - what happened that night here, right here?

A - There was a lot of shooting around us, but not from our village. There was a lot of

confusion, and it was dark. Nobody knew what was happening. The Army protected

us, we were not with the militants.

Q - Do you feel that you can live here in peace?

A - Yes.

22
Name unknown
from a village near Kha Maung Seik,
Maundaw Township, Rakhine State, Myanmar
Interviewed near Kha Maung Seik, Jan 2018
(North Maungdaw 5)

[Just 24 hours before we arrived at Kha Maung Seik Village


tract - which is very distant and close to the Bangladesh
border - a group of 6 Buddhist fishermen were ambushed
by Bengali Muslim ARSA terrorists]

Six Rakhine Buddhist men from Aung Tha Pyay Village were fishing on a small river in
northern Maundaw, close to the Bangladesh border.

Near the river there was a mosque, and just near it ten ARSA Bengali Muslim terrorists were
waiting to ambush the Buddhists. While they were fishing, the 10 terrorists suddenly
attacked. 5 fishermen managed to run away, but one was in the river, and couldn't get out
fast enough. None of the fishermen had weapons with them.

The Bengalis were all armed with swords and heavy clubs. They sliced his head and arms and
hip, and then one Bengali plunged his sword into the man's chest. The sword blade got stuck
between two ribs and the assailant let go, and the Bengalis ran off thinking and rejoicing that
he was dead. The severely wounded man had to pull the sword out of his own chest.

The others fishermen came back and they called the military to come help them. The man was
taken to the hospital in Maungdaw which was a 4-5 hour drive on very bumpy dirt roads.

Ironically, the man's son, in Sittwe, upon hearing the news about what happened to his
father, crashed his motorcycle, and was now in the hospital in Sittwe.

[We visited the fisherman in the hospital the next evening, but the staff said please no photos.
The man looked almost like a mummy, with so many bandages covering gaping wounds. He
was in great pain, but at least his family members were so thankful that he survived.]

23
Tun Phyu
from Thar Yar Kone Village,
Maungdaw Township, Rakhine State, Myanmar
Interviewed in refugee camp in Maungdaw, Sept 2017
(North Maungdaw 4)

We are very poor people from a poor village.

It was August 25, 2017, we heard Bengali terrorists attacked the


police outposts. In the morning, the villagers gathered and we
were concerned as we learned about what was happening.

We heard that some policemen were killed. There were eight


policemen in our village. But later, they were transferred to another police outpost.

So we were without security, and we decided to leave the village and head to Taung Pyo
Town. All the villagers including children and elders went to Taung Pyo on foot. Older people
who could not walk were carried. It took 6 hours.

I did not flee that day because I have cows for breeding. I was on a nearby hill and was
watching our village. It was a Friday around 4:00 PM, and a young Bengali from nearby Moju
village, named Gura Myar, and two other unknown Bengalis took two dozens of our cows.
The Bengalis took all the rice we had, there was nothing left. They broke and destroyed
many things in our village, even the monastery was destroyed.

Question: Did they burn or destroy things?

Answer: Not burned, they destroyed everything.

They destroyed houses, cooking pots and everything. They also destroyed the brick wall of
the monastery, glass windows, and even Buddha statues.

24
A family
from Ahtet Pyu Ma Village,
Maungdaw Township, Rakhine State, Myanmar
Interviewed in refugee camp, Maungdaw,
Sept 2017
(North Maungdaw 3)

We are from Ahtet Pyu Ma Village.

Bengali Muslim terrorists came to our village


around 2:00 AM (Aug 25, 2017). They seemed to be in 3 groups, each with so many people.
They shouted "Allahu Akbar" as they attacked.They threw bombs into our village and also
opened fire with guns. Our village security policemen were shooting back. The Bengalis
retreated around 4:00 AM.

Then in the morning around 9:00 AM, we all left the village with the policemen. We were so
fearful leaving our village. We all went to Auk Pyu Ma Rakhine village by boat. And the next
day, around 9:00 AM they burnt our village down.

Before burning, they took all of our things such as rice. We have no place to live now.

They took everything we had and burnt down our village the next day. We have nothing left.

Our villagers survived by fleeing with a small boat. We had also lost our livestock, rice and
paddy. We only have the clothes we were wearing. We have not many people in our village.
Bengalis took our rice and livestock and anything else they wanted, and then they torched
our village.

We did not even have a chance to go and check what had happened to our village. We just
saw our village on fire.

We were trapped in Auk Pyu Ma village for about 15 days because the roads were unsafe to
go to the big town of Maungdaw. Finally, relatives from town arranged a car to get us to the
monastery.

25
Ma Hla Thein
from Mingla Nyunt Village,
Maungdaw Township, Rakhine State, Myanmar
Interviewed in refugee camp in Sittwe, Sept 2017
(North Maungdaw 6)
We were so afraid. Bengalis threatened us and tried to kill
us. We fled our village and stayed in the jungle for 4
nights. We have lost our paddy fields and fishery. We have
been displaced from our homes. Even with security, it is
not possible to live here. This happens again and again.

We cannot go back to our village, it is a remote area of Maungdaw. We can't live there
anymore, even we have security. This kind of violence will keep happening again.

Bengalis have killed our Rakhine people so many times. We have lost everything now.
We don't even have extra clothes.

We had to carry our babies when fleeing. We could not use cars because all the bridges had
been destroyed. Bengalis also threatened us that they will kill us if we return our village.

My husband who is still at the village called me and told me that Bengalis came again to
our village the day before. He said we can't stay anymore and he is coming here to
Sittwe today.

Unknown name
from Ta Man Thar Village
Maungdaw Township, Rakhine State, Myanmar
Interviewed in refugee camp in Sittwe, Sept 2017
(North Maungdaw 7)

I am from Ta Man Thar Village. In 2012, Bengali Muslims


set fire to the Rakhine Buddhist villages. They also had
attacked the Headquarters of the Border Guard Police.

This time they attacked several places. We survived as we fled our village. Now, we hear
our government will accept the Bengalis back in Maungdaw.

How can we live with Bengalis? I don't think it will be possible. If the Government
accepts that the Bengalis can return, we cannot go back to our villages.

If the authorities accept the return of the Bengalis, they must be under the rule of law
and they must protect us with better security. If not, it is not possible for us to live in
our village.

The border fences are not safe with many broken sections. And, the police outposts are too
far away from those gaps to guard effectively. The government should be aware of this.
26
U Hla Maung - Thet ethnicity
from the Tamathar Group, Tet Kyine Nya Village,
Maungdaw Township, Rakhine State, Myanmar
Interviewed in refugee camp in Sittwe, Sept 2017
(Thet 1)
My name is U Hla Maung. I am from the Thet ethnicity.
One night (August 25, 2017) a huge mob of Bengalis
stormed into our village, setting our houses on fire. We
had to unexpectedly run for safety.
We ran to the security outpost in Tamathar Group and when
we arrived there were already people from 4 other villages, protected by the few
security police. Then the Bengalis came and surrounded all of us, shouting loudly that
they were going to attack
the security outpost, and all of us in it.
They had their arms high in the air with their weapons displayed. So, we were so afraid
of being attacked, and some of us ran out the other side to Kyine Chaung Village.
I am old, and my legs are bad, but I just had to run in pain or be slaughtered. As we
were running from the Bengalis two Hindu villagers and one Diagnet villager were
caught and killed.
The Bengalis were burning and destroying all of our homes. The Bengalis were also
burning their own village homes.
If there is no security we can not go back to our villages. If the government can't
provide safety then I'll just die here, because otherwise I will be killed by Bengalis.

Maung Kyaw Thein - Mro ethnicity


from That Kaing Nyar Village,
Maungdaw Township, Rakhine State, Myanmar
Interviewed in refugee camp near That Kaing Nyar,
January 2018
(Mro 1)
I am Maung Kyaw Thein, from That Kaing Nyar Village.

In my village a teacher was killed by Bengali Muslims. I am


afraid to go back to my village, which is deep in the
mountain forest, so now I just stay here, near the road.

This land belongs to the monastery, and we can stay here


no problem. Now our villagers live here temporarily, we don't know what to do. We moved
here just 3 months ago, after the Bengali Muslims attacked our village.

We don't want to go back to our original village - it is too risky to live there, because of the
Bengali Muslims. We can never ever go back there.

27
Hla Win Hlaing
frome Nga Khu Ya Village,
Maungdaw Township, Rakhine State, Myanmar
Interviewed at refugee camp in Rakhine State,
September 2017
(2012 Old Man 5)

In our village, Nga Khu Ya Village [in northern Maungdaw


Township] there was a very large monastery, with a senior
monk. Villagers from 6 or 7 villages surrounding Nga Khu
Ya would come to this monastery for the Buddhist
teachings and festivals. Those villages were Myo Thit,
Taung Pyo, Nga Khu Ya, Taung Byin, Kappa Gone, Ah
Htet Pyu Ma, and some others.

However, in 1942, the monastery was burned and destroyed by the Bengali Muslims, and
they killed the old monk also. Thousands of Bengali Muslims surrounded the monastery and
set it on fire, and threw the monk into the inferno.

We Rakhine Buddhist people fled to Chittagong - in British India (now Bangladesh) to escape
the Muslims, as well as the advancing Japanese. It took 3 days for us to reach Chittagong -
we were led by British soldiers. There were thousands of us fleeing the horror.

We received food and shelter from the Hindu Indian people. On the way there we crossed
the huge Naf river by boat and then stayed in a train where we received food from the
Hindus.

My uncle, who was a soldier since 1912, in the British army, was killed by the Bengali
Muslims. He was killed just one day before the Muslims launched genocidal attacks all
throughout the entire Maungdaw Township. At that time, when we heard that our uncle was
killed we went back to search for his body. After 2 days, we found his body on the riverbank
in Nga Khu Ya Village. And then we learned that in Nant Thar Taung Village, in my cousin’s
brothers and sisters families at least 6 people were killed by Bengalis, also in 1942.

Thousands and thousands of Buddhist people were slaughtered by the Bengali Muslims.

[About 30,000 Buddhists were slaughtered in Maungdaw town alone, hundreds of Buddhist
villages were set ablaze, sending more than 100,000 Buddhists fleeing for their lives]

[British officer C.E. Luca Phillips wrote in 1942, “I have been told the harrowing tales of
cruelty and suffering inflicted on the Arakanese (Buddhist) villages in the Rathaydaung area.
Most of the villages on the west bank of the Mayu River have been burnt and destroyed by
the (Bengali-Muslim) V Force.”]

[He continued, “Hundreds of villagers are said to be hiding in the hills. It will be the Arakanese
who will be ousted from their ancestral land and if they cannot win over (the Muslims) in time,
then there can be no hope of their salvation.”]

28
In 1945, after WW2 ended we came back, under the protection of the British army to reclaim
our villages. In my family there were 8 people - 3 daughters, 3 sons, and our parents. At that
time the British supplied us with one month of food to get situated in our village.

When we arrived in our village it was grim. There were no houses anymore - all the Buddhist
villages had been burned completely by the Muslims, and they were using our land and rice
fields. However, we clearly remembered the exact places that we owned.

Eventually, with the help of the British army, we got our land and our rice fields back, but we
had to start form zero again.

Many of the Rakhine Buddhist people were too afraid to live in their former villages again,
and they moved to Kyauktaw, minbar, and Mrauk-U Townships.

Name Unknown
from a village in Northern Maundaw Township,
Rakhine State, Myanmar
Interviewed in refugee camp, Rakhine State, 2012
(2012 Old Man 4)

Many years ago I saw what the Bengali Muslims can do. A
family in Thay Chaung Village was killed by the Bengali
Muslims, even the children were slaughtered.

The children’s heads were cut off, and even their genitals
were cut off, and the same with the father. The mother, who
was pregnant, was savagely killed, and the Bengalis even cut her nipples off. The took those
genitals and nipples with them - they are so barbaric and cruel.

They will show those things to their villagers, and to their Mawlawis [Imams]. This kind of
thing is like a game to them, their villagers will admire the killers for doing that. And the
Mawlawis, from their mosques, may give those killers ‘prize’ money for being so ‘brave’, and
for doing what Allah instructs.

We are Buddhists. We cannot understand these Muslims, and their thinking at all. It is so
cruel. The family was from Thay Chaung Village.

[Now, interviewer Ma Hla Wai, born and raised in Maungdaw, tells her 1942 story]

My grandfather was very compassionate with Bengali Muslims, and employed them, and
gave them land. He more or less adopted one young Bengali Muslim young man, treating
him as a son. My grandfather love him, and told him, “When you marry you can live here and
build a house on this land.”

29
In 1942, tensions were rising, and then after the British retreated from the approaching
Japanese, the region was left without any authority. The Bengali Muslims who were trained
and armed by the British to fight the Japanese did not fight the Japanese, but turned their
weaponry upon the Buddhists. My grandfather’s land, was in the countryside, not in the large
town of Maungdaw, and he trusted his adopted Bengali son completely, to protect his family.

One day my grandfather was out, and when he came home he was horrified beyond belief
upon seeing the slashed and hacked dead bodies of his wife, parents, siblings, and some of
his children. He yelled for his adopted son - but the son was nowhere to be found.

Three of his young children came out of hiding and told their father what happened -
suddenly the Bengali son attacked and hacked nearly everyone to death - they saw it with
their own eyes. The son chased and tried to kill those 3 young kids, but they were fast and
able to hide in small places.

My grandfather’s sister also survived. He almost caught and killed her - he was chasing her
and slashed her hips and legs with a long sword, but she was lucky to get away.

My grandfather picked up a sword and went out to find his adopted Bengali son - but he
never returned - he was never heard from again. He was certainly killed by the people he had
assisted so many times.

[Even up until this present time, Bengali Muslims are working the land that is still registered in
the names of those Rakhine people that they killed]

———————————————————————————————-

INTERVIEW CATEGORIES

• Southern Maungdaw Township

• Northern Maungdaw Township

• Maungdaw Town and Area

• Southern Buthidaung Township

• Northern Buthidaung Township

• Rathedaung Township

• Hindu victims

• Ethnic Minority victims: Mro, Thet, Diagnet, Khami

• Others: Yangon, Sittwe, Mrauk-U

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A DATABASE IS COMING: Enabling you to find all interviews with these types of parameters:

• Rescued / saved by Army

• Used to get along / employ / work with Bengali Muslims

• Bengalis would not buy, sell, or interact in any way with non-Muslims

• ARSA or RSO terrorist group info

• Terrorist training camps found

• Eyewitnesses to Bengali Muslims burning their own homes and villages

• Interviews by: Hindus, Muslims, Khami, Thet, Diagnet, Mro

• Talk about 1942 Massacre times, or 1950s Mujahid campaign

ALL INTERVIEWS ARE ON VIDEO AT:

https://arakan-reality.smugmug.com/ARAKAN-the-CONFLICT-VIDEOS/Interviews-October-2018/

and:

https://arakan-reality.smugmug.com/ARAKAN-the-CONFLICT-VIDEOS/INTERVIEWS/

and on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXpfh5XdTXbt6mNgNzGjZ7A

Produced by Rick Heizman June 18, 2019

Facebook: Arakan Eagle 7

twitter: @FrankSmitherma1

Photos and Videos of Arakan at: arakan-reality.smugmug.com - go to Conflict videos

Photos and Videos of all of Myanmar at: rickheizman.smugmug.com

Papers at scribd.com/rheizman

Email: rickmusic4@gmail.com burmafriend88@gmail.com

The BEST and most ACCURATE FILM about the CONFLICT in RAKHINE STATE, MYANMAR:
ARAKAN - ANCIENT BUDDHIST KINGDOM, ENDANGERED BY JIHAD - in 4 parts:

https://arakan-reality.smugmug.com/ARAKAN-the-CONFLICT-VIDEOS/MY-EXCELLENT-MOVIE/

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