Closer to Death Than Life: Voices from Rohingya in Buthidaung

Arakan Now, 10 May 2025

Arakan Now recently spoke with three Rohingya individuals from different parts of Buthidaung Township—one from the main town and two others from the north and south. What they shared was deeply distressing.

“Our lives feel like hell,” said one of them.

Trapped in worsening conditions, these people face a daily struggle for survival. They have no work, no income, and endure constant persecution and forced labor. Freedom of movement has almost vanished. Every road, village, and path is under tight restriction.

A resident from northern Buthidaung said, “We are treated like prisoners in our own land. We wake up not knowing how we will survive the day.”

Hunger is a constant threat. Children cry from hunger. Families go to bed without food. The fear of arrest, torture, and abuse is a daily reality.

The Rohingya are urgently calling for humanitarian aid and global attention. They plead for the world not to look away, not to wait until it is too late.

“We are close to death,” said a resident from the southern part of the township.

This is not just a crisis. It is a slow, painful destruction of a people.