A witness from Sittwe said, "Most beggars are old women and children, and they are roaming from one house to another to ask for leftover rice."

In Sittwe, the capital of Arakan State, most ordinary people, including day laborers, have been facing hunger recently as rice prices are increasing by the day. This trouble is made worse by the fact that most day laborers are unable to find work and have no income.

"I have never seen so many beggars on the streets of Sittwe before, but now everywhere we can see the beggars with ruined plates asked for leftover food," the witness said.

A housewife from Sittwe said, "Some Muslim women near my ward are going outside their homes to look for work because they are facing hunger. Some Muslim women have asked to serve as housemaids in my home."

At the same time that food prices are increasing, the unemployment rate is increasing in Sittwe. The number of people working as rickshaw pullers to earn money has also increased in the city.

According to a local source, the number of rickshaws and other vehicles for hire in Sittwe is far greater than the number of actual travelers.

The witness said, "You can see many rickshaw pullers at the Sittwe inland water jetty when the Buthidaung-Sittwe ferry ship harbors there in the evenings. There are only around 100 passengers on the ferry, but there are over 200 rickshaw pullers looking for customers."

The competition has led to incidents of rickshaw pullers assaulting each other in their effort to win customers coming off the ferry ships harbored at the jetty.

Udatta Bikash

Bangladesh was born experiencing refugeehood. During our liberation war in 1971, an estimated 10 million people (one out of every seven of that time population) took refuge in neighbouring India. Bangladesh has been hosting thousands of Rohingya, a Muslim ethnic minority group from the northern Rakhine state of Myanmar as refugees for last 17 years.

Following the latest persecution generated by the military ruler in Myanmar during 1991-92, thousands of Rohingyas took refuge in neighbouring Bangladesh and other countries. About 258,000 Rohingyas were registered by the Government of Bangladesh and granted refugee status through an executive order.

In addition to that, thousands of Rohingyas continue to arrive here and mix with local population over the years. Some estimates suggest that there are now about 300,000 nationals of Myanmar (mostly Rohingyas) outside the official camps who are 'illegally' staying in the Cox's Bazaar, Bandarban and Chittagong districts. A section of them is active in all sorts of illegal activities. Apart from that an estimated 30