When I visited in 2017, Gongshe Matbor of Chhayanipara was still alive. Chhayanipara is a small, ancient Rakhine village in Tiakhali union of Kalapara, Patuakhali. In the Rakhine language, the village was named Khraoradan. ‘Khra’ means six, ‘ra’ means hundred. Because the land there was priced Tk 600, it was named ‘Khraoradan Rowra’, which later became Chhayanipara.

Around 1760, Pruwan and Poum Matbor founded the village. At their time, 65 Rakhine families lived in the neighborhood. When I visited in March 2017, only 10 families remained.

No one in the neighborhood was in good spirits. Under the pressure of eviction threats, frustration and uncertainty due to the land acquisition for the Payra Port, the entire village seemed crushed.