From Houston to Bangladesh, concerns about floods are rising as quickly as their water levels. Myanmar, too, is not spared from this slippery threat. When monsoon approaches, the Ayeyarwaddy river — the lifeline of Myanmar — can turn into the residents’ worst enemy. This year alone, 100,000 people were displaced by floods and images of a sinking Buddhist pagoda — caused by the erosion of the riverbank — went viral on social media. In one village near Magwe, residents have learned to live with the water — or rather, to live on the water. “When I was young, we had many plots of land. When the river took our village, we had to move, reminiscences 68-year-old U Kyi Lay. Few here remember U Kyi Lay’s village, Khunnanit Eain Tan. The place he now lives in is known as “Ngwe Taung Kyun”. A little village on the bank of the Ayeyarwaddy River, Ngwe Taung Kyun, is home to 300 people. All arable land around Khunnanit Eain Tan have been swallowed by the erosion of the Ayeyarwaddy between 1961 and 1972, a survey conducted by the Ayeyarwaddy West Development Organisation shows. Consequently, residents moved or adapted. We had to switch to fishery, says U Kyi Lay. Residents’ occupations changed with the environment, and so did their habitation. Many now live on floating houses — with plastic and bamboo rooks. Ma Aye Myint Khine, is one of them. A hanging longyi flows in the wind at the front of her embarcation, a charcoal oven and some kitchen wares indicates that she is cooking on board. Pillows and blankets are stacked inside under the roof where they can stay dry. All floating houses look pretty much the same. Some have the luxury of a portable solar panel gear. Ma Aye Myint Khine says they are not the only inhabitants: “Sometimes, snakes and other creatures would crawl inside the boat. We have to be more careful when the water level is high.” Caught between a rock and a wet place Out of the 350 people living in Ngwe Taung Kyun, five are disabled and seven are over 70. With no clinics in the vicinity, they do not receive the best of care. The children have a chance to study at Nan Taw Kone village, approximately 2 miles away. But most are afraid of riding motorbikes. They are more comfortable on the boats they were born on and adopt fishermen’s lives early on. According to the Ayeyarwaddy West Development Organisation, only one student passed his final matriculation examinations last year. There are no religious sites and no cemeteries where residents can give their loved ones a decent sepulture. One little habitation with a beamer calls itself a cinema, but that’s about it for their social life. “We notify the government [about the living conditions]. But they did not fix a place for them to live,” says U That Sin, the director of Ayeyarwaddy West Development Organisation. Worse still, the rules issued by the Department of Fisheries prevent them from settling on the nearby beaches where fish spawn. Further inland, the owner of large sesame plantation wouldn’t let them settle. “They told us the sesame fields would be destroyed, explains Ko Kyaw, a resident of Ngwe Taung Kyun. So, we mostly rely on the boats, he adds. A Burmese atlantide For some living on firm ground, Ngwe Taung Kyun does not even exist. “As far as I know, they are fishermen and most of the time they spend their times in the water. But there is no village called Ngwe Taung Kyun, says U Kyaw Swan Yay, the regional Hluttaw representative from Minbu township in which Ngwe Taung Kyun is situated.We will ask officials to help them,” he adds. Recently, a dream keeps residents of Ngwe Thaun Kyun hoping at night. They have heard that a large farmland, where some of them have found temporary shelter during monsoon season, will be sold. They say the plot is large enough to accommodate all of them. But that dream is still a long way off. The shelter in question is not free and rent is high during the rainy season. According to one estimate, the whole land will be sold for about K30 million. “We cannot buy this farmland even if we collect money from everyone. Instead, we buy lottery tickets,” says one resident. While luck is not assured, further erosion of the Ayeyarwaddy River is. The residents of Ngwe Thaun Kyun know the odds are against them, but they keep on hoping. If one of them had a lucky ticket, he’ll help the others. We are all in the same boat, one sights.