WCRP

“I work this job because I am poor, not because I enjoy it or have a choice in the matter” said Yu Yu Khaing (alias).
Yu Yu Khaing is 19 years old and she lives in Zin Kyait village, Mon State. She is Burmese and there are three siblings in her family. Yu Yu Khaing works in a food stall since it was originally built. She earns a basic salary of 15,000 Kyat per month working in the food stall. For extra income Yu Yu Khaing sells soft drinks as a waitress and earns another 100,000 Kyat per month on top of her basic income. Yu Yu Khaing spends 150, 000 Kyat to support and feed her family every month and the remaining spending money is between 20-30,000 Kyat.

“I work very long hours from 9am until 12-1am every day. I have more free time during the day at work than at night time I am kept busy with many customers then. As a waitress I welcome the customers in the night time as well as the daytime too. Although the daytime isn’t very busy I don’t dare take a break or rest from work because I’m afraid my boss, A Ba, will give out to me”.

“I do have times when I am not busy working but I never relax or rest properly” said Yu Yu Khaing. “We work a lot at our job and sometimes we have to do things we don’t like or agree with. I have to accept it if I get six customers or two customers in one night” said Yu Yu Khaing. “Everything depends on how much you can sell the soft drinks for. The more soft drinks you sell the more money you make. When a customer comes into the shop, it is his choice which waitress he calls to serve him” said Yu Yu Khaing. “Whenever a customer calls you, you don’t have a choice, you must go to serve them. Sometimes when I’m sleeping, I get disturbed by customers when a waitress/waiter doesn’t show up and I then have to work to cover that person and welcome in the customers instead” said Yu Yu Khaing. “You can sleep with the customers if you want to get paid for it when you are working in the food stall, you can make 5,000 Kyat for one person and you don’t have to go home with them. If you spend the whole night with the customer you can get paid 20,000 Kyat”.

“At the beginning I never thought I would do such a job and only stick to being a waitress. After I agreed to work here I felt like I had given my promise to stay and do whatever work was necessary. Money is the biggest factor in making my decision to do this job” Said Yu Yu Khaing.

There are ten women and four men working in the food stall. The women are paid the same salary but the men get paid a higher salary. One man gets paid 150,000 Kyat, two men working get paid 100,000 Kyat and the third gets paid under 10,000 Kyat. As for the men, they have to rely solely on their basic salary and have no other avenues for making extra income, as well as doing the very physical work. Most of the people employed here are Burmese or more specifically, Chin.

“If you need to make money, there is always the option of sleeping with men but it depends on your personal situation. I don’t want to have to do this job, my family doesn’t know about it and if they found out they would not allow me to continue doing it, however I still need to work this job to earn enough money” Said Yu Yu Khaing.

The front of the stall isn’t well advertised and doesn’t have a huge sign but it has the name written in small letters “Thee Da food stall” and it is located in Mawlamyine, Mon State.The food stall is owned by A Ba and his son. A Ba is over sixty years old. He pays a lot of money to a Major of the local Burmese Army and in return the Major provides him with security and safety in order for his business to operate. “A Ba’s son is in partnership with the Major in certain businesses, acting as wholesalers for different items” said one waiter.

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In Mon State, Ye township, the teachers from No (1) the Basic Education Middle School, often charged money from their students. Not only the students but also their parents are penniless and unable to give teachers money. Face with their own poverty, at the age of about 35 years old, one of the parents said –
"I am so disappointed with the teachers from the school. They always charge money fiendishly. This year is lucky for the people who have Rubber plants because Rubber is a very good price in this year. The people who haven’t got Rubber plants are in difficulty. But they still are demanding money from the children for the school’s festival. Ah, I don’t want my child to attend the school for the next year" she said with dignity.

Recently, the teachers charged the students (5000) Kyat for general expenses. Although some of the students haven’t paid yet, they are continuing to charge money for the festival. One 6 years old student from that school, in Grade 2 said---
"Our teacher said, tomorrow you have to give us 900 Kyat per student, for the festival 700 Kyat, donation for the monks 100 Kyat and the next one is donation for the nun 100 Kyat. The total is 900 Kyat "said the child.

Another student from that school, age 10 years old, in Grade 4 said --
"Before, I just could pay them 5000 Kyat for the general expenses. Now the teachers charge 900 Kyat for the festival on top of that I also want to dance in the festival but the teachers said , the people who want to dance in the festival, have to pay 15000 Kyat, so I must not dance, because my mum can’t give me all that money " said unhappily.

Of now, teachers charging money from the students is a convention of all schools in Ye township.

In the school, they have to pay money to buy accessories the school; there are the water pots, mugs, plates, brooms, vases, filtered water, flowers, and trashes etc. They have to buy snacks that the teachers sell. Even if snack sales are lacking the students have to buy them anyway.

This is happening, not only in No (1) the Basic Education Middle School but also in the other school in Ye township.

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A 9-year-old girl was hit in the spine and killed by shrapnel from an explosion at around 4pm yesterday in Three Pagodas Pass. The explosion was caused by a shell fired from a State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) mortar at Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) rebels which landed on the ground amidst civilians caught between the two forces while attempting to escape from the fighting. A monk at the monastery located near to where the girl was hit explained: “DKBA soldiers were near to the village, and the SPDC were outside the village. The SPDC soldiers are firing on them with very big weapons. The girl was near to the DKBA soldiers. This is how we know that she was hit by the SPDC soldiers and not the DKBA.”
The girl and her mother had spent the previous night at the monastery for safety and were attempting to flee to the mountains to escape the fighting when they found themselves caught in the crossfire between SPDC and DKBA forces.
The girl did not die immediately and though her mother attempted to take her to the Thai border in the hopes of getting medical treatment, the fighting continued for another hour and a half, preventing them from moving. By the time the fighting had eased at around 5.30pm, it was too late.
Fighting broke out between the SPDC and DKBA splinter groups in Myawaddy and Three Pagodas Pass after the elections held on 7 November. The DKBA has enjoyed relatively friendly relations with the SPDC since they broke away from the Karen National Liberation Army, the armed wing of the Karen National Union, in 1994 and signed a ceasefire agreement with the SPDC. After the elections held last Sunday, however, which were widely condemned as a sham designed to maintain military rule with a civilian front, a number of DKBA splinter groups engaged in heavy fighting with government troops and took control of key locations in Myawaddy and Three Pagodas Pass.
Tens of thousands of refugees have flooded across the border into Thailand to escape the fighting.
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September 3, 2010
WCRP, Kawkariet Township, Karen State, Burma: “During this year, the use and sale of Ya Ba [methamphetamine] among the teenage population of Kawkariet Township is increasing”, says a drug user from Kawkariet Township. September 3, 2010
WCRP, Kawkariet Township, Karen State, Burma: “During this year, the use and sale of Ya Ba [methamphetamine] among the teenage population of Kawkariet Township is increasing”, says a drug user from Kawkariet Township.
A Mon villager from Kawbein village, Kawkariet Township, explained that there has been a recent increase in the sale of drugs in his village, and it is now frequented by many students from elsewhere who know that they can purchase drugs there. “Even if they [the teenaged villagers and students] cannot buy drugs here [Kawbein village] on one day, they just go to Mawlamein, because they can buy them there instead. All the drug dealers have good relationships with each other and know where it is possible to buy drugs on any given day.”
“Ya Ba” [methamphetamine], from the Thai meaning “madness drug” are tablets containing a mixture of methamphetamine and caffeine. Very popular since the 1980s in Thailand, they are less common there now following the Thai government’s crackdown on drug trafficking in 2003, but are still prevalent throughout South East Asia and pose a significant health problem. They are typically produced in the form of small pills and are easily transportable.
Use, sale and purchase of recreational drugs is illegal in Burma, although the laws go largely unenforced by the regime and Burma remains one of the world’s worst offenders for drug trafficking. According to one villager who used to use Ya Ba but no longer does, “Even though the government has made selling drugs illegal, they just put up signs around the town, and do nothing else to enforce the law.”
One tablet of Ya Ba [methamphetamine] in Burma costs around 5000 kyat (approximately US$5), which is a significant sum in a country where the average daily salary for a village farmer is between 1000 and 3000 kyat. “The drugs are very expensive, so it is mostly teenagers from rich families” said one villager from Kawbein Village.
The same problem can be found in Three Pagodas Pass, Karin State, claims a doctor who works in a clinic there: “Many men and children who live around here are using Ya Ba [methamphetamine] regularly.” Methamphetamines are highly addictive and dangerous. Prolonged usage can result in fatal kidney and lung disorders, brain damage, liver damage and psychosis, among numerous other physical and mental problems.
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Celebrations for the 65thbirthday of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
Early in the morning on June 19, more than ten girls wearing red Mon longhis (sarongs) ran out of our house and piled into the car waiting outside. After five minutes driving through the village, we arrived in front of the compound where celebrations were underway for Aung San SuuKyi’s 65th birthday.
When we got out of the car and walk through the gates, we can see a house made of black wood. The surrounding area is hilly and green, and over to our left we can see the roof of the monastery above the trees.
In front of the house there were two tables. One table displayed a statement issued by Women’s League of Burma for Daw Suu’s birthday, a sign-in book and posters of Daw Suu. On the other table was a ballot box and postcards with an image of a voting ballot on the front with the options of “Daw Suu’s Real Election” or “Than Shwe’s Military Selection”. On the back of the cards were calls from the organizations of Burma’s democracy movement to international governments. I asked the woman behind the table about the cards and the ballot box. She explained that people can mark the cards and send them to Dr. Surin Pitsuwan, the Secretary-General of ASEAN. A member of the ceremony committee said that, “The objective of the postcards is to communicate our refusal to recognize the legitimacy of the 2010 election or to acknowledge the results. The people of Burma want to draw the attention of the international community in the hopes it will pressure the SPDC into entering discussions with the ethnic minority groups.” I asked a Mon medical nurse about how she marked her card. She said, “I support Daw Suu because she is trying to bring about democracy in Burma and she is a representative of ethnic communities. That is why I voted for her.”
The 2010 election will be neither free or fair. The State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) refuses to release over 2100 political prisoners including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, launches frequent attacks against the ethnic communities, and attempts to force ethnic armies to join the new “Border Guard Force”. The regime has not reviewed the 2008 constitution, widely recognized to be undemocratic, and it has not engaged in a dialogue with the organizations of the democracy movement or the ethnic minorities. Rather than providing an opportunity for the Burma’s citizens to make their voice heard, the 2010 elections will merely perpetuate and consolidate the military’s stranglehold on the nation and ensure the continued repression of its people.
On March 8 this year, the military government passed new election laws. The groups who want to establish and register as a party must endorse the 2008 constitution. The constitution ensures that the armed forces will automatically hold 25% of the seats in the House of Representatives and the Senate, and guarantees 33% of the seats in all state or division parliaments for the armed forces. As such, many ethnic groups refuse to endorse the constitution and are barred from establishing or registering as a party in the 2010 elections, thus leaving many ethnic minorities without a chance for representation.
Standing on the stage beneath the banner, the committee member spoke to the more than seventy people from New Mon State Party and other border organizations:
Despite the obstacles Daw Suu must overcome as a woman in a conservative society, she never gives up fighting for freedom for the Burmese people under military rule. She has given up her own freedom for all the people of Burma. She does not share our ethnicity, but she still represents ethnic minorities in the struggle for democracy for our country. That is why we honor her and celebrate her birthday.
Committee members gave every person a candle and then a communal prayer was said for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s long life and health. The official celebrations ended with students who are about to graduate from high school cutting the birthday cake. As is traditional in Mon society, the celebration committee provided lunch for everyone who attended. As I opened my lunch box, the smell of delicious chicken curry and rice came wafting out. Sitting and eating this meal with my friends, I was reminded of many times spent eating spicy Mon Curry in the rice paddy with my family in Burma.
During lunch, I chatted with some students about the celebration. One young man said that he was inspired by Daw Aung San Su Kyi: “I have learnt a lot today. I didn’t know so much about Daw Suu before, but now I do and I’m so happy and proud of her work for the people of Burma.” A Mon girl chimed in agreeing, “She is a brave woman. We should try to be more like her, and to encourage others to be like her.”
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s 65th birthday was celebrated not just along the border, but in other towns and cities in Thailand and all around the world. While all these people celebrated her birthday with parties and celebrations, Daw Suu herself spent her 65th birthday under house arrest. The most recent term of her house arrest was supposed to end on May 27, 2009. Despite this, however, her sentence was unlawfully extended after more false charges were brought regarding the American man who swam across Lake Inya to arrive at her compound uninvited. After a short period of detention at the notorious Insein prison, she was once again placed under house arrest and there she remains for an indefinite period, until the military regime sees fit to grant her freedom.
The chairman of the celebration committee praised Daw Aung San Suu Kyi for her commitment to the goals of freedom and democracy: “Daw Suu and the National League for Democracy decided to boycott the 2010 elections, because they will not be free or fair. We support Daw Suu’s decision and we have hope and faith that she will continue to fight for the people of Burma and against our military oppressors.”
At the end of the day, after the celebrations were over, I got to thinking about Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the example she sets. I think that Mon women should try to be more like Daw Suu, to bring about freedom for the Mon people through bravery and sacrifice. I hope that Daw Suu can spend her 66th birthday among friends and relatives. I hope she can spend it free.

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WCRP: More children in Mon State are getting sick this year than last year and hospitals are struggling to keep up. The American Specialist Children’s Hospital in Mawlamyine was full in May. Since June, patients have been sharing beds and sleeping on the floor. The hospital, which mainly treats children from the Thanphyuzayart area, has two hundred and fifteen beds. Children are sleeping three to a bed and patients continue to arrive. “Even though the hospital has a lot of beds, there aren’t enough for my child and he has to sleep on the floor,” said one patient’s mother. “Last month there were over seven hundred patients in the children’s hospital. This month that number has increased to over one thousand,” said a nurse from the Children’s Hospital. Neighbors living near to the hospital have seen many new children arrive daily, but very few leave.

The nurse added, “During the months of June and July more than twenty children have died from influenza and other contagious diseases.” This month is expected to be worse for all patients, as influenza and other contagious diseases are spreading quickly among the children in the overcrowded hospital.

Patients who need blood transfusions told WCRP’s field reporter that the hospital’s supply of blood is very low and that blood had to be obtained from Mawlamyine Hospital.

It is not only patients in Mawlamyine that are suffering due to overcrowded hospitals. Myawaddy and Kawkareik Hospitals in Karen State have also reported that they do not have enough beds to keep up with the influx of patients. With illness expected to increase as the rainy season continues, there does not look to be an end to this problem in the near future.
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“I don’t want to take a lot of medicine. It is very boring. I just want to be the same as the other children. They don’t have to take medicine like me,” said Mi Saw, a Mon child who lives in the Safe House run by the Thailand-Burma Border Consortium (TBBC), near Huay Malai in Kanchnaburi province, Thailand.
Mi Saw* is 13-years-old and HIV positive. She lived in Halockanee, an Internally Displaced Person’s (IDP) resettlement site, on the Burmese side of the Thai-Burma border with her mother and father before moving to the Safe House. Her parents were diagnosed with AIDS when she was 5-years-old. Her mother died first and Mi Saw was left to care for her ailing fatherHIV child hopes for the future
July 16, 2010
Chan Chan, WCRP
“I don’t want to take a lot of medicine. It is very boring. I just want to be the same as the other children. They don’t have to take medicine like me,” said Mi Saw, a Mon child who lives in the Safe House run by the Thailand-Burma Border Consortium (TBBC), near Huay Malai in Kanchnaburi province, Thailand.
Mi Saw* is 13-years-old and HIV positive. She lived in Halockanee, an Internally Displaced Person’s (IDP) resettlement site, on the Burmese side of the Thai-Burma border with her mother and father before moving to the Safe House. Her parents were diagnosed with AIDS when she was 5-years-old. Her mother died first and Mi Saw was left to care for her ailing father. She is the only daughter in her family and when her father died, she had no close relatives to live with. The teacher from her village told her about the Safe House and she arrived there in February 2006.
“I am in grade 3 at the Thai-Christian School near the Safe house,” said Mi Saw. “When I arrived here I was crying, but now I am happy to stay here with my friends. I can speak 3 languages: Burmese, Thai and Karen. I go to school from 8am to 4pm and when I finish, I go to my room to do my homework and play with my friends. When I have free time, I make Karen bags and Karen T-shirts to help the Safe House.”
Mi Saw goes to the Kwai River Christian hospital in Sangkhlaburi, Kanchanaburi Province, monthly, there she is given the medicine she needs to control the HIV. She has to take pills twice a day, at 7 in the morning and 7 in the evening. The white pills are very large and they stick in her throat. She does not like to take them, but she knows they help her. When she first arrived at the safe house, she had lesions all over her body. These have now gone thanks to the medicine.
Ma Joe Phyu, a 49-year-old Karen woman from Kyain Seikgyi Township, Karen State, is responsible for the children who live at the Safe House:
“I am their teacher. My duty is to care for 30 children including 3 children who are HIV positive. I teach them on the weekends, prepare food, and make sure they are healthy … I also teach them Burmese, English, Karen, and Mathematics. We started the children’s Safe House program in 2005 with eight children, we now have 30. I take care of them as if they were my own children. I always tell them to try hard at school because education is so important for their future. I can tell them to try hard many times, but it is up to them. If they work hard they’ll have a chance to attend high school and university. If they study hard and succeed in school their futures will be better.”
TBBC provides the medicine for the children at the Safe House and God’s Kids Christian organization provides the funds for their education, food and clothes.
In the past, most of the HIV/AIDS patients that came to the Safe House clinic were men, but now the clinic is admitting more women. Daw Paw Lu Lu, the coordinator and co-founder of the Safe House, believes this increase is due to the rise in women migrating to and working in Thailand.
“Some men don’t control themselves and they contract HIV, and they give it to their wives who then pass it on to their children. We feel for the innocent children who are born with HIV. It is not good for their future. In 2009, a 5-year-old child and a 2-year-old child arrived to the Safe House after both their parents died from HIV/AIDS. The children had also contracted HIV from the parents. They now go to the hospital every month. The 5-year-old child is in grade one at the Thai-Christian school. There has been an increase in children being admitted who have contracted HIV/AIDS from their parents” Said Daw Paw Lu Lu.
In her room, Mi Saw keeps a photo of her old teacher from her village in Halockhanee by her bed. She looks at the photo and talks about her teacher often.
“Now I am in grade three. When I grow up I want to be a teacher. This is my wish. I would like to teach the children like me who have no parents and I would like to help those children like my teacher helped me.”
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