Wednesday, November 10, 2010
9 year old girl killed during fighting at Three Pagodas Pass
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.
Read more...
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.
Read more...
Friday, September 10, 2010
Sale and use of Ya Ba among teenagers increasing in 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. 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.
Read more...
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.
Read more...
Thursday, August 19, 2010
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.
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.
Read more...
Friday, July 30, 2010
American Specialist Children’s Hospital in Mawlamyine Overflowing with Patients
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.
Read more...
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.
Read more...
Sunday, July 25, 2010
HIV child hopes for the future
“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.”
Read more...
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.”
Read more...
Friday, July 2, 2010
10 Standard students forced to study through the night
10 standard students required to pay 5000 kyat (4.95 USD) per month to attend an all night study program in Khaw-Zar sub-township, Mon State. The fee covers the costs of using the school after normal hours, petrol for the generator, and materials. Regular school hours are from 9am to 3pm and the compulsory program is from 6pm to 6am, Monday thru Friday. Students return home on the weekends and during break periods.
According to local sources, teachers from the Basic Education High School independently undertook the program two years ago in hopes of improving test scores. Last year only 3 of the 22, 10 standard students passed the March final exam, which helps determines future college placements.
Local sources told WCRP that last year, Khaw-zar Sub-township Peace and Development Council Chairman, Kyaw Moe, provided a couple rooms in the USDA office for the night study program. Additionally he supplied State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) soldiers, petrol for the building’s generator, and extra electricity. No support, financial or material, was provided for the program this year.
Financial support for this year’s program may have been withheld because last year some of the 10 standard students had problems with the patrolling SPDC soldiers.
Students reported that while they were sleeping soldiers threw stones through open windows and on one occasion entered their sleeping quarters. This year an ongoing rotation of 3 parents stay with the students during the night study program.
In neighboring Ye Town, 10 standard students from Basic Education High School 1 have the option of attending a night study program, but it is not required. “I only attended the program for one day … now I study at home. I think it is better [to study at home] because students were too talkative at the night study program,” said a student from Ye town.
As WCRP, Independent Mon News Agency (IMNA) and various other news organizations have reported, extended school hours, to help students prepare for 10 standard final exams, have been mandate in several areas throughout southern Burma.
Read more...
According to local sources, teachers from the Basic Education High School independently undertook the program two years ago in hopes of improving test scores. Last year only 3 of the 22, 10 standard students passed the March final exam, which helps determines future college placements.
Local sources told WCRP that last year, Khaw-zar Sub-township Peace and Development Council Chairman, Kyaw Moe, provided a couple rooms in the USDA office for the night study program. Additionally he supplied State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) soldiers, petrol for the building’s generator, and extra electricity. No support, financial or material, was provided for the program this year.
Financial support for this year’s program may have been withheld because last year some of the 10 standard students had problems with the patrolling SPDC soldiers.
Students reported that while they were sleeping soldiers threw stones through open windows and on one occasion entered their sleeping quarters. This year an ongoing rotation of 3 parents stay with the students during the night study program.
In neighboring Ye Town, 10 standard students from Basic Education High School 1 have the option of attending a night study program, but it is not required. “I only attended the program for one day … now I study at home. I think it is better [to study at home] because students were too talkative at the night study program,” said a student from Ye town.
As WCRP, Independent Mon News Agency (IMNA) and various other news organizations have reported, extended school hours, to help students prepare for 10 standard final exams, have been mandate in several areas throughout southern Burma.
Read more...
The child’s life, hopeless in the future
Early in the morning I was awoken by the chickens beautiful singing. I opened my eyes and looked around my room. Through the window I could see the mist falling to the earth in small droplets and my neighbors cooking rice or praying to the monks. I stood up and headed to the bathroom for a shower. After, I met a friend who was accompanying me to Bleh-donephai, a resettlement site near the Thai-Burma border. My friend was wearing two jackets to protect her from the cold, but she said she could still feel the cool air through her layers.
I felt the air and tried to imagine how people without warm clothes were able to survive. My friend and I chatted as we waited for the car to pick us for our trip. I could not see clearly down the road because of the mist.
The journey took a couple of hours and our first stop was in a small Karen village in Huay malia. I noticed that most of the houses were made of wood and bamboo. Near each house was a small patch of vegetables where Roselle and sweet potato plants were growing. We looked around the village for an hour or so and then continued our trip.
Half an hour later we arrived at the small Mon village of Bleh-donephai. The 100 or so houses in the village are in a New Mon State Party (NMSP) controlled area. The houses were built in the same style as the previous village only with bamboo and thatch grass instead.
As I walked through the village I noticed that their drinking water came from two rivers that flowed through the middle and end of the town. A wooden bridge spans across the middle river, connecting either side of town and mountains encompass the landscape.
The villagers’ main sources of income are rice cultivation along the hillside and hunting. Most villagers hunt boars, frogs, rats, deer, and monkeys.
Jonda Non, a 15-year-old Mon girl, lives in Bleh-donephai. She shares a small hut with her mother, 2 sisters (3-months-old and 6-years-old) and her 9-year-old brother. Her father is a hunter and normally sleeps in the forest.
Sadly, Jonda Non has never tasted meat and her father’s inconsistent hunting is barely enough to support the family. “When I was 5-years-old, my father fell and rolled down a mountain. He broke his leg and he could not work [hunt] for a while. My family decided to sell our property to find another job in a different village. We walked for three days to get to this new village Bleh-donephai and decided to live here.
I want to go back to my old village to see my relatives, but we have no money or time to visit them,” said Jonda Non.
Jonda Non’s hut is at the end of the village near the river. Large grass leaves cover the roof of her small abode while the floor and structure are made of bamboo, there are no doors. Jonda Non and her family moved into the one room hut a couple of months ago after another family had abandoned it.
As she invited my friend and I inside I noticed pots and blankets divided the hut into cooking and sleeping areas. In the sleeping area there was one blanket, two pillows and a small box. The kitchen consisted of two pots -one for washing, one for cleaning- and a water bucket. I noticed several ants floating in the washing pot.
As I interviewed Jonda Non, her 3-month-old baby sister cried in her arms. Their mother had not yet returned from work and there was no food in the house to eat. In hopes of cooing the baby, Jonda Non sent her 6-year-old sister to borrow sugar from the local shop, but 10 minutes later the child returned empty handed; the shop owner had refused to give her the sugar on credit.
Jonda Non filled a bottle with warm water and nursed the baby anyway. As the baby fed, Jonda Non explained to me how she tries to balance school and family responsibilities.
“I am in 3rd standard at Bleh-donephai Mon National Elementary School. I want to continue my education till I graduate, but my family is so poor, I always have to miss school to help earn money for food. Often, I have to go to the forest with my mother during school to pick and sell grass leaves so we can buy food. Before I go to school, I have to cook, help with my sisters and wash clothes.
I’m always late to school because I have to do all of the housework. Sometime my teacher beats me with a small bamboo rod because of my constant tardiness.” Said Jonda Non. Normally students in 3rd standard are 8-years-old, but in Bleh-donephai most children have to work, help their family and attend school. Because of these other obligations, students, like Jonda Non, often fall behind in their studies and find it difficult to consistently attend school and keep up with their peer group.
Bleh-donephai’s elementary school is in the middle of the village and is surrounded by trees and a playground. On Mondays and Fridays all students and teachers wear Mon ethnic clothes to school.
Jonda Non cannot afford nor has ever owned Mon clothes. Consequently every Monday and Friday the students tease her, “don’t sit with us, you are so dirty. If you want to sit with us, you should wear Mon clothes like us.” She tells them, “I don’t’ have any Mon clothes to wear,” but they continue the harassment every week. She explained to me, “I have never asked my mother to buy Mon clothes for me. I know she has no extra money.”
When Jonda Non was in 2nd standard she was awarded a Burmese sarong for being the top student in her class. Unfortunately at that time, her family had no money for food and both her parents were sick. Though she adored the sarong, she secretly sold it to buy food for her family.
Jonda will finish 3rd standard this March and the school in Bleh-donephai only offers classes up to 4th standard. The middle school is in a neighboring village a half hour’s walk away. “I am not sure what to do about the up coming year. I have to choose between continuing my education and helping my family. I cannot do both, and I am worried about my future. Should I continue to help my family or my schooling?” said Jonda Non as she tried to hide her tears from her mother.
“I feel so bad for my child. I want her to study like other children. Now my children have no chance to study and they have to work like adults. They do not have enough food like other children because I cannot properly support them,” said Jonda Non mother.
We finished talking around 4:00pm and as my friend I headed to the car the sun was setting into the mountains. When I arrived home, I turned on the lights and ate dinner with my friend. Before I fell asleep, I remembered what Jonda Non said “I would like to be a doctor because I want to treat poor people in villages that do not have health care. I think my dream will never come true because of my family’s financial situation.”
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I felt the air and tried to imagine how people without warm clothes were able to survive. My friend and I chatted as we waited for the car to pick us for our trip. I could not see clearly down the road because of the mist.
The journey took a couple of hours and our first stop was in a small Karen village in Huay malia. I noticed that most of the houses were made of wood and bamboo. Near each house was a small patch of vegetables where Roselle and sweet potato plants were growing. We looked around the village for an hour or so and then continued our trip.
Half an hour later we arrived at the small Mon village of Bleh-donephai. The 100 or so houses in the village are in a New Mon State Party (NMSP) controlled area. The houses were built in the same style as the previous village only with bamboo and thatch grass instead.
As I walked through the village I noticed that their drinking water came from two rivers that flowed through the middle and end of the town. A wooden bridge spans across the middle river, connecting either side of town and mountains encompass the landscape.
The villagers’ main sources of income are rice cultivation along the hillside and hunting. Most villagers hunt boars, frogs, rats, deer, and monkeys.
Jonda Non, a 15-year-old Mon girl, lives in Bleh-donephai. She shares a small hut with her mother, 2 sisters (3-months-old and 6-years-old) and her 9-year-old brother. Her father is a hunter and normally sleeps in the forest.
Sadly, Jonda Non has never tasted meat and her father’s inconsistent hunting is barely enough to support the family. “When I was 5-years-old, my father fell and rolled down a mountain. He broke his leg and he could not work [hunt] for a while. My family decided to sell our property to find another job in a different village. We walked for three days to get to this new village Bleh-donephai and decided to live here.
I want to go back to my old village to see my relatives, but we have no money or time to visit them,” said Jonda Non.
Jonda Non’s hut is at the end of the village near the river. Large grass leaves cover the roof of her small abode while the floor and structure are made of bamboo, there are no doors. Jonda Non and her family moved into the one room hut a couple of months ago after another family had abandoned it.
As she invited my friend and I inside I noticed pots and blankets divided the hut into cooking and sleeping areas. In the sleeping area there was one blanket, two pillows and a small box. The kitchen consisted of two pots -one for washing, one for cleaning- and a water bucket. I noticed several ants floating in the washing pot.
As I interviewed Jonda Non, her 3-month-old baby sister cried in her arms. Their mother had not yet returned from work and there was no food in the house to eat. In hopes of cooing the baby, Jonda Non sent her 6-year-old sister to borrow sugar from the local shop, but 10 minutes later the child returned empty handed; the shop owner had refused to give her the sugar on credit.
Jonda Non filled a bottle with warm water and nursed the baby anyway. As the baby fed, Jonda Non explained to me how she tries to balance school and family responsibilities.
“I am in 3rd standard at Bleh-donephai Mon National Elementary School. I want to continue my education till I graduate, but my family is so poor, I always have to miss school to help earn money for food. Often, I have to go to the forest with my mother during school to pick and sell grass leaves so we can buy food. Before I go to school, I have to cook, help with my sisters and wash clothes.
I’m always late to school because I have to do all of the housework. Sometime my teacher beats me with a small bamboo rod because of my constant tardiness.” Said Jonda Non. Normally students in 3rd standard are 8-years-old, but in Bleh-donephai most children have to work, help their family and attend school. Because of these other obligations, students, like Jonda Non, often fall behind in their studies and find it difficult to consistently attend school and keep up with their peer group.
Bleh-donephai’s elementary school is in the middle of the village and is surrounded by trees and a playground. On Mondays and Fridays all students and teachers wear Mon ethnic clothes to school.
Jonda Non cannot afford nor has ever owned Mon clothes. Consequently every Monday and Friday the students tease her, “don’t sit with us, you are so dirty. If you want to sit with us, you should wear Mon clothes like us.” She tells them, “I don’t’ have any Mon clothes to wear,” but they continue the harassment every week. She explained to me, “I have never asked my mother to buy Mon clothes for me. I know she has no extra money.”
When Jonda Non was in 2nd standard she was awarded a Burmese sarong for being the top student in her class. Unfortunately at that time, her family had no money for food and both her parents were sick. Though she adored the sarong, she secretly sold it to buy food for her family.
Jonda will finish 3rd standard this March and the school in Bleh-donephai only offers classes up to 4th standard. The middle school is in a neighboring village a half hour’s walk away. “I am not sure what to do about the up coming year. I have to choose between continuing my education and helping my family. I cannot do both, and I am worried about my future. Should I continue to help my family or my schooling?” said Jonda Non as she tried to hide her tears from her mother.
“I feel so bad for my child. I want her to study like other children. Now my children have no chance to study and they have to work like adults. They do not have enough food like other children because I cannot properly support them,” said Jonda Non mother.
We finished talking around 4:00pm and as my friend I headed to the car the sun was setting into the mountains. When I arrived home, I turned on the lights and ate dinner with my friend. Before I fell asleep, I remembered what Jonda Non said “I would like to be a doctor because I want to treat poor people in villages that do not have health care. I think my dream will never come true because of my family’s financial situation.”
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