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KHRG #98-08 Part 6 of 6: Pa'an dist
- Subject: KHRG #98-08 Part 6 of 6: Pa'an dist
- From: khrg@xxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 01 Dec 1998 02:44:00
Subject: KHRG #98-08 Part 6 of 6: Pa'an district
UNCERTAINTY, FEAR AND FLIGHT
The Current Human Rights Situation in Eastern Pa'an District
An Independent Report by the Karen Human Rights Group
November 18, 1998 / KHRG #98-08
*** PART 6 OF 6 - SEE PREVIOUS POSTINGS FOR OTHER PARTS OF THIS REPORT ***
[Some details omitted or replaced by 'xxxx' for Internet distribution.]
__________________________________________________________________________
Flight
"I think they will come. We're afraid right now. If they come we will
run away, because we are afraid of them. If the DKBA come we'll run
away from them too. I'm afraid of the DKBA too. We're afraid of them
even more than the Burmese, because they know everything about us." -
"Pu Ler Doh" (M, 50), xxxx village, northeast Pa'an District (Interview
#28, 4/98)
In August 1998 a group of several hundred Karen refugees from
southeastern Pa'an district crossed into Thailand and camped out on a
riverbank. Later in August, a group of about 1,500 more refugees crossed
about 80 kilometres further north, fleeing the commencement of forced
relocations in the eastern Dawna Range. In September, more than 1,600
additional refugees crossed from Tee K'Haw, Wah Mi Klah, B'Nweh Pu,
Po Paw Lay, Meh Lah Ah Hta, Meh Lah Ah Kee, Meh Keh, Klay Po Kloh,
Po Ti Pwa, Ma Oh Pu, and Tha Pwih Hser villages in the same area after
SPDC troops destroyed some of their villages in the eastern Dawna. These
refugees are just part of the total number of villagers affected, many of
whom fled into the hills rather than head for Thailand, either because the
route to Thailand was blocked by troops or landmines, because they feared
the abuses of refugees by Thai authorities which Karen villagers have all
heard about, because they feared the SPDC/DKBA attacks on the refugee
camps, or simply because they will do almost anything to stay close to
their land.
"Whenever they heard that the KNLA had put landmines anywhere or
when they thought there would be fighting, they called the women to go
in front of them. ? The last time they did that, some villagers from
Sgaw Ko were killed. Many people died the last time they were forced to
be porters. The Burmese also shot dead my uncle and Pa Mu Dah. And
when Pa Set Lay ran to escape from the Burmese soldiers, he stepped on
a landmine and died. His wife wants to flee and come here, but she
can't because she's pregnant, she has young children, and her father is
blind. If they come they have to pass right beside the Burmese camp
and it's very difficult. Many people want to flee the village but they
can't
because they have young children. When I came here it was very
difficult. I ran with my baby until I couldn't breathe." - "Naw Lah Say"
(F, 25), Taw Oak village, southern Pa'an district, just after arrival in
Thailand (Interview #12, 8/98)
Even the refugees who crossed in large groups into Thailand make up only
part of the total number who crossed. Others interviewed by KHRG had
tried to cross individually but were driven back at gunpoint by Thai
troops;
some slipped into the refugee camps unofficially, and became part of the
increasing population of unregistered refugees in the camps; and others
have most likely headed for the border towns or Bangkok to become part
of the illegal labour force. Regardless of where they have ended up, the
vast majority of them have fled because there was no other choice left
open to them. Otherwise they would never give up their homes and fields.
In the villages of the southeast, many of those who can still find a way to
meet all the demands of the Armies and survive are remaining, though
more will likely continue to flee. Further north in the eastern Dawna, no
one remains in Meh Keh, Tha Pwih Hser, Meh Lah Ah and Po Ti Pwa
villages because they have been completely destroyed, though there are
likely some villagers still hiding in the forests nearby. In the villages
of
the area which have not been completely destroyed, such as Wah Mi Klah
and Tee K'Haw, most villagers have fled but they report that some of their
elderly and handicapped relatives still remain behind. This often happens
when the SPDC wipes out villages, and those left behind sometimes die of
starvation or disease.
"Some villagers are still in the village. They are all grandmothers and
grandfathers, and there are also 2 blind people. The Burmese didn't do
anything to them. There are still people in 7 houses of the village. ?
We fled and stayed in Ka Ner Ko, at the source of the river. At that time
my wife was sick. The Burmese asked the villagers to call us back. They
came to us and said the Burmese weren't in the village any longer.
When they came to call us, the Burmese followed them and waited for us
on the path. When I headed back with my bag it was night, and there
was a full moon. They caught us and took all of our torches, and we
had to go with them in the dark. Three men were arrested with me. We
couldn't see the way. Then we arrived near our homes. ? When I was
arrested they were also arresting many other villagers, men and women.
They said 'Don't run', that if we ran they would burn our houses. We
didn't care whether they burned our houses, we just planned to run
whenever they weren't watching us anymore. ? I started boiling water
for my wife. The Burmese came once or twice to demand that I go as a
porter. When they went away from my house, I thought about how if
they forced me to go portering I wouldn't know how long I'd have to
carry their things. So after they were gone, I jumped down from the
house and fled from the village in the night. I didn't dare go back
home." - Man from Wah Mi Klah village, northern Pa'an district
(Interview #4, 9/98)
Current Thai policy toward refugees is to deny asylum to all arrivals
except those deemed to be "fleeing from fighting", and even they are only
to be given shelter until the immediate fighting stops. Some of those who
have crossed the border in small groups have been forced back at gunpoint
by Thai troops, while others have slipped into the refugee camps. The
largest groups of refugees arriving in August and September were told that
they would have to enter Beh Klaw refugee camp or go back to Burma.
Most of the group from the southeast are still camped along the border
outside any refugee camp, still hoping to go back to harvest. Of the over
3,000 refugees from the destroyed villages further north in the Dawna,
only 4 families chose to go to the camp. The others crossed back to the
other side of the river into Burma, determined to try to get their harvest
despite the destruction of their villages and the risk of attack by SPDC
troops. Given the risk involved in going to their fields when they could
be
shot and the fact that their crops had been left untended for more than a
month, it is unlikely that they will be able to salvage much of a crop even
if they can get to their fields; however, their decision to attempt it
shows
the depth of their commitment to their land. They would never become
refugees given any other possibility. Even so, given the current
circumstances in eastern Pa'an district it is only likely that many more
people will have to flee over the coming months of the dry season.
"When I fled the first time they ordered me to come back and said that if
I didn't go back they would look for me, capture me and kill me. I didn't
care what they said, I kept fleeing. I tried to go to Beh Klaw [refugee
camp in Thailand] because my brothers and sister are there, but the
Thai soldiers forced me back to Burma." - "Saw Kaw Ghay" (M, 31),
villager from Myawaddy township now internally displaced (Interview #6,
8/98)
"But if other villagers can still stay in the village, why couldn't you
stay?"
"Do not say that they can stay! They all want to flee from the village.
For example my Aunt, her husband was killed, she has 3 small children
and her old mother cannot walk. But she wanted to come, so I told her
that after we're here a few days I'll go back and get her family." - "Naw
Lah Say" (F, 25), Taw Oak village, southern Pa'an district (Interview #12,
8/98)
__________________________________________________________________________
Future of the Area
"I don't think the Burmese will make peace. If the KNLA gives their
guns to the Burmese, then the Burmese will only persecute us more
easily and abuse us until we're lost." - "Pu Ler Muh" (M, 58), xxxx
village, northeastern Pa'an District (Interview #26, 4/98)
As long as the current struggle between the SPDC, DKBA and KNLA
continues in the region, it is unlikely that things can do anything but get
worse for the villagers there. The SPDC has made it very clear that they
are determined to gain complete and iron-fisted control over this entire
area and will stop at nothing to do it. They consistently refuse open
negotiations with the KNU, and at the same time the KNU has stated
clearly that it will never surrender and will continue to fight if there
are no
sincere negotiations. The KNLA has lost many of its soldiers and much of
its access to arms, ammunition and supplies over the past 3 years, but it
still operates effectively as a guerrilla force in several regions
including
eastern Pa'an district, throughout the Dawna Range and penetrating into
the plains to the west. The KNLA no longer tries to hold territory, but it
exerts a loose kind of control over some areas where the SPDC military
doesn't dare patrol except in large columns. When these columns come
through, the villagers and the KNLA scatter into the hills only to return
as
soon as the column has passed. Knowing the fear of ambush of most
SPDC officers, many villagers say they are relieved when a KNLA unit is
around their village because they know that this makes it less likely that
SPDC patrols will appear; groups of internally displaced villagers also
often gravitate to KNLA units for a feeling of protection. The KNLA is
assisted by the fact that most SPDC officers would rather spend their time
making money than fighting while posted in the field, and want to return
home alive to central Burma. For this reason these officers often avoid
patrolling areas which they know are occupied by KNLA units, and fight
their 'battles' against defenceless villagers instead; the villagers killed
can
then be reported to higher commands as KNLA casualties, and the guns
which officers force village elders to obtain and hand over can be reported
as weapons captured in battle. However, when direct orders come from
above to relocate, attack and destroy villages the officers have no choice
but to comply, and they do so in strength.
"We have fought them for a long time; so if we give them our arms, that
would be the same as killing ourselves." - "Saw Po Htoo" (M, 23),
KNLA soldier in Meh Th'Wah township talking about the SPDC offer for
the KNLA to hand over their arms (Interview #23, 4/98)
The overall result is a complex cat-and-mouse situation, with both sides
sometimes avoiding and sometimes ambushing the other, and the villagers
always caught in the middle. The KNLA has also used what it calls
'landmine warfare' intensively in eastern Pa'an District, with devastating
effect on both the SPDC troops and the villagers.
The DKBA has made this situation much more complicated, particularly
for the villagers. As one villager pointed out, "We're afraid of them even
more than the Burmese, because they know everything about us"; meaning
that the DKBA are from the villages, they speak the language, a few of
them used to be KNLA and they know which villagers are which. The
DKBA has a few strong leaders but a weak command structure, and many
of their local units do little but extort money and food from villagers and
act as guides and helpers to local SPDC units. When they operate as an
organised force they fight for the SPDC, yet those who have been DKBA
soldiers make it very clear that they do not trust the SPDC and even hate
them. Most of them see the SPDC as a means to an end, hoping that once
they help to wipe out the KNU they can get autonomy for Karen State as a
concession from the SPDC, though this appears highly unlikely. The
SPDC also has a strong dislike and distrust of the DKBA, provides them
with very limited arms and ammunition and steadily decreasing supplies of
food. If the SPDC keeps to its promise to cut off food supplies to Myaing
Gyi Ngu at the end of 1998, the population of Myaing Gyi Ngu will
certainly scatter though it is unclear what effect this will have on the
DKBA; they would certainly be weakened, but they would most likely
continue to exist.
There are also elements within the KNU and some other Karen
organisations who want to open negotiations for an agreement with the
DKBA, and some DKBA soldiers have said when interviewed that many
of the DKBA members would welcome such an agreement if the 'old
guard' leadership of the KNU were to step down. However, currently this
'old guard' leadership is opposed to negotiating with the DKBA as equals,
offering only to accept the DKBA if it agrees to effectively surrender and
come under the wing of the KNU/KNLA. As the 'old guard' shows no
intention of stepping down soon, the situation is at a deadlock. Even if
the
obstacles disappeared and negotiations were planned, it is almost certain
that the SPDC would do everything in its power to block such
negotiations, including cutting off all DKBA supplies and possibly even a
pre-emptive military strike against the DKBA.
"They [villagers in Myaing Gyi Ngu] would like to work together with
the KNU because we [all Karen] are all brothers and sisters. Some
DKBA would also like to work with the KNU. They want to fight the
Burmese. Some DKBA soldiers told me that if the KNU joined together
with them they would fight the Burmese together." - "Saw Ghay Htoo"
(M, 20+), human rights monitor who visited Myaing Gyi Ngu describing
what people told him there (Interview #30, 4/98)
Taking all of these factors into account, it appears unlikely that the
current
situation in eastern Pa'an district will improve in the near future. The
KNLA will probably rely more and more heavily on 'landmine warfare',
the SPDC and DKBA will respond by further indiscriminate use of mines
themselves, and the villagers will suffer the results. As its village
destruction and relocation campaigns fail to undermine KNLA activities,
the SPDC will probably expand these campaigns into other areas
throughout the Dawna, such as the Meh Kreh area in the north, and
possibly into the villages on the western slopes of the Dawna as well.
More villages would be destroyed, more villagers would be killed or
become internally displaced in the hills, and more would flee to Thailand.
Thai policy on refugees will probably only become more restrictive. Thai
authorities are currently continuing the process of consolidating the
refugee camps into larger and more tightly controlled areas, and it is
becoming harder all the time for newly arrived refugees to gain entry to
these camps. In future, most of those who arrive in small groups into
remote areas will probably have to choose between slipping into the illegal
labour market in border towns or being forced back across the border by
Thai troops. For those who arrive in large enough groups to attract
international notice and for those who make it into the camps, they may be
granted temporary refuge. Thai authorities are now allowing officials of
the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) access to
the camps, but most of the negotiations have been conducted behind
closed doors between the Thai government and Army and UNHCR, with
no refugee or aid organisation representatives allowed to attend. One of
UNHCR's responsibilities will be to 'screen' the refugees, and they have
already proven with refugees from Cambodia, Laos and northwestern
Burma that they 'screen out' most people. Many refugees and observers
fear that the UNHCR plans to label most Karen refugees as not having
legitimate claims to asylum, and would then put its seal of approval on a
large-scale forced repatriation of Karen refugees by Thai authorities.
This
is essentially what the UNHCR has already done to Rohingya Muslim
refugees from Burma in Bangladesh, showing that they are more interested
in establishing a firm presence in Burma than in helping refugees to obtain
asylum in neighbouring countries.
For the villagers of eastern Pa'an District, their situation is only likely
to
get worse in the near future unless there is fundamental political change
in
Burma. Until this occurs their lives will rotate around uncertainty, fear,
flight - and possibly forced return.
__________________________________________________________________________
Index of Interviews
This list breaks down the interviews referenced in this report by region.
All names of those interviewed have been changed. Page numbers given
are from the Annex containing the full text of the interviews, which is
available on request. FL = Forced Labour, FR = Forced Relocation, IDP
= Internally Displaced Person(s).
Central-Eastern Dawna Region
# Pg. Name Sex Age Village Subject
1 6 "Pa Shwe" M 29 Po Ti Pwa SPDC columns came and
looted and burned his whole village in September, all villagers fled,
arrest and detention of pregnant woman, he had to go many times as a
porter, FL at Army camps, extortion, burning of other villages
2 8 "Saw Joseph" M 34 Meh Keh SPDC burning of villages
in area, killing of livestock, SPDC troops and porters wounded by mines,
flight to Thailand, abuse of porters in earlier times
3 10 "Saw Pler Hai" M 31 Meh Lah Ah Shelling and burning of Meh
"Pa Li Kloh" M 21 Tee K'Haw Lah Ah by SPDC in September,
flight of villagers, looting of food supplies and belongings, FL for DKBA,
FL as porters and at Army camp for SPDC, use of porters as minesweepers,
landmines, "Pa Li Kloh"'s sister wounded by KNLA mine while fleeing,
SPDC/DKBA relations, IDPs
4 14 "Naw Paw Htoo" F 45 Wah Mi Klah Arrival of SPDC column in
"Saw Ghay Htoo" M ? their village in September,
Wah Mi Klah caught and interrogated by SPDC troops, looting of her food
and belongings, flight of other villagers, only elderly and blind left
behind,
flight into the hills, found by the SPDC and arrested to be a porter,
later escape and flight to Thailand, treatment of those caught as porters,
torture of Klay Po Kloh headman, arrest and detention of pregnant woman,
random killings of villagers by SPDC, threats by DKBA
Southeastern Pa'an District
# Pg. Name Sex Age Village Subject
5 18 "Saw G'Lee Taw" M 31 xxxx Fleeing village because of
"Saw Tha Htoo" M 17 xxxx portering, FL for all sides
"Mugha Lah K'Taw" F ? xxxx and extortion by SPDC until
no money left, flight of other villagers
6 19 "Saw Kaw Ghay" M 31 xxxx FL as porters, abuse of porters,
extortion, meeting by DKBA to order all villagers to help build their new
office
in Myawaddy, flight to Thailand, forced repatriation by Thai troops, flight
again,
now IDP
7 21 "Naw Muh Lah" F 23 Sgaw Ko She had her leg blown off by
a DKBA landmine near her field in February when 8 months pregnant;
mis-treatment
in Myawaddy hospital and subsequent premature birth of her baby; shooting
and
wounding of her husband and nephew in the fields by DKBA
8 22 "Pa Kloh" M 28 xxxx Flight into the hills due to FL
and extortion, portering for DKBA
9 22 "Saw Kweh" M 31 Thay Maw Gu Captured in his field in July
by DKBA and SPDC, taken as porter, abuse, lack of food and rest, flight
from his
village, looting of his house by SPDC, FL for SPDC and DKBA, failure of
crop due to
FL, inability to pay fees anymore and subsequent flight, now IDP
10 24 "Naw Kler" F 21 Taw Oak FL as porters for SPDC and DKBA,
"Saw Tha Dah" M 27 Taw Oak abuse while portering, increasing
SPDC extortion now 700 Kyat/month/family, inability to pay, FR orders for
end of
harvest, curfew on farmers, restrictions on taking food to field huts,
fear of landmines, looting of livestock, SPDC beatings and shootings of
villagers, DKBA shot at "Saw Tha Dah" in the fields, shot dead his 2
friends then
laid mines around their bodies, execution of another Taw Oak villager by
SPDC,
flight from the village
11 27 KHRG monitor M Pa'an district Report on the situation
based on a trip through southern Pa'an district in August; SPDC extortion,
human minesweepers, death of human minesweepers, loss of livestock to
landmines,
crop problems, shooting of 6-year-old girl, lack of access to medicines
and education, villagers fleeing
12 30 "Naw Lah Say" F 25 Taw Oak FL as porters for SPDC and DKBA,
SPDC/DKBA cooperation, excessive extortion, orders to move, use of women
and
children as minesweepers, shooting deaths of her uncle and cousin by DKBA,
villagers wounded and killed by landmines, difficulty of fleeing the
village,
flight of many villagers
13 31 "Saw Tha Wah" M 42 Taw Oak FL as porters for SPDC and DKBA,
abuse of porters, demands for money, extortion of rice, porters dying
from landmines, SPDC killing villagers, plans for FR
14 33 "Pa Weh Doh" M 47 Taw Oak DKBA meeting to announce
FR of all villages, looting of livestock, going as porters and minesweepers
for SPDC, death of Sgaw Ko headman by landmine, DKBA abuses
15 34 "Maung Nyunt" M 40 Taw Oak Description of the death of
his wife's mother by a landmine, and how his wife's father lost a leg to
another landmine
16 35 "Naw Sghee" F 25 Taw Oak SPDC killing of livestock
and looting of food, extortion, brutal torture of innocent villagers,
shooting death of her uncle, deaths and casualties from landmines,
orders for porters and payment to avoid going, use of women and children
as human minesweepers and shields, flight of villagers, SPDC killings
of her first husband and her brother, both sons of a woman in the the
village
and others
17 37 "Saw Tee Kaw" M ? Pah Klu His arrest by DKBA and
detention with hard labour, including portering, witnessed soldiers looting
villages, threatening villagers and using them as FL while a porter,
abuse of porters, forced to go as a human shield in battle, looting and
killing by DKBA, FL in Myaing Gyi Ngu, escape from Myaing Gyi Ngu,
extortion and FL back in his village, shootings of villagers by DKBA and
SPDC, including shooting dead a 6-year-old girl, subsequent arrest,
torture and imprisonment of innocent villagers they'd shot, flight
18 40 "Pi San San" F 50 Taw Oak Flight from village because
of extortion demands, orders for porters or money, looting of food, DKBA
torture of villagers, SPDC/DKBA orders for FR, killings of villagers,
capture
of villagers to be porters, opinions on DKBA, fleeing in secret
19 44 "Pi Hser Mo" F 50 Pah Klu Interrogation by SPDC
about another villager, threats, flight of the village head, fleeing the
village in secret, taxation of village by all sides, portering, use of
her daughter as a porter, FR, SPDC beatings of villagers, DKBA shootings of
farmers, SPDC beating farmers to death
20 47 "Pi Wah K'Paw" F 60 Htee Wah Blaw Use of her daughters and
son-in-law as porters, problems with crops this year, restrictions on
farmers, looting of livestock, abuse of village heads, problems with
illness
Northeastern Pa'an District & Myaing Gyi Ngu
# Pg. Name Sex Age Village Subject
21 49 "Naw Lay Ghay" F 23 xxxx IDPs in the forest since DKBA
"Pati Kyaw San" M 45 xxxx burned their village two years ago
22 50 "Pu Law Tee" M 60 xxxx Flight of most people from
their village to become IDPs, SPDC demands for livestock and porters, fear
that SPDC will return to stay around the village
23 51 "Saw Po Htoo" M 23 xxxx Killings of villagers by DKBA
and SPDC in the Meh Th'Wah area, forcing villagers to cut bamboo for them
to
sell, FL as road sentries, DKBA/SPDC relations, U Thuzana, opinions on
DKBA,
conditions in Myaing Gyi Ngu
24 53 "Pati Lah Say" M 43 xxxx FL at SPDC camp, demands for
food and livestock, portering, killings of villagers by SPDC, burnings of
all villages 10 years ago and then again, landmine deaths, lack of
monastery
and school
25 56 "Pu Kaw Soe" M 50 xxxx Regular interrogations by SPDC,
FL at SPDC camp, villagers joining DKBA, opinions on DKBA, lack of medical
help
and schools
26 58 "Pu Ler Muh" M 58 xxxx SPDC interrogations and looting
of livestock, FL, DKBA eating livestock, villagers killed by KNLA
landmines,
lack of school and hospital
27 60 "Naw Nah Muh" F ? xxxx Burning of her former village,
fear of SPDC retaliation if they build a school, FL at SPDC camp, DKBA
looting
livestock, will flee if SPDC comes
28 61 "Pu Ler Doh" M 50 xxxx Flight from former village
because SPDC tortured villagers and burned houses, fear that they will
come to new village, fear of DKBA
29 62 "Saw Htoo Kler" M 23 xxxx Forced to join DKBA in 1995,
fighting with KNLA, information on DKBA and Myaing Gyi Ngu, fled and joined
KNLA, took part in March 98 KNLA attack on Myaing Gyi Ngu
30 65 "Saw Ghay Htoo" M 20 xxxx Human rights monitor who
visited Myaing Gyi Ngu in Feb/Mar 98; FL for SPDC on main roads through
Pa'an district, Myaing Gyi Ngu, life and opinions of villagers in
Myaing Gyi Ngu, DKBA/SPDC relations
31 68 "Saw Kaw Doh" M 19 xxxx Villager from near Myaing
Gyi Ngu who left to join KNLA after being tortured by SPDC in early 1998;
SPDC arrests of people in his village, his arrest, interrogation and
physical
and psychological torture by SPDC, extortion of money, food and materials
by
DKBA, DKBA logging, opinions on DKBA, school situation, situation in Myaing
Gyi Ngu, refugee camp attacks, description of his part in KNLA attack on
Myaing Gyi Ngu in March 98
Other: Kawkareik & Western Pa'an District
# Pg. Name Sex Age Village Subject
32 72 "Maung San Myint" M 45 Sittaun town, Life in Sittaun town, low pay,
Mon State difficulty of survival for workers
at Sittaun paper factory, his departure to find work in Kawkareik as a
trishaw
driver, extortion and FL for SPDC in both Sittaun and Kawkareik, FL on
roads, railway, at army camps and as porters, flight to find work in
Thailand
33 74 "Pa Ler Wah" M 30 Kaw B'Naw SPDC stopping cars on Kawkareik-
"Saw Lah" M 25 Huay Kaloke Myawaddy road to catch porters,
extortion by SPDC and DKBA in his home village north of Pa'an,
intimidation,
arrest and detention of village headman, FL on rubber plantation for
retired SPDC
officer, FL at SPDC camp and providing building materials, extortion for
Salween
bridge at Myaing Galay, opinions on DKBA
34 78 "Naw Ghay Wah" F 31 Pay Yay Teacher from western Pa'an
district; impossibility of surviving even on two teachers' salaries (her
and
her husband), SPDC extortion, FL as porters, abuse and killing of porters,
SPDC units hiring bandits to steal for them, forced extortion of fish farm
harvest by SPDC, FL at rubber plantation and building road, FL on Salween
bridge
at Myaing Galay, flight south to Dooplaya district, abuse during 'Border
Areas
Development' teacher training, theft of her salary, SPDC looting of
livestock,
fled to Thailand after her children became sick and they had no more money
- [END OF REPORT] -