INTERVIEWS 61-80

I don’t even want to talk about SLORC. I hate talking about them, but I will tell you how they killed my two nephews from Htee See Baw Village. They were studying in town, and they had just come home to visit their mother in May 1993. Their names were Kyaw Bwe and Kyaw Aye. One day the two boys were just outside the village near the forest. The Karen soldiers had attacked the Burmese and disappeared into the forest, so the Burmese soldiers came and fired their guns all around the village, and shot the two boys dead. Kyaw Bwe and Kyaw Aye didn’t know anything, they didn’t even know how to run away. But SLORC couldn’t catch any Karen soldiers, so instead they just shot dead two innocent boys.

After they killed the boys they came into the village, went directly to the village head and beat him brutally. They interrogated him, “Why didn’t you come and tell us there were Kaw Thoo Lei in the village?” The village headman said, “I didn’t even know they were in the village. It’s a big village, so how could I know everything?”

SLORC also drove everyone out of Htee See Baw Kee Village to the main Htee See Baw Village. They didn’t even give the villagers enough time to bring all their property, so the villagers left some of their food and other things hidden in the forest. They planned to come back once a week to get things, but they lost it all because the SLORC soldiers found everything, took what they wanted and destroyed the rest. Whether you keep your belongings in you house or not, if SLORC finds them then they’ll destroy them. Some villagers didn’t even have time to catch all their livestock when they were driven out, so they just left it and hoped to come back later to get it, but it was all eaten by SLORC troops before they could come back.

Three of my other nephews from Htee See Baw Kee Village were also killed brutally by the SLORC troops. They had run away into the forest when the soldiers had come to catch porters, and they were hiding in the forest for two weeks. They didn’t even know the villagers had been driven out. When they returned to the village without knowing, the soldiers grabbed them right away, forced them to put on Karen army uniforms and shot them dead. They told everyone, “These three men were Karen soldiers.” Even if they really suspected them, couldn’t they just take them as porters and then release them later? But they killed them. We know for sure that they weren’t Karen soldiers, just innocent civilians. They were my nephews, and their names were Pa Thu, Thaung Ngwe, and Htun Thaung. They thought it was safe to go back to their village, but they were killed. What kind of life is this for villagers, in the area where the Burmese control? If you don’t escape when they come for porters, then you are taken as a porter. If you escape being taken as a porter and then they catch you, you are killed. No one can save you, and no excuses.

When the Htee See Baw Kee villagers went back to get their food and belongings, they saw that most of their things had been taken, and food and rice was just spread around on the ground. SLORC took as much as they wanted and destroyed all the rest. Now all the villagers around there are malnourished. In Htee See Baw, the villagers from Htee See Baw Kee are in serious trouble just trying to survive, because the majority of the Htee See Baw villagers themselves are barely able to survive as it is. They can’t take good care of all the new villagers, because they don’t even have enough rice for themselves. The villagers from Htee See Baw Kee have absolutely nothing, they’re just barely surviving from hand to mouth each day. They can’t suffer it, and they’re desperate to find security. Some of them want to commit suicide.

They take so many people as porters I can’t count. I myself have been a porter twice, for about one month each time. The soldiers pay me a bit of respect because I’m over 50 years old, so most of the time I have to carry cooking equipment and my duty is to cook for them. I have to cook rice and yellow beans mixed together. I only get enough food because I’m the cook. They never feed the male porters enough, but it’s a little better for the women porters. The soldiers yell and curse, they beat the porters who can’t carry and they beat brutally those who try to escape and get caught.

The worst times are when the Karen soldiers shoot at the SLORC soldiers, and they can’t get revenge against the Karen soldiers so they just oppress and abuse the civilians. They always come and fire their guns around all over the place. My son Maung Win Myint was at the farm tending our cattle and buffaloes and they shot him dead. He was 17 years old. My daughter Ma Chit Htoo was killed by a gunshot when she was sleeping in her room. She didn’t even have time to hide or take cover. The gunshot hit her chest and she couldn’t talk to us – she just survived for a couple of minutes and then she passed away. She was 18 years old.

That happened two years ago. It was [SLORC] 99 [Light Infantry] Division. I went to their officer and asked for compensation for the murder of my children, but I got nothing. I almost went mad. I was suffering indescribably, and I can never forget it. Then two months later, there were two girls who went out to go to the toilet at about 1 o’clock at night with a candle for light. SLORC were patrolling, and when they saw the candlelight they fired their guns and shot both girls dead. Their names were Ma Thaung and Ma Peh. Their mother was so miserable and lonely that she didn’t even want to live anymore. She had only two daughters and SLORC killed them both. She was hysterical for several days. Innocent people like this kept being killed, so we decided we just couldn’t stay anymore and we came here for our security.

Interview: 62 HRV: Execution, Forced Labour, Livelihood

We have to do five types of labour for them; guarding the road, portering, slave labour, standing sentry between their soldiers’ positions, and as couriers. Every day we have to send 44 people altogether; 26 for guarding the road, 5 as porters, 6 for slave labour, 5 as sentries, and 2 as couriers. When guarding the road, we have to clear the bushes alongside the road [to eliminate cover and step on any mines], sweep the road [for mines], carry away all the dust, collect firewood, make fires, and guard the road. We have to sleep in groups of two – one has to guard while the other sleeps and keeps the fire. We never get enough sleep. If they call and we don’t answer, the next morning they charge us 1 viss of chicken and 1 bottle of alcohol. They never feed us, we have to bring food from home.

For slave labour we have to start work at 6 a.m., carrying rocks and laying them so it’s level. They let us stop at 12, then we have to work again from 1:00 until 5:30. Then we go take a bath, and by then it’s almost dark. Then we have to sleep together with the sentry duty group, because the village is too far away to go back. They give us some rice and beans, but we must bring cooking utensils from home. We have to replace them every five days, so every porter has to take food for five days – otherwise no one will feed them. The two couriers have to go every morning to report any news of Karen soldiers. Then if SLORC has any orders to send they make the couriers deliver them. They come back home in the evening, but they have to go every day. The soldiers never give money to the villagers for labour they just make us work like cattle or buffaloes. It’s very hard for us.

Now they demand firewood from us. They order us to cut wood and bamboo so many times, and then they just sell it for money. They make the villagers go cut and carry it from JJ— to KK—, then the soldiers sell it at the market at KK— which is close to the city so people buy the firewood. Each time the soldiers order 40 bamboos and five tons of wood from us. We have to cut the wood 1 plah long [about 2 feet] and then tie it in bundles. Last time we had to send 306 bundles, and we dare not refuse. The people from the town buy it from the soldiers.

Nyo Soe Min from IB 84 ordered us to pay 50,000 Ks because a landmine blew up their truck. They demanded that from every village, except LL— Village had to pay 100,000 because they were the closest to the landmine. SLORC also asks jaggery tax, 30 viss of jaggery from every village. The officers make us give them this secretly, then they say, “If anyone asks you, say you didn’t give this to me. If you tell anyone and I find out, I’ll kill you.” So we give it to them secretly, and we had to sign a paper as well saying that we won’t tell anyone. Last time they came for this was 19 March. Sometimes they ask for rice, but never for livestock – they just take the livestock like it was their own. They only send orders asking for a little bit of rice, but they take a lot more than that every time they come to the village. They get their rations, but they never eat them – they just sell them for money. They force us to buy their ration rice for 545 Ks per sack. Not only that, but there are supposed to be 24 bowls in a sack, and when we got to the village and measured it there were only 19 bowls. The Karen army fights them, but every time there’s any fighting SLORC comes and kills villagers. If the fighting is close to MM—, if it’s close to NN—, they kill villagers from NN—, and so on.

Interview: 63 HRV: Torture

Lately the soldiers have been making us provide road-security and porters, but no other slave labour because they were already making us rebuild the pagoda in our village. It was a very old pagoda and they made us rebuild it. We had to go get sand and cement, build shelters, make cement and cover it all. We had to pay some of the cost, and they paid some. We had to send carts to get the sand about 10 miles away at the Salween River, sometimes two or three, sometimes five or six carts. Now the pagoda is finished.

We have to send two people all the time as porters, and eight for guarding the road. When we guard the road we have to sweep the road, carry away the dust, pick up every bit of leaf litter, etc. At night we have to sleep in groups of two and make a fire. While one person guards the other can sleep. If both people sleep and they find out, they charge us 1 viss of chicken and 1 bottle of alcohol. We’re never paid for this work, and we have to take everything we need from home. The porters have to go for five days to carry ammunition and supplies and take their own food from home. Then every five days, others must come to replace them. The troops around us are IB 84 of LID 99, especially Coy 1 commanded by Nyo Soe Min. IB 51 is in charge of the road – their commander is Tay Aung, and their second commander is Aung Myint.

Last time a truck exploded we had to pay 50,000 Ks compensation. The soldiers also come to the village, and when they come they don’t even ask for anything – they just try to catch things themselves and take them. Sometimes they ask for our rice and we have to send it because we’re afraid of them. If we don’t they say they’ll shell our village with mortars. They get rations, but they just sell them for money. None of us dares to face them, especially the young men – they always avoid them because whenever the soldiers want money or anything else they cause trouble for the villagers. Sometimes they tie people up and beat them, and sometimes they demand things and villagers who try to refuse are threatened. On 6 February, there was a funeral in the village, and when the villagers were going to bury the corpse the troops came and arrested eight men, tied them up and tortured them. The villagers had to vouch for them and pay ransom. They had to give at lease one or two bottles of alcohol, one or two chickens, one or two packets of Thukita cheroots, one or two bowls of rice, and one or two packs of Duya cigarettes for each man. Now all those men have been released, but five or 6 days ago the soldiers arrested another man outside the village, and they haven’t released him yet. The village head hasn’t gone to vouch for him yet, but he’ll have to go for sure, and the villagers will have to pay ransom for him. If you don’t pay them anything, they’ll never release anyone. I’m sure of that. We’re afraid of them, because we have no guns so we have to be afraid of them. Before, the Karen army used to shoot them all the time. Then the SLORC soldiers said, “If the Ringworms shoot at us, we’ll burn down your village.” So if the Karen army shoots at them now, we’ll just have to die. SLORC called all the village heads to a meeting and said, “If one truck is destroyed, each village must pay 50,000 Ks compensation. If one of my soldiers is killed, five of your villagers will be killed.” So we pleaded with the Karen soldiers not to shoot at them near our village, so they don’t anymore, because they care about the villagers.

Interview: 66 HRV: Displacement, Forced Labour, Livelihood, Torture

On 9 February 1994 soldiers from IB 84 came to ask compensation for their truck. We had to pay 30,000 Ks. It’s very hard for us to solve this problem, and they said, “If you can’t pay, we’ll burn down your village and drive you out.” So we collected the money and paid them on 10 February. There are only 30 houses in our village, that’s why it’s so hard for us to find so much money.

Another group of soldiers came into our village and all the villagers tried to run away because we were afraid of them. They shot their guns all around, and then afterwards they gathered all the villagers and demanded compensation for the bullets they used. We didn’t have money to pay them compensation, so they asked for two pigs weighing over 30 viss [48 kg] each. We could only give them one pig, so they went looking around the village, shot another pig and took it. They were from IB 51. Their commander is Maj Tay Aung, but he didn’t shoot at us – that was Coy 1, whose commander is Nay Lin.

The soldiers take as much of our livestock as they can get. They take so many of our belongings, including our clothes and cooking pots. They demanded forced labour again and again – we had to work so many times at QQ— army camp. They ordered us to send 6 people from our village, but we could only send five because we have to guard the road for them as well. For slave labour, we mostly had to carry rocks and build a road. They fed us but it was never enough, only rice and salt. At night we could go back and sleep in our village. When we guard the road we have to sweep the road and clear the bushes – they use us as minesweepers. They said to us, “If any landmine explodes and destroys our truck, we will put you in jail and your village will have to pay compensation.” To guard the road we have to take all our own food from home. At night, they make two of us guard at each position. We have to make a fire for the whole night, and they always check on us. Their commander said, “If any one of my soldiers is killed, I will kill five villagers”.

Interview: 67 HRV: Child, Detention, Displacement, Forced Labour, Livelihood, Torture

The soldiers have come to our village so many times I can’t even count it. Whenever they enter the village they oppress us and force us to work. There are three kinds of labour – porters, road security and slave labour. Four people at a time from our village have to go guard the road, two for slave labour and one as a porter. There are only seven families in our village, because most families have already run away to find safer places to stay.

To guard the road, we have to sweep the road, carry away all the dust, drag branches, and collect firewood. At night we have to make a fire, because the soldiers say, “If you make a fire you can see people coming and crossing the road.” We have to guard in pairs – while one sleeps the other has to guard. Sometimes they come to check us, and if they see us both sleeping they charge us one bottle of alcohol and 1 viss [1.6 kg] of chicken. We have to grind our own food from home, including our cooking utensils. For slave labour, we have to carry dirt, rocks and sand, and build the road. They give us some rice and a little bit of yellow beans. Any other food we have to bring from home. We sleep in the village at night, then we have to start work early in the morning, from 6:30 until 12:00. Then we start again at 1:00 p.m. and work until 5:30. The porters usually have to carry ammunition and supplies. They have to go for five days at a time and take their own food with them.

While we were guarding the road there was a landmine that exploded. They didn’t ask us for compensation because our village is so small and poor, but they asked every other village. As far as I know, some villages had to pay 100,000 Ks, and other 50,000. When SLORC comes to our village they take some of our livestock, coconuts and sometimes our rice. Sometimes we don’t have any husked rice to give them, and they make us pound our paddy [unhusked rice in storage] and give it to them. We can’t refuse, because we’re very afraid. Most people don’t dare face the soldiers and run away as soon as they get close to the village. One time, my youngest son was tending the goats right in front of my house. He is so young that I don’t let him go far away, but even so he has been taken as a porter before so the SLORC soldiers knew him. They grabbed him, tied him up and beat him up. He was crying. Then they took him away to the military outpost and demanded four big bowls of rice and two chickens to release him. After I gave it to them, they made him carry their supplies for three days and then released him. His name is RR—.

Interview: 68 HRV: Detention, Forced Labour, Livelihood

The army company that asks us for money is commanded by Nyo Soe Min, from IB 84. They also make us pay for their destroyed trucks, go and guard the road, sweep and clean it [for mines] and report to them everything that happens. When we go to guard the road, we have to take our own food. At night time we have to make a fire, and we can’t even let the fire go out – they check us all the time. They say, “If any landmines explode this will be your responsibility, so you’ll have to pay us compensation – and we will charge you more than ever before.” Once before, a landmine exploded and destroyed their truck. We and every other village close to the explosion had to pay 50,000 Ks each. They gathered all the village heads and demanded compensation. When we paid that time, the SLORC soldiers said, “Don’t tell anybody you paid us this compensation, especially not the Karen soldiers.” Now the soldiers tell us that last time a landmine exploded, two of their soldiers were killed. They say if this happens again, they will kill five villagers for every soldier killed.

Just one or two days after we paid compensation last time, the soldiers went to Po Village looking for Htun Win [a villager]. They arrested him, took him to the military outpost and now he’s disappeared. When the villagers went looking for him at the military outpost the soldiers said he had escaped, but we’re sure that they killed him.

Interview: 69 HRV: Forced Labour, Livelihood

Capt Mahn Zaw ordered us to pay compensation for their truck. He is commander of Coy 2 of IB 84, LID 99. He asked for 100,000 Ks. Our village has over 90 houses. The worst part is that because the landmine exploded close to our village they charged us much more than the other villages. They accused us of collaborating with Karen soldiers. There were so many other villages too, and they all had to pay 50,000 Ks each.

They order us to do so many things, it is unimaginable. We don’t even have time to provide for our own families. There are two types of abuses; one is guarding the road all the time, and the other is having to go for slave labour. They also demand porters – that makes three kinds of forced labour. When they order porters we have to send 23 people. For slave labour and guarding the road, it’s one person from every house.

When we guard the road, most of the time we have to sweep the road and just walk around on the road. We have to drag branches to erase our footprints. Then the next morning we have to check the whole road and if we see any footprints or anything, we have to report it right away. At night we just have to sleep on the road. If people go back to the village without permission they are fined 10 viss [16 kg] of pork. Two of us have to guard a t each place along the road. At night we can only sleep by turns – if one sleeps, the other has to guard. When the soldiers call you, if you don’t answer right away they demand one bottle of alcohol and one chicken, so nobody dares to fall asleep. They never feed us – we have to take our own food.

For slave labour, we have to carry sand and rocks to build the road almost all day long. We have to get there at 6:30 a.m. and we must start work straight away. We can rest between noon and 1 p.m., then we work until 5:30 p.m. and go home. They give us rice and a little bit of yellow beans to eat. They also make us send three bullock carts from our village to carry the sand to build the road, and they make us pay taxes for our sugar cane fields; 1,000 Ks for every big field, and 500 Ks for every small one. We also have 15 jaggery factories [huts used to boil sugar cane juice down to hard brown jaggery], and they make us pay 1,000 Ks tax for each of the larger ones and 500 Ks for each of the smaller ones.

Interview: 70 HRV: Detention, Forced Labour, Livelihood, Torture

SLORC came to my village on 6 February 1994. It was Coy 1 of IB 84, under LID 99. Their battalion commander is Aung Kyaw Min, and the second-in-command is Zaw Min Oo. The soldiers gathered all the men of the village, then asked us if any members of Kaw Thoo Lei had come to our village, and how many days ago. We told them, “They came two or three days ago.” The soldiers didn’t like that answer so they tied up each man to a tree. Then the soldiers told us that they were going to kill five men from our village. They said they had an order from above to kill five men here, and that they have to follow their orders. Then they kicked us and beat us on the head with rifle butts. They hit me twice in my side with a gun and on my chest with a bayonet. Then the village headman came and vouched for us and they untied us. They drove all of us together to one house and then told us what they wanted before they would release us. From me they demanded 4 bottles of alcohol, 32 small tins of rice, and 5 packages of cheroots. To buy one bottle of alcohol costs 40 Ks, 1 pack of cheroots costs 70 Ks and 8 small tins of rice costs 35 Ks. That was only from me – there were eight of us altogether. They also demanded one chicken from each of us.

Then even though we gave them what they wanted they didn’t release us. At first they only released me, but then they demanded 50,000 Ks because a landmine had exploded and destroyed their truck near their camp. We could only put together 20,000 Ks, and after we gave this to them they demanded the rest and said they would only release the other seven men when they got it. They held the seven men from 6 February until 18 February, and used them as porters.

Interview: 71 HRV: Forced Labour, Livelihood, Torture

Nyo Soe Min, the company commander from IB 84, and Thet Naing Oo ordered our village to pay 50,000 Ks on 9 January. Every village had to pay. We collected the money and paid on 11 January. We also have to pay jaggery tax. The officers told us to sell them jaggery and they would pay 1,800 Ks for every 100 viss [160 kg]. They ordered us to sell them 1,000 packets [1 packet = 1 viss, so this is 1,600 kg]. They said if we couldn’t provide it all then we would have to pay 600 Ks taxes for every 100 viss we didn’t provide. By then we had already sold all our jaggery, so we had none to give them and we had to pay them 6,000 Ks tax. [Note: other villages got the same order, and after buying their jaggery for 18 Ks per viss the soldiers turned around and forced them to buy it back for 24 Ks per viss. So whether they can provide the jaggery or not this is just an extortion scheme for money.]

We also have to do forced labour, go as couriers and porters, and guard the road. We have to send 10 people to guard the road, 10 for forced labour, and five for porters. When we guard the road we have to sweep and carry away the dust and leaf litter, then in the afternoon we collect firewood and at night we have to stay in pairs near the fire. One can sleep while the other watches the road. They check, and if we fall asleep they make us pay at least one bottle of alcohol and one viss of chicken. We had to take our own food from home, too. At forced labour we have to carry stones and dirt, clear the bushes and build the road. They only give us rice to eat, and we have to bring salt and fishpaste from home. The porters have to go for five days at a time, then we have to replace them. They have to take all their own food and carry bullets, shells, and the soldiers’ food and supplies.

When the soldiers come to the village they never ask, they just steal; chickens, pigs, goats, coconuts, even eggs. They take everything. Last time they left the village some Karen soldiers shot at them from far away. They didn’t see any people, just a buffalo, so they shot it. Then they came back to the village, gathered the four headmen and asked if any Karen soldiers are around. The headmen said no. Then the soldiers made the headmen and some other villagers sleep in the same house with them. I myself had to take my children and stay there for two nights with the soldiers [the soldiers were probably using the villagers as a human shield against attack]. Then they left. At that time, their officer asked us, “Did my soldiers steal anything from you?” and we said no because we were very afraid of him. He even asked about jaggery tax and truck compensation, but we had to keep saying “No” because we were afraid, and then they made us sign a paper saying this.

Interview: 72 HRV: Forced Labour, Livelihood, Torture

The soldiers in our area are IB 51. The battalion commander is Maj Tat Aung and the second-in-command is Myint Aung. Myint Aung is in charge of the labour. We have to go as porters, slave labour, to guard the road and to carry things on our bullock carts. They sent a note telling us to send them 30 people, but we didn’t send anyone because we couldn’t. So they came to the village and beat and hurt us, then they grabbed 24 people and took them away for road labour. We couldn’t pay instead of going because they wanted so many people, and every one has had to pay so much already that we can’t pay anymore. Later all those people just had to escape by themselves. The troops sent an order to the village head to send replacements but nobody could go, so they came and tried to capture people again. They never release people until the work is finished. They also demand five people for guarding the road, five porters and two bullock carts. We have to go and clean, sweep and water the road, drag branches over it and step around on it. At night they gather us and we sleep together in a group; they wanted us to sleep apart in pairs, but we argued with them so they let us stay together. For slave labour we have to carry dirt and stones and load them on their truck. The truck takes it to TT—, and we have to follow. Then we have to unload the truck and sleep at TT—. They’re still building this road. As for the porters, if the soldiers go anywhere then they have to carry all their supplies. If not they have to carry rocks and build fences. We also have to take our carts and carry stones, wood, earth, and bamboo from UU— Village to TT—. It’s a trip of over 10 miles.

They come to our village and demand food, and we always have to give them whatever they ask. When the Karen army came and shot at them they lost two guns and some of their soldiers, so they demanded 30,000 Ks from us to pay for the two guns. Now Maj Kyaw Kyaw Htay from IB 24 is asking for porter fees. He asked 6,000 Ks for four months. They used to ask for porter fees every month, but for the last three months we’ve had to work very hard for them so we thought that’s why they weren’t asking. But then they suddenly asked for fees for the past four months together. They ask for porters every month, but they won’t even accept people – only money. Usually they ask for two porters each month at 1,500 Ks each.

Interview: 75 HRV: Livelihood, Torture

I was beaten up by Mu Yah Gone, from the militia group led by Pa Lu Kyaw. They ordered 10 people for slave labour to build the car road. At that time I was village head, but I’m not anymore. I couldn’t send 10 people because I couldn’t find anyone who would go. All the villagers refused to go because they said, “We have to go every day already, can’t go anymore”, so I couldn’t send anyone. So the militia called me to them and started cutting me with a knife. They cut me on the head, and the cut was as deep as the width of your finger. My Yah Gone did that. Then they asked me for one goat, and I couldn’t refuse.

The militia gets their salary from the villagers. We have to pay them 1,000 Ks and two big tins of rice every month [it appears that the militia demands this “tribute” from every village where they operate, then pools the total and divides it among themselves (only 8 or 10 per group) to form a salary]. IB 24 asks us for porters too. Their commander is Kyaw Kyaw Htay [aka Kyi Myint]. They order two people every month, but they don’t even want the people, they only take money. Se we have to pay 3,800 Ks every month instead of the two porters. Our village has 20 houses, so that’s 190 Ks per house every month. They’re still asking that now. [Note: the burden of this amount can be put into perspective by noting that even in the Burma army, a private soldier’s monthly salary is only 450 Ks before deductions for equipment, etc.]

Interview: 77 HRV: Livelihood, Torture

I was beaten by the SLORC militia. Their commanders are Pa Lu Kyaw and Pa Noe. The one who beat me is Pa Mo Roe, one of their soldiers. They came on 16 March and said Thara Maung Myint had come to our village [Thara Maung Myint is a Karen army officer in the area]. I said no, and then he said I’m a liar and he started to beat me. At the time I was a village head, and I had to do everything they asked me to. I was telling the truth that Thara Maung Myint hadn’t been there, but they wouldn’t believe me. They kept saying I was lying, that Thara Maung Myint is a relative of mine and that his mother-in-law lives next door to me. They said I must know when he comes and I shouldn’t lie, and then they beat me some more. They said another villager had told them that Thara Maung Myint had come with his soldiers, but I’m sure they just made up the story. We also have to give them two big tins of rice every month, and we have to pay them taxes of 100 Ks for every woodcutting saw in the village, 100 Ks for every bullock cart, 500 Ks for every 2-man saw [Karen villagers use long 2-man saws to saw logs into planks for their use. The log is propped up, one man stands on the log while the other stands on the ground underneath] and 500 shingles of leaf roofing.

Interview: 78 HRV: Livelihood

In Bilin Town I’m a hawker and day labourer, but SLORC ordered me to pay “porter fees” so often that I couldn’t pay all the time, so the leader of our section of the town put me on a list and the police arrested me to be porter. At night on 15 April I was going out with my friends and the police stopped us, told us they had to discuss something with us and then took us straight to jail. They put us in the police lock-up and we didn’t know why at first, but if anyone asked why they were punched so we didn’t ask. Then when the army asked for porters for their operations the police transferred us to the army. We slept in the lock-up one night, then the army came on 16 April and got us with a truck, so we had no chance to escape. They take porters away like this every month.

They drove us to Pa-an picking up more porters along the way in Bilin and Myaingalay towns. Then in Pa-an they put us in the lock-up for two nights. The police there asked us for money but we didn’t have any, so they wouldn’t even give us water to drink. After two nights, the army took us away in another truck to Ka Mo Ka Chu Village, and from there they made us carry ammunition to Ka La Ma Mountain. I had to carry eight 81mm mortar shells, which weighed at least 25 viss [40 kg]. It was so heavy I could barely even carry it 50 yards, but whether we could or not we just had to keep going. I still have calluses on my shoulders. Some of the others had to carry other things, like alcohol, different kinds of bullets, rice, salt, chillies, beans, etc. We started climbing and didn’t stop until it was almost dark. Then the soldiers cooked for themselves and ate but they didn’t give us any food, and we kept going. We slept one night in the forest and they still didn’t give us any food, then we kept going the next morning. On the way the soldiers beat many porters badly because they couldn’t carry anymore, they were too tired from starvation. We reached Ka La Ma Mountain and kept going. This mountain is very high and steep so it is hard to climb with a heavy load. When porters couldn’t climb anymore the soldiers kicked, punched and beat them up badly. They hit them with rifle butts and kicked them in the sides. I saw one porter killed because he couldn’t carry anymore and fell down, and the soldiers kept kicking him until he was dead. They killed another porter by kicking him down the mountainside. we never saw him again. His name was Aung Than Oo. H— [see related interview 31] couldn’t go any more, so he put down his load and said, “ I can’t go anymore.” They kicked him in the side in his ribs – it was very painful, and still is. Just yesterday he got fever and groaned because of the pain in his side [possibly a broken rib]. We slept one night at Tah Li, then we left early in the morning and reached their camp at Hill 850. We were carrying for five days, and the first three nights we got no food. They only cooked for themselves. Then after that, we got one meal a day, just rice and salt and never enough. If we even tried to smoke, they yelled at us and beat us. If we asked a friend for a light they accused us of trying to escape and beat us.

There were also about 20 women porters who had to carry the soldiers’ packs, but they let them go after we reached the top of Naw Ta Wah Mountain. They didn’t beat the women because they wanted favours from them. At night while they were guarding us, they made the women sleep beside them.

Some people already got sick when we were still in the lock-up, and they were still forced to be porters. Then 10 more became sick on the way, so the soldiers did them a favour by making them carry less. If we had to carry eight mortar shells then they only had to carry six. They wouldn’t give medicine to anyone until we reached our destination, and even then it wasn’t real medicine and had no effect. If you wanted real medicine you had to buy it from them. The soldiers are from IB 2 from Thein Zayat [near Thaton]. They have many soldiers, some based at Ka La Ma Mountain, some at Noh Da Ya, some at Tah Li and at Hill 850. Everywhere they are, they have porters. At Hill 850 there were 16 of us, until four of us escaped. One of their commander’s names is Tin Hla, and I remember soldiers Kyaw Htay, Tin Way, Aye Myint, and Sgt Kyaw Win Htay. After we got to Hill 850 we stayed there. When we were there they forced us to dig trenches, cut bamboo, find leaves for roofing, build huts and make fences. They only fed us a mess tin lid full of rice and salt. Once I asked for chillies and they said, “They’re not yours. If you want to eat, go back home and eat.” They only gave us dirty water to drink. At night they guarded us. We built ourselves shelters, but they leaked when it rained. They we had to wake up early in the morning and start working. We had to make fences, fences and more fences. We had to cut logs and carry dirt to raise the ground level. We had to carry water, and even then they followed us.

Many porters wanted to escape and some died along the way, but I don’t know what happened to them. The soldiers said, “If you escape you will be shot.” They never released any of us. They wanted us to be porters forever and stay with them as long as they’re at the camp. even if it’s a year or more. When we realised that we tried to escape. We’d already been with them nearly a month. Then on the evening of 13 May at about 5 p.m. We were carrying sacks of rice from Tah Li back to Hill 850 and we got ahead of the soldiers, so four of us just dropped our rice sacks and ran away. It was jungle and we didn’t know where to go, so we just went through the jungle and the mountains and slept in the jungle one night. Then we found a village and they sent us here on 14 May.

Here nobody forces us to do anything and our lives are okay, but we’re worried about our families. My family is very poor, and they survive day by day. I’m sure that without me it’s very hard for them to provide for themselves. I want to go back as soon as possible because I have to make a new roof for our house. We all want to go home. When I escaped I didn’t know the way home, and I knew if we went back the same way we came the soldiers would catch us for sure because there are so many of them. I’m afraid of them, but I think once we arrive at our homes we’ll be okay because the soldiers in our town are a different battalion and they won’t anything.

Interview: 80 HRV: Detention, Forced Labour, Livelihood, Torture

I was arrested because SLORC asked for porter fees so many times that I couldn’t pay anymore, so the SLORC head of our section of the town told the police. At night when I was asleep, the police came together with the section head and they put handcuffs on me. The police put me in the lock-up for five days and then handed me over to the army. In the lock-ups, the police made us pay 5 Ks just to get one plastic bag of water. The army took me to Pa-an lock-up where I met Maung VV— [see related interview 79] and the others, then we left together the next day. The soldiers forced me to carry a heavy load. It was too heavy, and when we started climbing the mountains I was too tired, I got cramps in my legs and I couldn’t walk anymore, so I asked permission to rest. But they wouldn’t allow it, and instead they forced me to go faster. Then they kicked me two or three times and hit my head with a rifle butt. I didn’t bleed but at first I was winded and I couldn’t breathe, and then it was really painful when I breathed. It’s still painful here, in my side on the ribs. You can still see the mark here. Yesterday I had a fever and it was really painful. After they beat me, they lightened my load a little bit and then I had to keep carrying. Later when they gave us rice, I was so badly hurt I couldn’t even chew it, so I had to mix it with water to swallow it.

When we got to their camp [at Hill 850] they forced us to do many kinds of work. We had to carry water up the hill twice every morning, and it was very steep and took a long time. We couldn’t sleep at night because all the insects were biting us. We could only sleep two or three hours at night and then we had to go to carry water at 4 or 5 a.m. every morning. Then we had to cut at least 15 big bamboos about 9 feet long each, and then they gave us some food. But as soon as we finished eating, we had to start work again. We started before sunrise and finished after the sun went down. Then we ate, massaged each other and tried to sleep. The soldiers made us massage them too, and only let us go to sleep when they’d had enough. At night they drank alcohol, smoked and had a good time, but as for us, it was just work all the time. Now I’m afraid we can never go home.