Tuesday, 15 December 2009 20:00 Kyaw Thein Kha
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) - Nobel Laureate Professor Joseph Stiglitz arrived in Burma’s new capital Naypyitaw on Tuesday, where he will speak at a seminar on economic development.
The Nobel Laureate is visiting the Southeast Asian nation at the invitation of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia-Pacific (UNESCAP) to advise the ruling military junta on development policies and poverty eradication, particularly in the rural areas.
“In our Media Advisory, he’s going to participate in reforms in Burma. They left for Burma yesterday. I believe he’s there in the city at the moment,” an official at the Bangkok office of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia-Pacific (ESCAP), told Mizzima on Tuesday.
Sin Theingi, a retired professor of Rangoon Institute of Economics, said discussions should focus more on the social and economic aspect rather than the rural economy.
“When they discuss, instead of focusing only on the rural aspect, they should be able to discuss about the economic and social aspects. Besides, they should also talk of health and education,” she added.
Prof. Sin Theingi said in order to develop the rural economy it is necessary to develop the way of thinking of farmers and forming community-based organisations to protect the environment. There is also needs for children’s health and education.
Besides, she said the market economy should be well-implemented, “We need to really open up the market, so that it will attract the people. For example, we also need to listen to the farmers, as often they know better than us in several ways. If we open it up like this, it would develop the rural area,” she added.
But a Burmese economist, who wanted to be an anonymous, said economic development of a country is closely linked with political stability.
He added that the government should allow farmers to freely work in the rural areas and provide them raw materials and capital.
Stiglitz, in one of his popular book titled “Globalization and Its Discontents” argues, “when families and firms seek to buy too little compared to what the economy can produce, governments can fight recessions and depressions by using expansionary monetary and fiscal policies to spur the demand for goods and services.”
On Tuesday, Burmese military junta’s mouthpiece newspaper the New Light of Myanmar reported the meeting between Burmese Prime Minister General Thein Sein and Dr. Noeleen Hezyer, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of ESCAP, led delegation. But the newspaper did not mention Joseph Stiglitz’s visit to the country.
Friday, 04 December 2009 11:28 Kyaw Thein Kha
Mizzima News - Every child loves their family. But what are the consequences of a child being neglected by their parents or siblings or both within the family? If a child has their rights consistently abused how might that situation affect the family? Not surprisingly, many children suffer abuses of their rights within the family. This article, based largely on my personal experience, explains how this can happen.
I lived with my family in a small township, but my hometown was not far from Rangoon (Yangon), the former capital. My little family was a happy one. But ‘little’ it was not. In addition to my father and my mother, there were eleven older siblings. Twelve children, including myself. But don’t be too surprised, my uncle- my father’s brother- had fifteen children. The two families could organize themselves into two football teams. Being the youngest, I couldn’t play, but I joined as the team’s ball boy.
When I started primary school, my teachers, room-mates and their parents asked me, “Hey, Pho Kyaw! How many siblings do you have?” I didn’t want to lie, or brag. So I replied meekly, “Twelve.” My teachers smiled, friends laughed loudly and their parents giggled. You could see at least one of my brothers or sisters in every class from primary to high school. Because of this, nobody dared to make too much fun of me. If one of my brothers or sisters heard that someone was making a joke of me, he/she would come to my immediate defense. We had a kind of unity in our tribe.
Never a day passed where I wasn’t punished with some kind of a beating by one of my parents or siblings. I always had plenty to think about- how to obey the many rules of the thirteen people above me. I did what they didn’t like and had to try to follow the rules.
The eight rules I had to follow were:
1. No swimming
2. No playing with fire (A serious offence, punishable by my father)
3. Eat every curry that my mother cooked
4. Refrain from using any kind of bad words
5. In a quarrel with others, be passive. The other party must not come to our house with any complaint against me.
6. Don’t steal others’ belongings. (a second class rule, punishable by mother’s small bamboo stick- which hurt me much more than a big one)
7. Don’t stray too far from home. I must be able to hear someone calling me back (my most common offense)
8. Do not walk on parts of the wooden floor at home which had been wiped or cleaned by my brothers or sisters cleaned and wiped. If I had to walk on the clean floor, I had to first wash and dry my feet. If a footprint was found, I’d be beaten by the relevant sibling)
Rules (1) and (2) were enforced by my father, numbers (3) through (6) by my mother and numbers (7) and (8) by my brothers and sisters.
The dining table in my house was large. On special order, A local carpenter made one big enough to fit all 14 family members. Neither long nor square, the wooden circle-shaped table had four short legs. You can see at least one such table of varying size in most Burmese households.
Although the table was big enough for 14 family members, Brother Number 11and I was not allowed to eat at the table with my parents and other siblings. Sister Number 6 was responsible to train all the younger ones to obey the house rules and for giving us an “Eating Permit” to sit with parents and elder siblings at the dining table. Sister Number 10 had only been given an “eating permit” herself in the last few months. Before that she had put down her spoon too violently after taking soup and curries from serving bowls. Now she could gently take the spoons from the bowls and gently put them back into place.
This was the main reason why Sister Number 6 had issued her an “eating permit”. Sister Number 10 had started to behave like an adult as soon as she was given the permit. The worst thing was that my mother had promoted her to longyi wearing status. Having never being allowed to wear one before, she had worn only traditional skirts. In Burma, young girls wear traditional skirts before reaching adolescence. But Sister Number 10 was only thirteen years old, and my mother had allowed her wear a longyi. Since she was allowed to, she spoke to us (Brother Number 11 and I) like a mature woman. I felt upset about this. But worst of all, she stopped played with the two of us. I was not happy.
I had liked Brother Number 11 to be issued an eating permit. The reason being he had always given me favor when we played together, and had let me tag along with him to play. Another reason was that Pa Pa Thi, the ethnic-Indian woman who sold crackers at the front of our street, had often remarked that my brother spoke like an adult. But, Brother Number 11 couldn’t eat rice properly with one hand. He was always gazing about the table, listening to the conversations of our parents or elder siblings. As a result, he rarely finished the rice in his plate before others had finished. He then ate hurriedly with one hand after another, but only once he had noticed the others finishing up. He then stuffed too-large handfuls of rice into his mouth, blocking his throat. This was his main problem and the reason he had not been given an “eating permit”.
When we ate meals, our mother piled curries high on our plates. The two of us carried our own plates and ate our food at the front of our house, where we could see people passing by the front of our house. We could see some other children, playing with rolling stone balls. When we saw someone walking by, we called out to them in greeting and invited them to eat with us. We did this to anyone that happened to wander by, but soon stopped this practice when our mother scolded and shouted at us. Sometimes, we ate lunch, gazing at the playing children- eating, gazing, eating and gazing! We didn’t finish eating until our parents and siblings had completed their meals in the kitchen. Then Sister Number 6 came out and fed rice to us with her hand, helping us finish our meals.
One day, my uncle- the brother of my father- and his son who lived in the other town visited our house. Brother Number 11and I were happy, with thoughts of playing with our cousin. My mother once told me that our cousin was only a few months younger than me and we played happily together. But when the dinner time came, my uncle said, “Hey, nephews! Why don’t you sit and eat with your cousin?” The two of us were pleased with the idea. It was always interesting to listen to what older people were saying at the dining table.
An hour before dinner, Sister Number 6 said “Humm…., I think I’ll watch the two of you this time”.
“If you can take food from the bowls and eat smartly and neatly, you’ll be permitted to eat with older people later from now on.” she whispered to us behind my uncle and cousins back. My mother also said to the two of us, “Today, I’ve cooked three types of curry – fish curry; duck egg curry, and Indian-style bean soup, as we have guests in our house. I’ll pile fish curry in each of your plates, but you have to take egg curry and bean soup from the bowls. Take them yourselves. But, you are to take only a half of an egg each. Don’t have to eat more than a half of the egg”.
I had never been able to serve myself food before that time. But I had to be careful this time. It was a special dinner and I was more excited than other meal times. The dinner was also an exam to test the qualifications of the two youngest brothers. Should we be allowed to eat at the table or not? We started to eat dinner at 6 o’clock. My uncle and father engaged in many interesting conversations, but I had to be careful to finish eating on time. I had to frequently check the face of 6th sister. I was determined that she should not show any unsatisfied signs on her face.
I neatly took a half an egg from the bowl, just as my elder brothers and sisters had done. But I felt as if my fingers were about to shake with all the excitement and pressure. My brother ate faster than me. When I checked in his plate, he had already taken his half an egg, and my cousin was already onto his second plate of rice. I was taking extra care to prevent spilling the rice from my plate. As my cousin picked up the spoon from the bowl of eggs curry to take another half an egg, I shouted “Mom….!” and asked, “Are the guests also allowed to eat only a half of an egg?”. My cousin was scared by my words and the spoon he held in his hand, fell. I thought I had the right to say that. If he ate another half of the egg, there would be no egg for the Sister Number 1 and Brother Number 3, who had not returned from being out and had no dinner yet. I thought that I could show love and concern for my brothers and sister. I then checked the face of Sister Number 6. Her face was serene and appeared normal, with no visible sign of embarrassment and anger. I guessed she was thinking “My younger brother has said this because he worries for his brothers and sisters”. I expected that I had surely qualified for my eating permit on this ground alone.
But, the situation was not as I had suspected. Two hours after dinner, I was brought to the kitchen and beaten with a bamboo stick by my mother for not giving favor to guests. I learned an important lesson that I had to show favor to guests, as they are more important than even the hosts. I was not clever. I felt more grief over failing the exam at the dining table, than failing a school exam.
I felt very lonely being unable to eat with my siblings at the family table, even though there were so many of them. When I was being beaten in the kitchen, not one brother or sister intervened to stop my mother. Brother Number 11 and I had been given only one chance for affection. That was to sleep in our mother’s bed, where we were allowed to hug her as we slept. We were even scolded by our father if we asked our mother for pocket money on school holidays (weekends). I felt sad for being the youngest in such a large family.
One day, I was beaten by my father for refusing to eat soya bean curry. Our father rarely beat us and I felt so sad that I decided to commit suicide. There was a lake nearby my house where we collected drinking water. My plan was to drown myself.
It was not possible to talk about my plans to Brother Number 11. So I discussed my plans with Aye Naing, a playmate and my best friend. He didn’t want me to do it. I wanted to die as I felt so disappointed and sad thinking about my situation in my family. So, I prepared to do it.
In one evening when it was getting dark, I packed my sweater in a plastic bag because, as I thought, it was windy in the lake and the water was also cold. I wanted to jump off into the water, wearing my favorite sweater. I had seen the dead bodies of drowned people in the lake. Their bodies were rotten and their clothes were torn, showing their naked skin. So, I decided to die with dignity, wearing my little sweater.
That evening, I ate dinner faster than my brother. All my parents and siblings were eating dinner in the kitchen. I was waiting for the moment when my brother would go to the kitchen to drink water. When he went to the kitchen I grabbed the plastic bag with the neatly folded sweater, rushed from the house and ran in a hurry to the lake. It took about five-minutes to get there. At the side of the lake, I started to think, seeing the faces of my father, mother, brothers and sisters in my mind. I started to feel sad and cried. Then I put on my little sweater and walked down to a small wooden bridge connected by two bamboo poles. I stood up on the bridge, then, I jumped off into the water with my eyes closed tight.
From the bottom of the lake, the water reached only to my knees. I was heartbroken I couldn’t carry out my plan. It was an April summer and I felt the strong heat of the sun. The water in many of the lakes and brooks had already been dried because of the strong heat of summer sun. I opened my eyes to check if I was dead. No, I wasn’t.
In the mean time, my mothers and brothers had arrived and cried out at me from the bank of the lake. My brothers came down to the bridge and pulled me up by my hands. Then, I was brought up to the house. My mother wept on the way back. I saw Aye Naing behind me. He had revealed my suicide plan to my parents and siblings. Much later, I was proud of having such a good friend as Aye Naing, and thanked him for it.
My father scolded all my brothers and sisters when we all arrived at home. My mother also was rebuked. The tears streamed from my eyes as my sadness intensified. Sister Number 6 also wept as she placed her arms around me. She said, “Oh, my younger brother, have we ever made you feel hurt?” I saw signs of sadness on everyone’s faces. Brother Number 11 looked as though he was about to cry, “If you die, who will I have to play with?” I didn’t say anything. I kept on in silence. I felt sad again because I had made the entire family anxious and sad. My father said, “Son, come to your Father.” I left the comfort of Sister Number 6’s embrace and approached my father. He put his arms around me. Normally, I would not dare to even approach my father. He rarely smiled. He always talked with a expressionless face, and we were all afraid of him. But, for now, I saw the signs of anxiety and sadness on his face and felt his sympathy.
He said, “My son, tell me what you want.” I told dad what I had longed for most in my life. “I’d like to sit and eat with my older brothers and sisters at the dining table,” I said. Then, “What else do you want?”. Dad continued, “You can ask me for what you want.” I didn’t say anything more. I had told him my most important dream.
Then, Father asked the Sister Number 6, “Well, Ah Nyo, how much pocket money did you give to Phoe Kyaw and Phoe Zaw in the last school year?” (Phoe Kyaw was my nick name and Phoe Zaw was Brother Number 11). Sister Number 6 answered, “Thirty-five pyas (cents), Dad.” Father said, “Well, give the two of them ten more pyas in the next school year, ok?” I had been praying so that the school opened quickly as I’d be paid forty five pyas everyday in the next school year.
I was very happy to hear what my father said. Father continued, “Son, you don’t have to behave like this again. If you want something, you have father, mother, sisters and brothers. Tell all of us what you want. Tell us frankly. The whole family felt unhappy and was worried about you. If others feel unhappy because of one, that’s not good, do you understand what I am trying to tell you?” I said nothing, except saying, “Yes,” nodding my head. I kept silent, as I knew I had been wrong.
Over the following days, Sister Number 6 arranged a new small table and she ate with Brother Number 11 and me. She taught us not to let the rice reach up to the middle joints of the fingers, how to avoid the “Shu…..Shu” sound while drinking soup with a spoon, how to replace serving spoons in the curry bowl quietly, how to avoid spilling rice over the sides of our plates. After two or three days of practice, the two of us could eat rice without any mishaps. From that time on, the big dining table in our house was complete with fourteen family members. It was the day that I had qualified, one of the happiest days of my childhood.
Kyaw Thein Kha
Monday, 23 November 2009 21:36
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – The Burmese Ministry of Electric Power (1) will commission the Ye Ywa hydro-power project in December, billed as the biggest in the country.
“We will begin operating one turbine of the four for hydro-electricity. We will begin in December and run the turbines one after another in the following months. We are still unsure of the exact date but it might probably be the end of December,” Aye Aye Thant, Director Hydro-Electricity Department of the ministry told Mizzima.
For the commissioning of the hydro-power-project, several engineers from the engineering department were said to have reached the hydro-power plant.
The hydro-project on the Myittha River, located between Ye-Yamann villages, about 31 miles southeast of Mandalay city, is being constructed by the Department of Hydro Power Implementation (DHPI) No. (2) of the Ministry of Electric Power (1).
According to the ministry’s press release, the project cost is over US $ 600 million. While the US$ 200 million was taken as loan from China, the ministry has borne the rest.
According to Burma River Network, a Thailand-based activists group that monitors Burma’s hydro-projects -- Hydro Power Generation Enterprise along with China International Trust and Investment Co. (CITIC) and Sinohydro Corporation signed an agreement in 2004 for the project and was later joined by five other Chinese companies.
The initial design of the project was by a Japanese company Nippon Koei. For details of the design and construction the Burmese government signed an agreement with a Swiss company Colenco Power Engineering in 2003.
The hydropower plant is 2264 feet wide and 433 feet high. It will produce an estimated 790 megawatts.
The project, once completed, is expected to supply electricity throughout the country through Kyaukse, Meikhtila, and Mandalay towns via 230 KV (Kilo Volt) cable lines.
Currently the Ministry of Electric Power (1) operates over 15 hydropower-projects located across the country’s Kachin, Shan, Kayah, and Karen states.
However, rights activists have expressed concern over the appalling human rights violations including forced relocations of villages, forced labour, and environmental degradation. Besides, campaigners also expressed fear of a possible break in the dams and its consequences for inhabitants and residents downstream.
According to a report by Xinhua, Burma’s current electricity generation is 1684 megawatts, and the statistics of the government shows that Burma consumed 6.62 billion kilowatts in 2008-2009.
However, Burmese, including urban residents of Rangoon and Mandalay say they are facing problems as electricity supply is inadequate. Residents of Rangoon and Mandalay, the two largest cities in Burma, said they receive electricity supply for only six to seven hours a day.
Kyaw Thein Kha
Thursday, 19 November 2009 13:37
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – At its recently held conference on the Thai-Burma border, the National League for Democracy (Liberated Area) (NLD-LA) adopted a resolution to uphold the Shwegondaing Declaration of its parent organization the NLD.
The newly elected general secretary said that the conference held from November 15 to 17 adopted resolutions on its future plan for the 2010 election and to uphold the Shwegondaing Declaration.
“We will do our best for national reconciliation and dialogue. We discussed how to face the 2010 election in keeping with the stance of the Shwegondaing Declaration,” NLD-LA party General Secretary U Myint Soe told Mizzima.
The Shwegondaing Declaration has called for reviewing and amending the 2008 constitution, releasing all political prisoners including party Chairman U Tin Oo and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, recognizing the 1990 election results and to engage in dialogue with the opposition.
The conference also discussed how to ‘oppose and fight’ against the election if it is carried out without amending the 2008 constitution.
The conference did not extensively discuss the economic sanctions imposed on Burma by western countries, it is learnt.
The conference held once every three years, elected its officer bearers for the next term -- U Bo Thaung as Chairman, Dr. Aye Kyaw as Vice-Chairman and new blood in other Executive Committee posts.
U Bo Thaung is MP-elect from Yinmarbin constituency No. 1. He left Burma in 1992. He served as the NLD-LA Central Vice-Chairman, Secretariat member of National Council of Union of Burma (NCUB), Member of the Parliament Union (MPU) and Affair Committee member in the coalition government in exile, NCGUB.
The New Vice-Chairman Dr. Aye Kyaw served as Chairman of NLD-LA (Australia branch), and he was elected for the first time as Vice-Chairman in NLD-LA (Central).
This was their 6th Conference attended by 43 delegates from central and all other branches other than from the Japan and Malaysia branches, pre-occupied as they were with their regional activities.
After the junta refused to transfer power to the election winning party NLD in 1990 election, some party members and elected MPs fled to evade arrest by the junta. They established the NLD-LA (Central) in the Manerplaw headquarters on the Thai-Burma border in 1991. Dr. Sein Win was the first Chairman of NLD-LA.
Currently Dr. Sein Win is the PM of the coalition government in exile.
Story and written by
Kyaw Thein Kha
July 21, 2009
There is a Burmese saying that goes “Rubbish becomes Gold.” Almost all the people of Burma have probably heard the saying. I want to explain about the meaning of the word to non-Burmese citizens. Especially, something that has to be thrown or that is not useful anymore or that a person doesn’t want it anymore is called “Rubbish” or “Waste”.
Since it is called “Rubbish”, who would want to keep it? Finally, the rubbish is thrown out. Some things or materials are useful for people. Nevertheless, as the people don’t know how to use it properly, things become rubbish. Anyhow, it is sure that they’ll be destroyed since they are thought as rubbish. In this article, what I want to put up is not about useless rubbish. It is about the “The rubbish that has become gold”.
The name of the ‘rubbish’ I want discuss is “Ko Phyo”. He’s now 10 years old and in grade 2 at a Thai government school. His parents lived in Kaw Thaung (Victoria point) in the southern part of Burma. His parents passed away when he was young. After his parents passed away, Ko Phyo faced a very hard life and nobody fed him. Then, Ma Moe, a friend of Ko Pyo’s father who worked in a construction site, began to care temporarily for Ko Phyo despite her own tough circumstances at the time. She could only feed Ko Phyo by sharing the little food she had. The other workers in the construction site where Ma Moe was working also supported Ko Phyo as much as they could. Because of such sympathetic help Ko Phyo is still alive today. He was only five years old at the time.
One year after Ma Moe’s husband passed away, she moved to Tarlasak village in Phang Nga province in Southern Thailand. She brought Ko Phyo to Tarlasak with her and provided for him by working in a construction site. In those days, Ko Phyo went along with Ma Moe to the construction sites as if she were his own mother. He lived in the construction site and grew up there. He didn’t have slippers under the heat of sun in the construction site. He didn’t have toys, nor did he have friends to play with and was very lonely. He would sit in a safe corner of a construction site, and watched while Ma Moe’s worked. He was shy and did not like speaking to people because he was afraid of other people. According to a worker close to Ko Phyo, he would run away and hide when a stranger spoke to him. He would feel very sad if someone spoke about his parents. While he would smile around those he knew, he sometimes could not hold back his tears.
In late 2005, after the Tsunami, Grassroots-HRE set up a programme for the children of migrant workers and the victims of Tsunami. In the mean time, Htoo Chit, the director of Grassroots-HRE, informed the migrant communities that they could bring the orphans or the children of Tsunami victims to Grassroots-HRE to care for. The news spread very quickly by word of mouth. Finally, the news reached Ma Moe’s ear. In the beginning, she could not believe what she heard because she had heard about child trafficking. She could not irresponsibly hand over Ko Phyo to the hands of others. Ma Moe, was having a hard enough time providing for herself, let alone a child. Nevertheless, she could not bring herself to leave Ko Phyo to strangers who she could not instantly trust. After she had made detailed inquiries about Grassroots-HRE, she handed Ko Phyo to Htoo Chit. Then, Htoo Chit adopted Ko Phyo as his own son. Ko Phyo then began his education in grade one at a local Thai government school.
One day, I visited the Community Child Care Center (CCCC) of Grassroots-HRE in Htonkhamin ward, where Ko Phyo and other orphans live. There are about 20 children in CCCC, including orphans. I asked Ko Phyo for permission to see his room and he let me in with a smile. As I entered, I saw gold medals shining in his room, as they hung from the ceiling. I counted the number of gold medals and there were a total of nine. I asked Ko Phyo whose gold medals those were and he responded that he had won the prizes at his school games. He competed in the events for children under the age of nine. He took part in short distance, long distance, relay and hurdle races and he also won the first prizes in all events and was awarded gold medals. He also told me that he forgot about the other events in which he was awarded prizes and he said that he’d tell me about that later. He was also awarded gold, silver and bronze medals in the games when he was in grade one and two.
Ko Phyo was also selected as the brightest student and was awarded first prize in the whole grade one class of last year. It was unbelievable for me and I was surprised to know about his success. I was proud of our people and I was delighted. His success was all the more incredible considering that he was Burmese and had been studying in Thai for only two years. He was studying amongst only Thai students. Considering the difficulties that Ko Phyo has overcome, his life can now be seen as a success story. From the rubbish nobody wanted, to a gold medal student and athlete loved by his new friends and community.
Ko Phyo told me about his success, “I’m happy to win the prizes in the school games and to be chosen as the brightest student in the class. I do homework every day. I ask questions to our teachers on issues I’m not clear about and don’t understand. I’m not afraid of asking questions, but of being beaten. I’ll take part in the school games in the coming years. Now, I have to train together with my friends at school. I want to urge other Burmese children to study hard.”
I want to tell you of another child who had been rubbish. His name is Saw Yan Naing. He was in the same situation as Ko Phyo. Saw Yan Naing also was chosen as the brightest student in his second grade class in a Thai government school last year. He won prizes and was also awarded gold medals in the school games. Both of his parents are still alive. His father is a tuberculous patient and is staying in the Temporary Shelter built and operated by Grassroots-HRE. To learn more about the life of Saw Yan Naing, I visited the Temporary Shelter and had a conversation with his father. I taught English to the group of children, including Ko Phyo and Saw Yan Naing in the Htonkhamin ward in my free time. I introduced myself to Saw Yan Naing’s father as one of the children’s teachers. We subsequently had a conversation and he had the following to say:
“I have been paralyzed and infected with tuberculosis. I also feel numbed at night. I take regular medicine, but it’s not easy to recover. I handed my son over to Htoo Chit, as I don’t want my son to get infected. My condition makes me very sad. Because of my health problems, my wife, my son and my daughter have to live apart from each other. We don’t have a chance to live together. I have not seen my daughter for two years. My wife left me and she got married with another man. I fell down when a woman came and asked for my little daughter to take away and I slipped into a coma and was hospitalized for six days. My friends urged me to ask Htoo Chit to help my son. I finally agreed and Htoo Chit accepted the responsibility to care for my son. My wife has probably given my little daughter to others by now. I miss my daughter very much. I want to live together with my family. I feel sad when I see the children of others, but because of my health condition I know I must accept the fact that I cannot see my children. I feel unhappy if I think about my son and daughter, but I need to be calm about it. Saw Yan Naing’s younger sister is so cute and she turned six this year.
He told his son, “When you become an adult, you may want to see your younger sister and so you must remember her name.” He added, “I cannot stop feeling attached to my children, and I worry because I know I might die soon. Even if I am not going to die yet, I don’t want my son to have a life full of misery like I did, so I decided to hand him over to Htoo Chit’s care. Htoo Chit’s organization will educate him and he will have better prospects than I ever did. All my trust for the future of my son is in the hands of Htoo Chit and his organization. I feel happy to see my son in their care. This organization is helping a lot of people. The children are supported and a school truck, pocket money and food are provided. I’m delighted to see the activities of this organization. Myself, I have also been provided a tremendous amount of help by this organization. It is for this reason that I trust it and why I handed my son over to GHRE’s care. The children under the support of this organization benefit by learning computer and English language skills. His own parents fail to serve their responsibility for his future. Now, my son is living in better place than his own parents had’.
He continued, “There was a time when I looked for my little daughter wherever I went, I looked for her at the hospital, but I didn’t find her. Some people say that she is now in Hawnaw. I’m not able to go there as it is far and I am ill. It was strange when a woman came and asked for my daughter and I had a breakdown. She was my wife’s friend who had helped us when my daughter was born. Because I knew that neither my wife nor I could take care of our children, I said to her, “It’s up to you.” Now they are separated. My son has seen his younger sister. He didn’t know when the woman came and took his younger sister, as he was playing somewhere. I feel sad for both of them. The two children are apart from each other now and they don’t have a chance to meet. I don’t know where to go and find my daughter. I’ll leave a will in which I’d write who took my daughter before I die.”
When I heard him speaking about Saw Yan Naing, I knew that those words came from his heart and were said with great emotion. Saw Yan Naing often visits his father, but he cannot stay for long, because his father fears that Saw Yan Naing might contract Tuberculosis. During his visit, Saw Yan Naing tried to tell his father about his success in school, however he was simply turned away by his father. I then told his father that his son was chosen as the brightest student in the class and that he had won prizes in the school games and was awarded gold medals. The father didn’t know about his son’s success. I could notice the tears from the eyes of Saw Yan Naing’s father, a demonstration of the happiness he felt when he heard about the news of his son’s success.
Saw Yan Naing told me about his success, “I’m happy to be chosen as the brightest student in the class. I’m even happier to win prizes in school games. I tried so hard to win prizes in the games. I also studied the lessons regularly when I got home from school and I did my homework regularly. At the end of the year after we had taken our exams and handed in our homework, the teacher went through the exams and homework to choose the best student and I was chosen. The teacher said that I’m clever and asked me to study hard again. She also encouraged me not to worry about being a Burmese in a Thai school and encouraged me to continue to study hard to assure my success.”
Htoo Chit, the father and care-giver of the children, had this to say:
“While Ko Phyo and Saw Yan Naing were chosen as the brightest students in the class, there are also other children in our community who have been recognized as exceptional students. Our children do not study only in Thai, they also study Burmese and our organization trains them so that they can improve in all subjects. We also have wonderful teachers who have systematically trained our children to have strong work ethic and who encourage them to study diligently among the Thai. I think our Burmese children have achieved these successes within the Thai schools because of their strong determination to succeed under such difficult circumstances.”
Then, Htoo Chit told me about his plan for the future education of the children, “Thai universities are much cheaper than other international universities, so if these children can continue in their education within the Thai system, then I hope we would be in a better position to continue our support for them until they graduate. Thai schools now grant equal rights for the children of Burmese migrant workers and Thai children. Over the past ten years, Thai schools have begun to accept the children of Burmese migrant workers. Thai and Burmese human rights activists have campaigned for Burmese children to be accepted in Thai schools. Now, it is not as difficult for the children of Burmese migrants to enroll in Thai government schools. In 1996, the Thai government prescribed the principles of education for Burmese migrant workers’ children, stating that they still have a right to equal opportunity for education, regardless of whether or not the children possess a National Identity Card. The principles are the result of the campaigning and activities of Thai and Burmese human rights and child rights activist groups that had been working tirelessly for more than ten years on this issue.”
Htoo Chit added, “We started to send the Burmese migrant children to Thai schools in 2006 because of these new policies. Our organization could send the migrant children in our communities, to study in Thai government schools in 2007. We encouraged our communities to send their children to Thai school because in our opinion, the current policies of Thai government schools for the migrant children are very good. Their new policies allow Burmese migrant children to study in Thailand until they graduate. Therefore, our organization sent 50 of our children to Thai government schools in 2007.”
The parents of some migrant children working in Thailand are in non-secure situations as they don’t have any documents which can prove they have a legal status in the country. So, they allow their children to be under Grassroots-HRE’s care for the safety and education of their children. The children study hard because they are aware of their circumstances. Every year, Burmese children won first, second and third prizes in Thai schools. These children are worthy jewels for the future of Burma.
Story by
Kyaw Thein Kha
July 18, 2009.
It was very hot in the crowd and the cell was very noisy with crying children and chattering. Some were Mon and Burmese and I saw some Karen and Chin, too. I looked over all around the jail for a place to lie down, as I knew that I had to spend three days and two nights there. Then, I found a space near the window that was good enough for me to spend the two nights there. I spread my longyi (most of Burmese men in Burma wear longyi instead of pant or jeans trousers) on the cement floor. After a few minutes, a Burmese broker and Thai staff entered into the cell and took our pictures. We had to fill out forms and have our finger prints taken, before being deported to Burma.
Now my anxiety had disappeared as I was with the people who are in the same situation as me. I talked with three boys who were supposed to be about twenty five. They said that they had worked in Malaysia for five years and they had been in that cell for one week. They also told me that they had already paid all the money to the brokers in Kuala Lumpur to be deported to Burma. As their broker in KL had not given the specific amount of money to the hands of the brokers who were working with the Thai immigration officers in Thai-Malaysia border, the Thai immigration officers had not transferred them to the hands of another brokers who would transferred them into the Thai immigration in Mae Sot. So, the boys had been detained in the cell for such a long time. When they called the broker’s number in KL, he didn’t answer the phone. The boys told me all about their situation with sad faces and I knew that the boys were cheated by the broker in KL. But I didn’t tell them this as I didn’t want to scare them. I, myself, was so sad to know all about their situation. If they encountered such a problem in KL, I would be able to help them. But for now, I was in the same situation with others who were being detained in the cell and would be deported to Burma.
In the next morning, the broker who brought me into the cell brought a bottle of drinking water and a box of fried rice. If I compared him with the other brokers, he was better than others. The jail authorities also fed us three meals per day. The curry was only soup, mixed with the cucumber and gourd and a boiled duck egg. The rice was packed in a plastic bag. We had to eat the same curry in every meal. Some people could buy fried rice and some other better food from outside as they could save some amount of money before they planned to go back home to Burma. They could ask someone outside to buy food from outside. One person helped them to buy food from outside, but the detainees had to give him some extra money for his service. There were some other mobile food stalls outside the window. I still had forty five Malaysian ringgits (about US$12), and some coins in my pocket. I bought Thai papaya salad and sticky rice through iron bars of the window. I remembered the days when I ate papaya salad and Thai noodle soup with the children when I worked as a volunteer in children’s home in Thai-Burma border in 2005.
I took a bath in the bathroom as my whole body was sweating and I smelt bad, but there was no soap. The bathroom was built together with toilet. I had to breathe the bad smell of the toilet and there was no cup to take water from the tank, but I could use the cup from the toilet if I wanted. I didn’t know how the other detainees took a bath and which cup they used when they did, so I asked the mobile food stall owner outside the window for an empty drinking water bottle made of plastic. I asked her to cut the bottle from the middle part. She gave it to me through the window. Then, I could use the bottom part of the bottle as a cup when I took a bath, but I still didn’t have any soap. At least I could wash and was now fresh.
By now, I had stayed in the Thai immigration cell for three days and two nights. On the afternoon of the third day, a broker came into the cell and called each of our names and asked us to stand in lines. Some detainees asked him if their name was written on the list. I saw that the three boys were also asking the broker about the list; it was a list of detainees who would be deported soon. The broker said with a loud voice, “Is there anybody here whom the broker Ko Myo brought?” The detainees who were brought by the broker ‘Ko Myo’ raised their hands. Then, the broker checked the listed detainees one by one. My name was also on the list. The three boys encouraged me, “Don’t worry, brother. You’ll have to go together with those people and be deported soon.” I asked them if their names were listed to be deported and they said, “No.” I was very sorry to hear about that.
The brokers and the immigration authorities separated the detainees into two groups – those whose names were listed to be deported and whose names were not. The broker collected 200 Baht from each detainee. He said that the collected money would be used to buy food on the way. We had to stand in lines and were asked to get on a truck. The truck had good ventilation. I was thinking about the 54 Burmese victims, who died in the enclosed truck when they were smuggled to southern Thailand from Burma in April, 2008. It was an international headline and caught international interest. A man who could read Thai in our group informed us that “Thai Immigration” was written on two sides of the truck and we didn’t need to worry about the police in checked points. I counted all the people on the truck. In total, there were sixty five people who would be deported to Burma.
It had already been about seven o’clock in the evening when the truck started to leave the immigration cell. The driver drove the truck non-stop all the way. At about 10 pm at night, the driver stopped the truck near a Seven Eleven shop. He gave us a pack of food each. I opened the paper in which rice and curry was packed. The curry was the same kind of food that we ate in the immigration cell. None of us complained about that although we had paid 200 Baht for food on the way. Instead, we ate all the food as we were so hungry; we were also very excited to be deported to our land where we would arrive safely.
Then, the driver started the journey again and drove the car non-stop through the whole night. At about seven o’clock in the next morning, a pregnant woman in our group could not resist her abdominal pain and she asked us to ask the driver to stop the car. We strongly beat the truck’s frame from behind so that the driver could hear us and stop the car. We were very lucky as some people in our group could speak Thai. The driver stopped the car near a petrol shop and contacted a hospital. After a few minutes, an ambulance arrived and the doctors and nurses checked the pregnant women and said that the baby had died in her uterus. The woman was to stay at the hospital for necessary treatments, but we all had to wait until our driver received a letter of recommendation from the medical superintendent. The letter was to be shown in the Thai immigration office in Mae Sot. The driver brought sixty five people on the truck, but now one was to be left at the hospital. He’d be able to transfer only sixty four of us to the hands of Thai immigration office in Mae Sot. This is why he needed to bring a letter of recommendation from the medical superintendent. The sister of the woman in our group was also pregnant, she cried loudly as she was sorry for her sister and also worried about abortion or if the baby was dead in her uterus like her sister. All the women joined together to comfort her, and then, she stopped crying.
The truck, on which sixty four Burmese were brought, set forth on its journey and it arrived in Mae Sot, the town on Thai-Burma border, at 7 pm. The truck stopped at the Mae Sot immigration. We all had to sleep in Mae Sot immigration cell for one night. Early the next morning, the immigration officer asked us to stand in lines and we had to give our finger prints again. In the mean time, a Burmese broker woman who was supposed to have a good relationship with the Thai immigration officials came to us and said that we were going to be deported to the hands of the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA). DKBA is a breakaway group of Buddhist former soldiers and officers of the Karen National Liberation Army, one of the larger insurgent armies in Burma. Since shortly after their breakaway in 1994, the DKBA have enjoyed a ceasefire with the Burmese army. More than 3,000 Karen villagers have recently fled to Thailand because of the fighting between DKBA and Karen National Union (KNU). According to the woman broker, DKBA would check us and they would keep all our mobile phones and cameras. So we kept all our cameras and phones in the hands of the broker. She said that she’d return us all those things after we had been checked in DKBA and passed its check point.
We all were locked in the Thai immigration truck and deported on the bank of Moi River (Thaung Yin River) which separates Thailand and Burma. A boat man who was believed to be a soldier from DKBA was ready on the boat, waiting for us to bring to Burma. We all got on the boat and the man rowed; finally we were all deported into the hands of DKBA soldiers in Burma’s side. Part III, to be continued …………..
Grassroots-HRE
Kyaw Thein Kha
June 15, 2009
Traditionally, youth are not given a voice in society. They are taught to be quiet and not have opinions. Saturday there was lots of laughter, noise and viewpoints coming out of the Youth Outreach Office as representatives from all the learning centers came together for a children’s forum that was youth-centered and youth-led. Grassroots-HRE held the Children’s Forum of migrant children in KKhuk Khek village, Takuapa township of southern Thailand on the 13th of June 2009.
Ms. Nan Nilar, the program organizer, told about the purpose of the Children’s Forum. “We want the student representatives from all the GHRE schools to meet with each other and share their experiences and any needs they have in their schools. They can evaluate the progress in their schools and they can find out how they can work further improvements. That’s the purpose of the program. If we hold a monthly children’s forum, the student representatives from a school will have a chance to know what’s happening in the other schools. Then, we hope that they can exchange the information among themselves. Another outcome is they’ll have confidence in themselves and be able to talk in front of people bravely. “
Although the teachers took part in leading past forums, this year nine teenage students from Youth Outreach planned activities, led the forum and arranged everything for themselves with the support of Ms. Nan Nilar and their teachers.
Tun Thit Soe, 15 years old and a student of Youth Outreach, said, “In this forum, I took the role that would make the children happy and I led in the game activities. We organized the programs so that the children would feel free to talk bravely. The nine student representatives from Youth Outreach organized this program.” He added, “I’m proud of myself and our activities, and I’m happy.”
Tun Thit Soe said that he wanted all the students of migrant workers to study until the end of their education. He urged all of them to unite and to try until they have the qualities of a leader.
Ms. Linette Escobar, an American volunteer who attended the first forum in 2006 said, “This is a revolutionary moment for Grassroots! It is beautiful to remember teaching in our learning centers with no walls to seeing the youth blossom as leaders. I am so proud of the young people for taking the lead in this way and for GHRE in supporting youth development principles by giving young people a meaningful opportunity to make changes in their community.”
Lae Lae Htway, 12 years old and a student of Pakarang village said, “I come from Pakrang Primary School of Migrant Children. I’m happy to attend the Children’s Forum and I have a chance to make new friends. I reported about positive and negative aspects of my school in the forum. For the good aspects, I reported that we have a garden in our school, the students listen to their teachers and I reported about some other things, too. I like all the programs in this Children’s Forum.”
In total, 32 student representatives from all the schools in Phang Nga province, such as Kok Kloy, Thaplamu, Ban Neing, Pakarang, Par Weep and Kuraburi villages, attended the Children Forum. The day started at 10 am with information and bonding games and the students reported positive and negative aspects of their schools. All the representatives exchanged their experiences with each other and they played games and activities. The program ended at 2 pm.
Grassroots-HRE has held such forums since 2006. This is the third year that GHRE held the forum it will hold monthly forums all year.
Grassroots-HRE
Kyaw Thein Kha
June 15, 2009
A Burmese girl was allegedly killed by a hotel assistant manager in a hotel near the Kawthaung township of Southern Burma on the 19th of April, 2009. The murderer threw the dead body into the sea.
Maung Yin Thway, the police, was on duty in the area at the time the crime happened. Aye Kyine, the police officer, and Maung Maung Lwin, assistant police officer, are conducting an investigation. However, the officials haven’t found out the truth yet. The family believes the murder was committed by the Assistant Manager at the hotel.
According to a friend close to the victim, 34 year old Than Maung, who was working as an assistant manager at Treasure Island Resort near Kawthaung township killed Ma Thandar Tin and cut her neck. The dead body was thrown into the sea. Ma Thandar, aged 19, was working as an accountant and a receptionist at the hotel. The case happened at about 1 am the 19th of April, according to the victim’s friend.
The suspect, Than Maung, fled to Ranong in southern Thailand, the other side of Kawthaung. The victim’s mother said that Than Maung talked to Ma Thandar Tin’s mother on the phone and confessed to the murder saying that Ma Thandar Tin spoke aggressively and that was the reason why he killed her.
A close friend to the victim’s family said, “Than Maung was a close friend to Daw Wai, the victim’s mother. He helped the victim to get a job at the hotel, and he proposed marriage to the victim. However, the victim refused Than Maung’s proposal as she wanted to continue her education. The victim had been admitted to study law this coming August in Myeik University of southern Burma. She came and worked at the hotel to cover her school expenses. She earned 50,000 Kyats (about US$50) per month.”
The hotel is situated on Yadana Kyun (Treasure Island) near Kawthaung township. The Singaporean and Thai business owners rented Yandana Kyun and built the Treasure Island Resort on it. The resort was opened in 2008. Over one hundred staff are working in different positions at the resort. There were 22 rooms in the hotel where the victim stayed.
Although it was known that the victim was killed on the 19th of April, the hotel informed her parents that she took a leave. Since the parents of the victims could not find their daughter, they went to the hotel where the victim was working. Then, the parents found out that their daughter was killed.
A friend of the victim’s mother said, “All the staffs were still there when the victim’s mother checked the room. Her earrings were dropped on the floor. Her mobile, watch and ID, all were left in the room. According to the clues, all knew that Thanda Tin had been killed because the mosquito net was also torn off with a knife and the blood could be seen under the net.”
According to another report, a human head that was stringed and a dead body was found near Ten Miles Village and the victim’s mother confirmed that the dead body was her daughter’s.
An anonymous police officer said, “The doctor and the senior police officer are going to check the dead body. The suspect fled to the other side of Kawthaung. We want to find out the truth, but we haven’t done anything about the crime yet. What is known is that Ma Thandar Tin was killed.”
Grassroots-HRE
Interview by
Kyaw Thein Kha
June 15th 2009
Thailand based NGOs and community based organizations in Malaysia got together to hold the second “Two Destinations One Origin Conference” from 5th to 7th June, 2009 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The participants from different organizations in both Thailand and Malaysia mainly discussed migrant workers’ issues and shared their experiences about migrant issues.
In an interview last Friday 12th June 2009, Ms. Po Po, the deputy director of Grassroots – HRE based in Phang Nga province of South Thailand, shared what she discussed in the conference.
Q. Which NGOs organized the second “Two Destinations One Origin Conference”?
A. Thailand based Migrant Assistant Programme (MAP) Foundation and Malaysia based Workers Hub for Change and Network of Action for Migrants in Malaysia (NAMM) organized the programme together.
Q. How many social organizations in Malaysia attended the conference?
A. National League for Democracy (Liberated Area) Malaysia, Burma Campaign Malaysia, Network of Action for Migrants in Malaysia (NAMM), Multination Women’s Organization of Burma, Myanmar Refugee Volunteer Group (MRVG) and a Shan Refugee Organization attended the conference. Thailand based MAP Foundation and Malaysia based Workers Hub for Change also attended the conference.
Q. What did you discuss in the conference?
A. We mainly discussed the situation of migrant workers in both Thailand and Malaysia. All the NGOs and organizations at the conference mutually evaluated the problem that migrants have to face and encounter during the global economic crisis and the policies and principles that the respective governments coded for migrant workers.
Q. What topics did the Malaysia based community organizations discuss in the conference?
A. They discussed workers’ rights, for example, how the Malaysian outsourcing companies and firm owners oppress and exploit legal migrant workers and how the migrant workers have their rights abused. We discussed these issues very clearly so they could be understood in detail. Following that, the Malaysian based organizations could effectively exchange information about how the migrant workers in Malaysian detention and deportation centers are being oppressed by authorities in those centers. In my opinion, the Malaysia based organizations are working the best they can but I think that if they put in stronger efforts to work in balance and harmony within their networks, they’d find a better way to solve the problem of migrants.
Q. Did you discuss the recent death of two Burmese migrant workers in a Malaysian detention center at the conference?
A. Yes, we mentioned this case as an example when we were discussing our future action plan about how we can work with the respective authorities for fair and just detention and deportation. The issue of how to stop detentions and deportations has been published in Mek Khong migration publications. As a consequence, we must share this knowledge among the workers’ environment so that they know what their rights are. Then they themselves can call for their rights to be respected and we can increase pressure on the government through united efforts. We talked a lot about this.
Q. I heard a joint statement was issued after the conference. What did you call on in the statement?
A. We called on the Malaysian government to immediately stop the unjust, discriminatory and unconstitutional policy and practice, known as ‘Foreign Workers First Out’ (FWFO) principle. According to this policy migrant workers must lose their jobs before local workers regardless of the length of time they’ve been in the job and we called on Malaysia and Thailand to demand that all employers fulfill their contractual agreements with regard to all workers, including foreign workers. Employers must not use the economic crisis as an excuse to dismiss workers or close down factories without adequate notice to the workers. Mechanisms should be put in place to ensure that employers pay workers adequate and just compensation for any early termination of employment agreement.
Q. Where did you send it to, to which authorized organizations?
A. The statement is currently only in the hands of NGOs. But, we’ll send it to the Thai government, Malaysian government and the ASEAN.
Q. May I know how your organization is working with the networks of Malaysia based organizations?
A. This is the first time that I attended the conference of our networks. Grassroots – HRE works together with Action Network for Migrants (ANM), the Network of Action for Migrants in Malaysia (NAMM) and other Thailand and Malaysia based organizations which are working for migrants in both countries. However, this year we discussed becoming a stronger network for the welfare of our people, how we can support the migrants and each other, how we can approach the governments and how to work towards changing their principles and policy of migrant workers. However, at this initial stage we could only exchange our experiences and give advice to each other. We talked about linking with more networks to become a better, stronger one.
Q. How will you keep on your work as an NGO based in Thailand with the connection of Malaysia based organizations?
A.We’ll keep putting pressure on the governments. We’ll work and coordinate with local organizations in Malaysia. We’ll let the two governments know about the situation of migrant workers and their issues. We’ll call on the ASEAN to also put pressure on the two governments. We hope that our efforts concerning the migrant issue will catch the interest of international governments.
Q. Grassroots – HRE is a legally organized non-government organization in Thailand. The Malaysia based organizations are not legally organized ones so they may face some difficulties in their work. As deputy director of Grassroots-HRE do you have an opinion on this or any advice to give?
A. Yes, they might have some difficulties. The organizations themselves are not in legal status. It is very difficult for the organizations of illegal status to help illegal migrant workers. I understand their situation. However, if all the organizations connect with each other and work together in unity they’ll be able to help to some degree. At the same time, the illegal ones need to organize and stimulate the legal ones to work and support them.
Q. Do you have anything else to say to the Burmese migrant workers in Malaysia?
A. I don’t want to separate the workers in Thailand or in Malaysia as they are all the same. The Burmese migrant workers are spreading out to different places in the countries. Although I’m talking about the workers in Malaysia and Thailand, I also want to urge all the workers in the other countries to unite and help each other, try to know your rights and call on governments to respect your rights. If you yourself don’t stand up for your rights, who will stand up for you? If someone else defends your rights on your behalf, there chance of achieving our goal is reduced. I want to urge them all to unite and work in balance and harmony.
