It had taken us about 45 minutes to travel to the Safe House by motorbike. When we arrived the manager, Daw Paw Lu Lu, was accompanying an HIV positive patient to the Kwai River Christian Hospital, a five minutes drive from the Safe House. As we waited to interview her, staff from the Safe House gave us a tour of the organization’s grounds and projects. Small houses and buildings connected by gardening projects, fish banks and a pig farm scattered the Safe House property. When Daw Paw Lu Lu returned we sat down and she patiently answered my questions about the Safe House, while my friend photographed the weaving centre.

Daw Paw Lu Lu, a 61-year-old Karen woman, the Thailand Burma Border Consortium (TBBC), and the Christian Church of Thailand, founded the Safe House in 1993. The Safe House was a coordinated effort of the three organizations to aid the increasing number of displaced migrants struggling to survive on and around the Thailand-Burma border. Over the past 17 years, the Safe House has treated over 1500 patients suffering from varying illnesses. Patients of the Safe House are members of various nationalities, ethnicities and religions; presently there are Mon, Shan, Karen, Arakan, Akha, Thai, Malay, Khmer and Indian patients at the residence.

Daw Paw Lu Lu explained to me that the aim of the Safe House is to help mentally impaired, or terminally ill, individuals who have no other option. This includes individuals suffering from: HIV/AIDS, Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, Tuberculosis (TB), schizophrenia, mania, epilepsy, intellectual disabilities, and various other ailments.

In the past, most of the HIV/AIDS patients that came to the clinic were men but now the clinic is admitting more women. Daw Paw Lu Lu thinks the increase is due to the rise in women migrating to and working in Thailand.

Since she was 27, Daw Paw Lu Lu has been studying and providing healthcare on and around the Thailand-Burma border. Initially running the Safe House alone, she now has a round-the-clock staff of 14. Other then caring for patients, Safe House staff runs various recreational, rehabilitation and vocational programs to aid in the patients’ recovery. Able patients can tend to the: vegetable gardens, fish banks or pig farm. Other activities include: soccer, crafts, brick making and chicken husbandry. Additionally, the Safe House’s weaving centre and loom project teaches patients how to weave Karen bags, purses, scarves and various other goods.

Ma Htin Phyu, a 22-year-old Karen women, who runs the loom project explained to me how she came to the Safe House:

“My husband was a Karen National Union (KNU) soldier. One day a troop of SPDC soldiers were fighting in my village so we ran to Nu Poe refugee camp. While I was living in the camp, my aunt contacted me and invited me to live with her in Huay Malai and she told me about the Safe House. So my husband and I came, and we now live with my aunt. When I arrived, I attended the loom training and now I work at the Safe House. I don’t want to go back to my village because if I live in my village I will constantly worry about SPDC soldiers. I am very happy to work here. I also have two children who attend the Christian school in Huay Malai.” Ma Htin Phyu is from Paw Nan village, Karen State, and has worked at the Safe House for several years.

Through the weaving centre and loom project, the Safe House provides jobs and opportunities for patients to earn an income if and when they are capable. At the front of the Safe House there is a small store where all the goods from the two projects are sold. When an item is purchased the profit goes back to the maker.

In a separate building, there are 30 live-in children; some sick, some orphaned, and some merely the children of patients. TBBC provides funds so the children are able to attend the local Christian school.

“I have been working here [the Safe House] for five years. My duty is to care for the children, I teach them on the weekends, prepare food, and make sure they are healthy… Also I teach them Burmese, English, Karen, and do Math with them. I am tired, but I am happy to take care of them. They are very cute,” said Ma Joe Phyu, a 49-years-old Karen woman from Kyain Seikgyi Township, Karen State, who is responsible for the live in children. In total, three Safe House staff members tend to the children while they are not attending school. In an attempt to accommodate all students, the Christian school, provides language classes in Karen, Burmese, English, Thai, and Mon.

Currently the Safe House is supporting 42 patients, 19 female and 23 male with the average age of 37. There are six adults and two children with HIV/AIDS, 22 patients are mentally ill, 14 patients are suffering from an assortment of chronic physical illnesses. Additionally there are 10 chronically sick elderly patients over the age of 70. TBBC provides the: staff, rent, food, clothes, furniture, appliances, cutlery, medicine, and medical supplies for occupants of the Safe House. The Safe House is currently in the midst of a 5-year plan to become independent.

Potential patients have to meet strict criteria before the Safe House is able to accept them as in-patients. Admitted patients usually do not have a home, family or any kind of support network. Patients that cannot or do not recover, are able to rely on or live at the Safe House for extended periods of time.

Land limitations are currently creating difficulties for the Safe House and its occupants. The 22 mentally ill patients share two cramped dorm like spaces, which are divided by sex. Daw Paw Lu Lu explained that due to the confined quarters, fights are quite common.

“We do not have enough land and it causes problems. Also, the land that we use is rented and the landlord may want it back in the future. We also do not have enough toilets.” Said Daw Paw Lu Lu. For the 42 occupants and 14 staff there are only four toilets, two of which are inside the mentally impaired patients’ male quarters. When fights break out, between the patients, or if the quarters are locked, everyone is blocked from using the toilets.

“I want to help the people who have no place to stay and no one to care for them. I try to give them a place to sleep and treat their diseases. I also try to help migrant workers who have problems and make it so they can stay in our Safe House comfortably.” Said Daw Paw Lu Lu.

By  Chan Chan

I stood up and headed to the bathroom for a shower. After, I met a friend who was accompanying me to Bleh-donephai, a resettlement site near the Thai-Burma border. My friend was wearing two jackets to protect her from the cold, but she said she could still feel the cool air through her layers.

I felt the air and tried to imagine how people without warm clothes were able to survive. My friend and I chatted as we waited for the car to pick us for our trip. I could not see clearly down the road because of the mist.

The journey took a couple of hours and our first stop was in a small Karen village in Huay malia. I noticed that most of the houses were made of wood and bamboo. Near each house was a small patch of vegetables where Roselle and sweet potato plants were growing. We looked around the village for an hour or so and then continued our trip.

Half an hour later we arrived at the small Mon village of Bleh-donephai. The 100 or so houses in the village are in a New Mon State Party (NMSP) controlled area. The houses were built in the same style as the previous village only with bamboo and thatch grass instead.

As I walked through the village I noticed that their drinking water came from two rivers that flowed through the middle and end of the town. A wooden bridge spans across the middle river, connecting either side of town and mountains encompass the landscape.

The villagers’ main sources of income are rice cultivation along the hillside and hunting. Most villagers hunt boars, frogs, rats, deer, and monkeys.

Jonda Non, a 15-year-old Mon girl, lives in Bleh-donephai. She shares a small hut with her mother, 2 sisters (3-months-old and 6-years-old) and her 9-year-old brother. Her father is a hunter and normally sleeps in the forest.

Sadly, Jonda Non has never tasted meat and her father’s inconsistent hunting is barely enough to support the family. “When I was 5-years-old, my father fell and rolled down a mountain. He broke his leg and he could not work [hunt] for a while. My family decided to sell our property to find another job in a different village. We walked for three days to get to this new village Bleh-donephai and decided to live here.

I want to go back to my old village to see my relatives, but we have no money or time to visit them,” said Jonda Non.

Jonda Non’s hut is at the end of the village near the river. Large grass leaves cover the roof of her small abode while the floor and structure are made of bamboo, there are no doors. Jonda Non and her family moved into the one room hut a couple of months ago after another family had abandoned it.

As she invited my friend and I inside I noticed pots and blankets divided the hut into cooking and sleeping areas. In the sleeping area there was one blanket, two pillows and a small box. The kitchen consisted of two pots -one for washing, one for cleaning- and a water bucket. I noticed several ants floating in the washing pot.

As I interviewed Jonda Non, her 3-month-old baby sister cried in her arms. Their mother had not yet returned from work and there was no food in the house to eat. In hopes of cooing the baby, Jonda Non sent her 6-year-old sister to borrow sugar from the local shop, but 10 minutes later the child returned empty handed; the shop owner had refused to give her the sugar on credit.

Jonda Non filled a bottle with warm water and nursed the baby anyway.  As the baby fed, Jonda Non explained to me how she tries to balance school and family responsibilities.

“I am in 3rd standard at Bleh-donephai Mon National Elementary School. I want to continue my education till I graduate, but my family is so poor, I always have to miss school to help earn money for food. Often, I have to go to the forest with my mother during school to pick and sell grass leaves so we can buy food. Before I go to school, I have to cook, help with my sisters and wash clothes.

I’m always late to school because I have to do all of the housework. Sometime my teacher beats me with a small bamboo rod because of my constant tardiness.” Said Jonda Non. Normally students in 3rd standard are 8-years-old, but in Bleh-donephai most children have to work, help their family and attend school. Because of these other obligations, students, like Jonda Non, often fall behind in their studies and find it difficult to consistently attend school and keep up with their peer group.

Bleh-donephai’s elementary school is in the middle of the village and is surrounded by trees and a playground. On Mondays and Fridays all students and teachers wear Mon ethnic clothes to school.

Jonda Non cannot afford nor has ever owned Mon clothes. Consequently every Monday and Friday the students tease her, “don’t sit with us, you are so dirty. If you want to sit with us, you should wear Mon clothes like us.” She tells them, “I don’t’ have any Mon clothes to wear,” but they continue the harassment every week. She explained to me, “I have never asked my mother to buy Mon clothes for me. I know she has no extra money.”

When Jonda Non was in 2nd standard she was awarded a Burmese sarong for being the top student in her class. Unfortunately at that time, her family had no money for food and both her parents were sick. Though she adored the sarong, she secretly sold it to buy food for her family.

Jonda will finish 3rd standard this March and the school in Bleh-donephai only offers classes up to 4th standard. The middle school is in a neighboring village a half hour’s walk away. “I am not sure what to do about the up coming year. I have to choose between continuing my education and helping my family. I cannot do both, and I am worried about my future. Should I continue to help my family or my schooling?” said Jonda Non as she tried to hide her tears from her mother.

“I feel so bad for my child. I want her to study like other children. Now my children have no chance to study and they have to work like adults. They do not have enough food like other children because I cannot properly support them,” said Jonda Non mother.

We finished talking around 4:00pm and as my friend I headed to the car the sun was setting into the mountains. When I arrived home, I turned on the lights and ate dinner with my friend. Before I fell asleep, I remembered what Jonda Non said “I would like to be a doctor because I want to treat poor people in villages that do not have health care. I think my dream will never come true because of my family’s financial situation.”

Ma Larn Zar Me lives with her four younger sisters and parents in Kjwe Koun quarter, Mawlamine District, Mon State. Her parents’, like many villagers in southern Burma, do not have steady jobs and instead rely on sporadic labour positions to cover their daily expenses. To supplement their family’s income, Ma Larn Zar Me and her 10-year-old sister collect water bottles and sell them to recycling shops.

The recycling shops, common throughout southern Burma, buy second hand plastic furniture, broken appliances and empty plastic bottles from villagers. The shops pay 10 kyat per three 1.5 litre bottles and then sell the various plastic goods back to companies or melt them down to make new furniture.

Depending on the season, Mar Larn Zar Me’s parents rotate between a couple labour intensive jobs. Once or twice a week, during rainy season, they mow the grass at various rubber plantations, but this work is dependent on each plantations needs and is often unavailable. Plantation owners usually pay 3000 kyat per day, for 10 hours of work. During the dry and cold seasons her parents trek to the forest and cut down trees for firewood to sell to local shops. Villagers burn the wood for cooking and heating because in many areas of Burma electricity is only available for 2 or 4 hours a day. For two trees they are paid 2000 kyat.

Quite often there is no work available and her parents cannot afford food for the day. Because this situation is often a constant, Ma Larn Zar Me, with her sister in tote, spend 6-7 days a week avoiding hazards and scouring for water bottles.

“Everyday my sister and I search for water bottles under the overpass, in the streets, and in our neighbour’s yards.  We usually earn 400 or 300 kyat a day and then we are so happy because we can buy rice for our family,” said Ma Larn Zar Me. “We start at 6am and we return home around 6pm. Some people see how young my sister and I are and they give us their water bottles because they pity us. If we want to search someone’s front or back yard we have to ask the owner’s permission. Some people won’t let us search and they shout at us because they think we [are trying to] steal from their house. This makes us feel so ashamed.”

Her little sister described the events of an average day, “Sometimes under the overpass dogs try to bite us, but we run away. When I see a snack I want to eat it, but my sister cannot buy it for me. When we have free time my sister and I go to school and we sit in front of the school and look at it. I would like to attend like other children, but my mother won’t let us because she doesn’t have enough money to cover the costs. She just tells us to work and get more money.”

Ma Larn Zar Me and her sister are not alone in their plight, their predicament is unfortunately identical to several families in Mon State. Due to a job shortage throughout southern Burma and inadequate child labour laws, families have been pushed further into poverty and consequently have become increasingly dependent on the income of their children.

“We want to send our children to school, but we cannot make enough money to support them. My daughter is in standard 9. She wants to be an engineer in the future, but now she has to work in a shoe factory. She cannot continue her education without our [financial] support. We feel very upset for that,” said the mother of a child labourer.

In several cases children quit school and are employed in factories that pollute the air and those working inside, creating long-term health problems at an early age. A member from Labour Rights Promotion Network (LPN), an organization that works with Burmese migrants in southern Thailand, said, “We also see child labourers in Thailand. Many migrant workers [from Burma] travel here for work and bring their families with them. The children have to leave school and some work with their parents. It is not good for their health or their futures. If they have to work for long hours and the factory is not clean it can affect their health. While they are working in factories some marry very young. It is not good for their future because they endure many problems in their life,”

According to a field reporter from southern Burma, “I see more child workers than before in Mon state. Some children collect plastic and some go to farms and clean with their parents. Some work in Tea shops and factories, while others sell water at bus stations and vegetables in the market.” WCRP asked several people from Mon state to estimate the number of children they saw daily searching the streets for water bottles, but sources said there were too many to keep count.

The combination of the financial crisis and a depleted job market in Burma has led to an increased number of families migrating to Thailand and other surrounding countries. In these situations children are often forced to, like Ma Larn Me, quit school and help supplement a depleted family income. As a result these children not only miss out on a much needed education, but are also easily exploited and more susceptible to trafficking and abuse.

“I want to earn more money because I would like to give it to my parents. I pity them [her parents], but I want to attend school with my sister. I don’t want to be poor any more. Who can help us?” said Ma Larn Zar Me.

When the girls arrived in Mahachai the broker placed them at Wa La Pon, a Thai owned prawn-packaging factory. For 2 years, with a small and inconsistent salary, the girls worked in fear and confusion.  “I missed my parents and I wanted to go back to my home, but I could not go, I had no money for travel cost and I was terrified of my boss,” said Ma Than.

Ma Cho and Ma Than shared a small apartment attached to the factory. 7 days a week they worked from 2am to 10pm, yet they received different salaries and often had to pay their boss random fees. Ma Than explained, “We didn’t understand how our boss paid us. He would give me 800 baht for 10 days, but then he’d subtract 500 baht for a work permit card, but I never received a work permit card.”

The factory provided 3 meals a day or employees could cook for themselves and receive a slightly higher salary. Ma Cho cooked her own food and was paid 1200 baht every 10 days and 500 baht was subtracted for a work permit card she never received. Work permit cards cost 3600 baht per year, plus 400 baht for photos and processing fees.

On average, after work permit card fees were subtracted, Ma Cho was earning 2100 baht a month (70 baht a day) and Ma Than Htwe was earning 900 baht a month (30 baht a day). Over the 2 years 12,000 baht was subtracted from each girls salaries for non-existent work permit cards.

Ma Cho, a short and slender girl, expressed frustration over her previous employment, “I worked…but I couldn’t send money to my parents…Before I went there I thought I could support my parents but I had nothing…We had no holiday and no time to relax. If someone felt sick and could not work for 5 days, our boss would subtract 1000 baht from their salary.” Their boss would also demand 200 baht from employees if they forget to wear surgical masks while packaging prawns.

Ma Than and Ma Cho also had problems communicating with their boss. “I cannot speak Thai, so it was very difficult to live in Thailand. When the boss told me to do something I didn’t understand and he would get very angry with me and I was so scared of him,” said Ma Cho.

Their boss regularly controlled whom they contacted and interacted with inside and outside the factory. Ma Than said, “We could not call our relatives or friends because our boss wouldn’t allow us to use the phone. If we called our friends, he assumed we were trying to get new jobs at another factory. We could not talk with each other [during work] because the Thai boss didn’t like it and we couldn’t look at his face, if we did, he’d curse at us.”

Wa La Pon has 600 migrant workers, all are Mon or Burman and only some can speak Thai, but most cannot understand a word. All factory employees work from 2am until 10pm although none have work permit cards or a consistent salary. At a neighbouring factory in Mahachai, employees work from 8am to 8pm 6 days a week, are regularly paid 203 baht per day and long-term employees are paid 240 baht per day.

“There were many problems there. We were always worried that the Thai police would come to check the factory and arrest us, but we could not say anything to our boss because we were terrified of him,” said Ma Than.

During the first week of October 2009, the Thai police came to the factory to check for migrant workers’ work permit cards. Ma Cho and Ma Than still had not received theirs and were, along with several other employees, immediately arrested. The women were detained at the local police station for a couple days and then moved to a safe house outside Bangkok.

After 10 days, the women returned to Mahachai for their court case, where they are still deliberating proceedings.  Labour Rights Promotion network (LPN) is helping with translation (Mon to Thai) and when issues are resolved, Ma Than and Ma Cho will return to the safe house to make arrangements for their eventual return to Burma.

“Many migrant women workers are lied to taken advantage of by traffickers and factory owners, not only in Mahachai but in many areas of Thailand. But especially in Mahachai, they need many women…because women can work everywhere, restaurants, brothels, stores, houses, or factories. So many women come to work in Mahachai,” said a member of Rehmonya Labour Union (RLU), an organization that collects data about migrant workers.

In a similar circumstance, 2 Tavoy women were promised well paying jobs in a snack factory, but ended up working for low wages at a Massage parlour, in Ratburi, Thailand. The girls travelled to Thailand with a trafficker in June 2009 and their employer never provided them with work permit cards. Like Ma Than  and Ma Cho they were arrested and detained by the Thai police until LPN was notified and could arrange for their release and transportation back to Burma.

As WCRP has repeatedly reported, trafficking of Burmese women to Mahachai and other towns in southern Burma is an increasing problem. There are not enough jobs to support the growing population in Burma and in response many women migrate to Thailand searching for work and a better life.

Over the past 3 years, with the help of NGOs and CBOs, towns in the New Mon State Party (NMSP) controlled area in Three Pagodas Pass district, Burma, have organized celebrations for Universal Children’s Day on November 20. The biggest events were held in Palning-Japan IDP Village and Halockhani resettlement site.

In 2006, the Woman and Child Rights Project (WCRP) celebrated Universal Children’s Day in Palning-Japan, a town near Three Pagodas Pass (TPP). WCRP arranged for games and sports activities and provided food and school material for students from the Mon National School.

In 2007, WCRP, in coordination with All Youths Organization (AYO) -a children’s CBO in Halockhani- threw a Universal Children’s Day celebration at Halockhani. The 2 organizations planned and facilitated several recreational and educational events. During both years staff from WCRP gave trainings to parents on the CRC and simply explained parts of the document to students.
In previous years, Halockhani villagers organized their own small celebrations. At which parents cooked for students and celebrated with music and games on the football field.

Halockhani was built before the 1989 ceasefire agreement between the New Mon State Party (NMSP) and the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), the governing military junta of Burma, for people fleeing violence and persecution. Today villagers live safely and have no desire to relocate.

For the Universal Children’s Day celebration in 2008, AYO organized 3 events at Halockhani: a morning celebration for seniors and children, an afternoon football game and race and an evening poetry competition. AYO gave prizes for winning teams in each event.

At this year’s Universal Children’s Day, Mon Child Care Association (MCCA) provided food and arranged several activities for a morning celebration at Planing Japan’s Mon National school and an afternoon celebration at Halockhani.

“We wanted to have celebrations in many areas, but we were only able to set up events in Palning-Japan and Halockhani… We did invite children from neighboring towns,” said MCCA secretary Nai Kao Chan.

An important aspect of the celebrations was a discussion, facilitated by MCCA, between Halockhani villagers and villagers from neighboring Baleh-Donephart village about the need of a local high school.

Although residents of the 300 households in Halockhani receive free health care and aid from various NGOs, education is limited to middle school and students often drop out before completion. Through Universal Children’s Day and various other trainings, involved NGOs and CBOs hope villagers will be able to protect and advocate for their children more effectively.

Trainings and workshops given by NGOs are usually residents’ only opportunity to further their educations.

Mahachai, a bustling town in Southern Thailand, is a popular destination for struggling Burmese citizens. There, migrants find prosperous job opportunities in factories or on farms. However many migrant families cannot afford, or are legally unable, to send their children to Thai schools.

“We live a migrant families lifestyle. When we move we take my granddaughter with us [and] we move so much I am so worried about her education,” Said Oo Shwe Main, a concerned grandfather.

With the help of Labor Rights Promotion Network (LPN), the Wat Camphra School in Mahachai created a program specifically to aid Burmese migrant children in assimileating to Thai culture.

The migrant program focuses on basic education, Thai fluency and the dangers of child labor and trafficking.Once a child completes the migrant program they can legally attend any participating Thai School.

The migrant program started in 2007 with only 45 students and 3 teachers. In 2008 enrollment grew to 170 students, although, for various reasons, this year’s attendance dropped to 150. In addition to a semi-steady student body, there are now 4 teachers, 1 Mon, 1 Burmese – both fluent in Thai – and 2 Thai nationals.

Problems with enrolment arise because migrant parents are often so focused on work and survival they cannot properly help or care for their children. In addition, parents are uneducated and do not understand the importance of schooling.

“Many migrant workers send their children to school because the children are too young to work. When the children are old enough they drop out and work with their parents,” Explained Sura Chai, the Mon teacher at the migrant program.

To aid in the situation, LPN staff regularly call parents to emphasize the importance of a good education.“The Thai government does not financially support the migrant program, but when migrant students attend the Thai school they receive the same materials as Thai students,” said Pi San Nyan Ta Tae, the migrant program’s Thai officer.

The International Labor Organization (ILO), Oxfam and Save the Children provide general funding for the program, the HUSSMAN foundation provides materials and Koninkrijk der Nederlanen provides health care coverage. However, the organizations cannot provide for all costs.

The organizations do not cover all costs.“Migrant students pay 1 baht per pen and 2 baht per notebook, which is cheaper than the store price,” said a man who volunteered at LPN.

“The migrant students’ parents also have to pay for the daily school bus, each family paying 300 baht per month. If a family has 3 students they still only pay 300 baht.” Migrant students also receive a discount on most textbooks.

Students in the prosperous migrant program are a mix of Arakanee, Burman, Karen, and Tovoy although Mon children make up the majority.

The children are divided into 4 groups, which are determined by age – the youngest are 4 and the oldest are 15. When they become proficient in Thai and the teachers feel they are ready, the children join the Thai students in regular classes.

There are 6 buildings at Wat Camphra School, 5 for Thai students and 1 for the migrant student program. During recess all the students play together. Popular games include football and basketball, while girls often jump rope in shaded areas.

Integration is the overarching focus of the migrant program and each morning the entire student body sings the Thai King Song, prays and does exercises.“We start class at 9am, teach for 2 hours, eat lunch and have recess, then start class again…one of the teachers gives a speech  about how to stay healthy and behave politely in Thai culture.

After we continue with the regular curriculum, The students attend class for about 20 hours a week including a little bit of free time before school ends,” explained Sura Chai.

“I am so happy to attend this school,” said Mi Htaw Pakao, a cheery 10-year old Mon student from the Wat Camphra School’s migrant program.

Mi Htaw Pakao, whose parents are Mon, was born in Thailand and lives with her family in Mahachai. Her parents work in a prawn factory while her grandparents stay at home and care for her. The nomadic family migrated to Thailand from Kaw Kaloy Kyaikmyaw Township, Karen State, Burma.

“When she was young she attended a Thai school, then we moved back to Burma and she attended a Burmese school. When she was in 4th standard we moved back to Thailand and we were unsure if she could keep up at a Thai school. I think now, with the help of the migrant program, my granddaughter will finish her education,” said Oo Shwe Main, Mi Htaw Pakao’s devoted grandfather.

Sura Chai elaborated on the family’s situation, “They have worked in Thailand for about six years… but Mi Htaw Pakao joined the school three months ago. She tries so hard but she is very quiet. She doesn’t like to play sports with the other students, instead she likes to draw pictures and read. Sometimes she’ll jump rope with the other girls.”

According to Thai law, anyone under 18 must attend school. If a child has a Thai birth certificate, public schools have to accept them. Migrant children who rarely have Thai birth certificates attend migrant programs like the one at Wat Camphra School. Currently there are two migrant programs in Mahachai and a growing number of programs throughout Thailand.

“I am not tired from teaching the students, I am happy to be with them… people should not see migrant children as just children – we should think of their futures and how they will mature. I want everyone to think deeply about these children’s lives and their educations; if everyone thought like this we could help more children with their futures,” Sura Chai passionately explained.

I encountered this family during a recent visit to Three Pagodas Pass, a large town on the border between Thailand and the Karen state of Burma. The family’s rent free hut sits atop a small stone hill on their neighbors land. My friends live across from the family’s tattered hut, yet close enough to clearly hear all their conversations. That night, as I laid in bed, I wondered why the child’s mother wouldn’t allow her son to eat until his father came home.

The next morning I woke around 6 am and saw a 30-year-old man from the same hut preparing to go to work. Through the hut’s walls I could see the family’s dirty clothes lying next to an old wooden box in the bedroom. In front of the house I noticed a 4-year-old child and his 27-year-old mother staring into to the distance. After breakfast I asked my friend about this family. My friend explained that the women, Ma Khin San and her husband were paid daily and the majority of their wages went towards dinner. I was surprised by their circumstances but unfortunately this situation is common through out Southern Burma.

Ma Khin San and her family came from Kyaik Htow Township, Mon State. Before moving to Three Pagodas Pass they grew rice at a large rice paddy field. Ma Khin San and her husband worked side by side, yet he earned 2,500 kyat (78 baht) per day and she earned 1,500 kyat (47 baht) per day. Their weekly schedule was inconsistent and they often couldn’t afford to feed their family. 4 years ago, in search of higher wages and cheaper living standards, they moved to the Burmese side of Three Pagodas Pass.

Ma Khin San has been poor since birth. Now 27, her face looks tired and weathered beyond her years. As she told me of her troubles, I wondered how many other women endured similar hardships ‘‘Now, we have a small income and high expenses, including education and food. My husband and I are working together and all our money goes to daily expenses. We can’t save any money,” she said while she prepared her children for school.

Ma Khin San and her husband have 3 boys, ages 4, 5 and 7. During the day, the 7-year-old attends school while the other two boys accompany her to work. Ma Khin San and her husband work together in a furniture factory, she is paid per item produced and he is paid hourly. Employees choose their pay plans on the first day of work. Sometimes her husband has to work from 6am till 7pm and he does not help his wife with the housework. She works, cooks, washes, and takes care of the children. She has no time to relax.

“When we have no job we have no food to eat. During the summer [dry season], my husband sold water for household use. He earned 150 baht per day. Now [in the rainy season], he works in a furniture factory and he earns between 120 and 170 baht per day. I also work in the furniture factory. I earn 50 to 70 baht per day. Together, we earn around 200 baht per day. After we buy food, we have no money saved for the next day. When my children see snacks at the market, they want me to buy some for them, but I have no money so how can I buy snacks?” said Ma Khin San.

With all of the family’s income going towards basic goods they have little money to spend on anything else. “We also have to pay 200 baht per month for electricity. One day, my husband was sick but we did not go to the hospital because we couldn’t afford it. Instead, he just bought medicine from the shop and slept.’’ she explained.

Regrettably Ma Khin San’s sad story is not uncommon; many people from her town, Kyaik Htow Township, Mon State, struggle as independent rice farmers. For people who do not own a farm, it is very difficult to get a job, so they move to Three Pagodas Pass to find better work. Some people work in shoe factories, some work in clothes factories and some drive motorbike taxis but those earning the most money own furniture factories.

As a child Ma Khin San was too poor to attend school and her husband dropped out of school after 2nd standard. Because they are not educated, they cannot help their children study nor can they pursue better careers. Ma Khin San worries about her children’s education and future more than her own. She does not want her children to suffer the same problems as her and her husband. Her oldest son is enrolled in school, but he often skips, possibly because he doesn’t have the desired support from his parents.

“My son isn’t interested in his education and doesn’t want to go to school. I cannot care for him very well because I have no time, I have to care for my two other kids. I cannot read or help him study,” she said as she wrapped her hair in to a bun.

Ma Khin San’s family is not alone in their struggles many families in Three Pagodas Pass have similar problems. ‘‘In my family we have 7 people but only 2 are working. When we have no raw materials for the furniture factory, we have no work and we have to find new jobs. Our business is not good so our expenses and incomes are not balanced. Now that the price of rice and cooking materials are so expensive and our income is so low, I have no idea how we will continue our lives,’’ said a 30-year-old woman who works at the furniture factory with Ma Khin San.

In Three Pagodas Pass, there are many different cultures and ethnicities. Not everyone is friendly and shares with each other. Some families face economic problems, and they want to borrow money from other families but no one will help them.

‘‘No one wants to leave Burma to work. I hope I can stay safely with my family in my village. I do not know if my dream will ever come true.’’ When I saw Ma Khin San’s eyes fill with tears, I felt sorry for her. I prayed that her dream would come true soon.
Chan Chan

The Burmese government’s local administrative bodies, the Township Peace and Development Council (TPDC) of Mon State, have increased their surveillance of both monastic communities and civilians in preparation for Burma’s upcoming 2010 election.

The documentation process detailed in this report is carried out by employees of the TPDC, Village Peace and Development Council’s (VPDC), and members of governmental civilian organizations.  These government organized and backed associations, include the Myanmar Maternal and Child Welfare Association (MMCWA) and the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA). Though described as “civilian welfare” groups, both have been widely documented carrying out military government policy.

These efforts by the Burmese government to prepare for the coming election fall into two categories of documentation, the first focused on numbers and locations of monks in monastic communities and the second targeting the numbers and locations of civilians in villages and towns.

According to the information collected by HURFOM’s field reporters, the Ye Township TPDC has ordered VPDC members to impose stringent security regulations on monks and individuals not from the area, and to document the number of Monks residing in each village.  Strict identification checks are being conducted in many villages in Ye Township, such as Kyaungyaw, Lakepoke, Thapinthign, Kaingtow, Gamone, Kyauk Taing, Zawkae, Yawkalay, and Natkyi. HURFOM field reporters indicate that the TPDC’s increased security efforts are intended to disrupt and limit the potential spread of information by monks that might lead to organizing and unrest in rural areas.

A 64 year-old resident of Nat Kyi village tells about his observation of TPDC efforts to document monk activities in his village:

“In Nat Kyi village, VPDC chairman U Ah Lin and his officers received their orders in a letter from the  TPDC in July. Since then he has started to collect the numbers of people in households and monks in temples, and has also asked his villagers and monks to inform him if monks and civilians from other villages come and visit them…If someone miss-informs him they are fined between 30,000 to 50,000 kyat, and he also ordered the abbot not to allow strange monks to live in the temple. But the abbot seems unhappy with the VPDC chairman.”

According to a Ye resident who lives near his local temple, the TPDC in Ye township collected the ID card numbers of every monk in Ye Township. Authorities also documented the number of monks living in each of the Ye Township temples.

TPDC authorities have also visited the Ye Township Sangha Nayaka Committee and collected the original copies of numbers of monks in each monastery. After gathering the numbers recorded with township Sangha Nayaka Committee, local VPDC authorities have been ordered to re-check the numbers in the monks’ own village temples.

According to residents, security has been increased every September since the September 2007 “Saffron Revolution”, in which monks helped lead a popular protest over the removal of gas subsides.  The subsequent protests were eventually put down with violence and abductions, from which numerous monks and civilians died or remain missing.

The TPDC restrictions have impacted the travel of monks in the area.  As U Ardisa, a monk living in Ye township explained to HURFOM:

“It is very difficult for monks to travel because after the TPDC ordered the VPDC to watch the monks – it seems that all monks are seen as problem makers in the country. Our duty is to spread the Buddhist principles, not to cause problems for the country.  The authorities do not respect the rules of Buddhism, and they do not respect religious leaders.”

Individuals who don’t posses an identification card in particular are regarded with suspicion.  According to one Ye resident:

“The TPDC is not only collecting identification numbers in the towns but also collecting them in the rural areas. This means authorities are afraid that the monks will demonstrate again…When strangers don’t have identity cards, the immigration authorities won’t allow them to enter Ye town. However, if they can pay 5,000 kyat they can enter the town. [In this way] local authorities are making more money.”

Civilian populations all over Mon State are also being monitored more heavily.  Local authorities are collecting the numbers of residents in each household.  These numbers document are sorted in to 3 categories:  those over 18 years old, those under 18 years old, and those younger than 10 years of age. Family members working outside of their villages were counted in a separate group.

According to field reporters in Mon State, authorities started these counts in August, and have already completed their household counts in some villages in the Thanbyuzayat, Ye and Kyaikame Sub-townships; these include the villages of Kyaungyaw, Lakepoke, Thapinthign, Kaingtow, Gamone, Kyauk Taing, Zawkae, Yawkalay, and Natkyi, another part of Ye township villages in Sothern part of Ye such as Hangan, Yin Yae, Yin Dan, Kalok, Kawzar, Mi htawhlar Kyi and Mi htawhla Lay.

A Ye resident close to the Mon State TPDC explained to HURFOM that villagers questioning the population counts were told that the census was very important for Burma’s upcoming elections in 2010.

A 54-year-old a resident from Natkyi village, Ye township explains what he has observed regarding election preparations:
“The State Peace and Development Council will do anything to win the elections, and also they want many people in the country to support them. Even in the rural areas they place representatives in the villages.”

According to a high ranking government service official, who asked that HURFOM conceal his name, all the household population numbers collected by local authorities are being sent directly to the Burmese capital of Naypyidaw, because the Burmese government wants to ascertain rural population levels before the 2010 election.

“Authorities separated the number of a household’s population who are in village and who don’t live in the village. I don’t understand why they have to do this,” said young man from Natkyi.

HURFOM field reporters in Mon State report that the TPDC runs nightly checks monitoring homes with overnight guests.  Homes with overnight guests are required to inform their ward authorities of their visitors’ presence. Failure to do so incurs a 10,000 to 20,000 kyat fine.

According to Nai Thar* from Anin resident, in his village in Thanbyuzayat township, households with family member working outside of Burma were rigorously questioned regarding their absent family members’ whereabouts. When villagers asked their local VPDC officers to explain why they were so thoroughly questioned, they were told that this information was important for the 2010 Burmese elections.

According a Hangan village resident, when the local authorities came and collected the numbers of household residents, the numbers were very small because most of the youth have gone abroad to work. Unsatisfied with the low residence population numbers, TPDC authorities ordered that migrant workers from upper Burma living in the area be counted as part of the local population.

In Ankhae village, the number of homes is around 800 but the local population is very small since many young men migrate to neighboring countries like Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. An inside source reported to HURFOM that when the TPDC saw the low numbers of Ankhae’s residential population, they were displeased, and chastised parents for allowing their children to migrate to other countries. The TPDC also rebuked Ankhae’s local VPDC officers.

“We can’t stop them from traveling, and they don’t tell us where they are going! We have no control over it,” an official from Ankhae’s VPDC protested.

Other villages in Mon State besides Ankhae have also suffered from declining household populations. As a means of bolstering rural voter levels, TPDC authorities have recognized migrant workers from upper Burma as village members. According to a Thanbyuzayat resident, large numbers of people have migrated to Mon State from Upper Burma since 2008, lured by the TPDC’s offers of land and homes in their adopted villages; this source also claims that migrant workers are given travel documents, and in situations of conflict with the original residents TPDC authorities take the side of Burmese transplants.

HURFOM hopes to emphasize that these briefly detailed efforts by the SPDC to strengthen its electoral position Mon state represent only a sample of their wider efforts throughout much of Burma. Further efforts must be undertaken to document these issues now as they occur, to illustrate the degree to which the government applies pressure in the supposedly free and fair election, and so that the details of this historical period will not be lost or suppressed after 2010.

*Not his real name

“Have you seen anyone from the Mon rebel group?” “No.” “You are Mon rebel group supporter…” “No”. These kinds of questions and accusations are the sort you hear often now in Ye township and Tanessarim Division.

The New Mon State party has maintained the ceasefire with the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) it signed in 1995, yet villagers are still suffering from armed conflict in that area. The 14 year ceasefire had done little to dampen violence that has continued in Mon State and Tanessarim Division, where Mon and Karen rebel groups are still active.  Thus, still facing resistance, The SPDC has labeled these regions as “Black Areas”

And the villagers? Some have left home to find a safer place to live, while others still live in their villages and continue to hope that peace will come.

The villagers who remain at home suffer from a variety of abuses at the hands of both Mon rebel groups and the SPDC soldiers. Villagers have had to: pay an annual tax to Mon rebel groups and SPDC forces, face accusations of support from both sides, perform unpaid labor, perform uncompensated sentry duty in the village leader’s house both night and day, work as an unpaid porter, provide free meals to military soldiers,  and face restrictions on travelling and working in plantations – these are all abuses that occur regularly in the “Black Area”.

Suffering under the demands of Mon rebel forces by having to give an annual tax and provide free food, villagers face little option for resistance as any refusal can result in torture or execution. Torture has come in several forms; when caught going to work on their farms and plantations, villagers are arrested, bound, and left under the sun for several hours; they are beaten, punched in the face, and stuck on the arms with the butt or a rifle; or they are tied to the ground, and red ants are placed on their body. These are the types of abuses most villagers have had to face.

“We had no money to give them but I had to give them something, even if it meant that we had to borrow from someone else. We have to choose between money and life.” Said a villager from aleasakhen.

For one village, having been drained by filling the annual tax for the Mon rebel group, and providing them with food, SPDC forces then came and arrested people again. They were accused of being rebel supporters and tortured. With SPDC forces, the abuses are not the same; soldiers will detain villagers and punch and kick them, roll bamboo over their legs, put plastic bags over heads, perform water boarding, and cut the skin and put salt on the wound. These are the kind of abuses that come from SPDC forces. In this case, some of the villagers were executed outright, wile others were thrown in jail. For villagers who wanted to avoid jail, they could bribe the commander and were released.

There is no chance for villagers who make their lively hood through farming to go and work on plantations or cultivate their crop. It is only by the say-so of commanders that villagers are able to go and work; however when a commander orders them not to go they must stop immediately. They are unable to complain to the commander even during periods when crops must be harvested. Many villagers lose the opportunity to gain any food or income because they have to wait until commanders allow them to go and work again. When they’re given the opportunity to return to their farms and plantations, often they are too late and are only able to salvage a small portion of their crop.

“We invested our time, the whole year, on our plantation but I won’t be able to make a profit on it. We have to rely on our plantations and farms.  If we cannot work, where will our income and food come from?  If we make no money, how can we pay taxes and fill our stomachs?”, said another aleasakhen villager.

Nai Mon, who is 45 years old, explained soldiers had tortured him when he was under arrest. As he spoke tears came to his eyes.  He cried, unable to control himself recalling how he had been bound and left in the sun, on a hot day without wind.

At the time he had just been suspected. The soldiers had been restricting villagers from working their plantations or even traveling outside the village. He was severely abused by LIB No. 282 because of he was accused of being a Mon rebel supporter.  Detained for a day and night, he was tortured severely by being beaten and punched, having bamboo rolled over his legs, having a plastic bag put over his head, and continuous sleep deprivation throughout the night.

When the soldiers questioned him “Did you see Mon rebel group?” he answered “No” after which the abuses came one by one. “I always said no.”

The reality is that he did not meet with the rebel group, but the Mon rebel forces did walk across his land or one night camped out on his plantation. All of it was because soldiers simply suspected him.  He was detained and tortured, just like that.

“I dreamed to die at that time because it was so painful, I could not breathe, and my whole my body was in agony.”

After Nai Mon’s wife gave 100,000 Kyat to the commander, he was released.  To get the money his wife had to borrow from other villagers. Nai Mon has no idea how he can repay the money because he cannot go work on his plantation. If he could work on his plantation freely he would be able to return the borrowed amount with in a year. But nothing has changed, and Nai Mon does not know how long this will continue.

Villagers have also had to provide a workforce for soldiers to carry out tasks such as portering, unpaid manual labor, and sentry duty in the village.  The following work details were reported in aleasakhen.  A Commander demand that villagers clear brush around the army camp and improve the fence, which required at least seven villagers a day. Two villagers had to wait on and work at the head man’s house, collecting fire wood, carrying water, and guarding the house. Another two people had to go to the army camp and gather firewood, carry water, cook food for soldiers, post letters and buy liquor. Three villagers had to wait for a military column to work as porters.

But even more dangerous is when the military column searches for Mon and Karen rebel forces, and porters are forced to walk in a line in front of the advancing troops as mine sweepers, and to guard against ambush.
At night villagers have to perform sentry duty in the village. They are not guarding against crime from other villagers, but from potential attacks on from rebel groups.  Villagers have to inform soldiers when they see strangers and any kind of abnormal situation.

“Soldiers plan for us to die first.  We are their body guards that they do not have to pay for,” said one villager.

Villagers also face travel restrictions.  Caught traveling after 10 pm, a villager will be punished with fines, arrested, or tortured. Or sometimes the soldier will just shoot the curfew violator. In cases were a villager is fired on, but survives, soldiers will claim it was an accident, and insist that the villager pay for the bullets. A villager wounded in such a manner will receive no treatment, and in some cases villagers have died, but the soldier will remain unpunished.

These are lives of villagers who live an area neither controlled by the rebels, nor under complete control of the military, thus they all it a “Black Area”.  But other people always ask, what does “Black Area” mean? Is it for torture, killing, and abuses; or is it for the people who have guns, and ability to act at will, with impunity?

Laid Waste details abuses committed by Burma’s military government as it has sought to construct, maintain and protect the Kanbauk to Myaing Kalay gas pipeline. The report includes details on the confiscation of more than 15,000 acres of land to make room for the pipeline – and support 30 army battalions tasked with protecting it. The intense militarization of the area, which HURFOM describes as “fundamentally due” to the pipeline, is responsible for abuses that range from rape and summary execution to the daily commandeering of motorcycles and chickens. Security efforts for the pipeline, meanwhile, entail conscription of villagers – some as young as 12 – who must work as unpaid forced laborers, maintaining the pipeline, guarding and carrying equipment for soldiers – at all times under threat of violent retribution for accidents or insurgent attacks.

“The abuses described above are the predictable result of deploying large numbers of soldiers and encouraging them to extract what they can from the countryside, without oversight,” says HURFOM. “But abuses along the pipeline are also a deliberate, calculated part of the pipeline security effort.” Highlighting the ongoing nature of these abuses, in the 5 days that have passed since printing the report, HURFOM has documented the execution of one villager and the burning of 36 homes. In both cases, the army committed the abuses less than a mile from the pipeline.

This report is released at a critical juncture. Intense competition for access to Burma’s abundant natural resources continues, with China recently agreeing to purchase gas that will be transported 1,200 miles across Burma. Debate on appropriate response to Burma is renewing, as the international community questions the wisdom of strict sanctions and considers potential for increased humanitarian support. In the foreword to Laid Waste, HURFOM’s director Nai Kasauh Mon welcomes the renewed discussion. But he urges caution and calls on the international community not to lose sight of experiences like those documented in Laid Waste. “Discussion is healthy and appreciated,” says Nai Kasauh Mon. “But there should be no question: projects like the Kanbauk to Myaing Kalay gas pipeline do not benefit the people of our country.”

Further details:

Full PDF copies of Laid Waste can be downloaded at: <http://rehmonnya.org/archives/752>. Information on the 36 burned homes and summary execution mentioned in paragraph 3 can also be found on www.rehmonnya.org.

Hard copies of Laid Waste, as well as print-quality photos for news publication can be obtained by emailing monhumanrights@gmail.com.

Questions or requests for interviews in English, Mon and Burmese should be made by emailing hurfomcontact@yahoo.com or calling +66 (0)81 365 9140.

About HURFOM:

The Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM) is a Thailand-based non-governmental human rights organization founded in 1995 by a group of Mon youth, students and community leaders. HURFOM works to monitor the human rights situation in southern Burma, and publishes print and online news, lengthy reports and analysis of ongoing human rights violations. More information can be found at www.rehmonnya.org.

Download full report [PDF, 17.4 MB]

Download report in five parts [PDF]
Part I [2.9 MB] | Part II [3.14 MB] | Part III [3.37 MB] | Part IV [5.15 MB] | Part V [2.96 MB]