Villagers forced to pay for concert

February 4, 2009

HURFOM: Mudon Town, Doung Pa, Kamarwat, Hnee Pa Daw

Villagers in Mudon are being forced to foot the bill for a concert by a famous Burmeses-language singer. Tickets are not selling voluntarily, say local sources, because of Mon State’s plummeting economy.

In the first week of February, the Mudon Township Peace and Development Council (PDC) held a meeting with officials from village PDCs and informed them that they would be required to pay for the concert. According to local sources, village PDCs in Mudon Town and at least two other villages have subsequently been requiring villagers to cover the cost of the tickets.

“The Village PDC in my village got one hundred and fifteen tickets for our village. He made a lottery system for us; he chooses from six households who each buy one ticket, but the winner can get a ticket for free,” a resident of Kamarwat village told HURFOM. Tickets for the concert, which will take feature R Zarr Ni and place on February 7th, are being sold for 7,000 and 5,000 kyat, depending on seating position.

In Hnee Pa Daw, meanwhile, villagers are simply being made to pay for the cost of the concert but are not being given any tickets. “In our village, the village PDC just collects 300 kyat from every household but no one gets tickets for concert,” said a resident. “Our whole village has to pay 300,000 kyat.”

Villagers, meanwhile, say they do not want to purchase the tickets because of Mon State’s struggling economy. The area, whose economic engine is run by rubber and paddy cultivation, has suffered dearly as the value of both products has dropped. Rubber prices are down 75% in comparison to 2008, while paddy prices are down 25%.

“In our village, no one is interested in the concert because of the low value of rubber and paddy. We have to dig very deep to get any money. And things are very expensive so it is very hard for me to support my family. I was not going to buy a ticket, but now my village PDC has these hundred tickets to sell,” said a resident of Doung Pa village.

“No one wants to buy the tickets because now we have a very difficult time finding money,” agreed another local villager. “Many of us do not want to buy it because we do not have food for a meal. Where can we get the money for a ticket?”

Written by HURFOM · Filed Under News