• Home
• about
• Activities
• Contact
• Programs
• Manual

• Analysis
• Commentary
• Feature
• General Election
• Monthly Report
• News
• PDF Format
• Special Report
• Video Clips

Subscribe

THE PLIGHT OF MIGRANT WORKER: SUFFRING ACROSS THE BORDERS

By WCRP:

I. The Background of Migration of Workers from Burma

Southern part of Burma, bordering with Thailand, is a resource-rich area with a strong agricultural based livelihood of diverse ethnic nationalities – Mon, Karen, Tavoyan, Pa-oh, and Burman. It also has natural gas, fishery reserves and large good soil farmlands. However, most of the ethnic local inhabitants have suffered starkly poverty for decades in contrast with largesse, a result of decades of economic mismanagement and corruption within the Burmese military bureaucracy which has taken place since the 1962’s Gen. Ne Win military coup till the present regime, namely State Peace and Development Council (SPDC). Additionally and simultaneously, like the previous regimes, this military regime (junta) SPDC has mounted heavy offensives against the ethnic groups in the border regions that have had crippling effects on civilian populations. Read more

Villagers arrested on suspicion of rebel supporters

Eight villagers were arrested for being suspected rebel supporters and put in woode
stocks for two days and beaten by a local Burmese Light Infantry Battalion in Yebyu Township, northern Tenasserim division on the last August 16, 2008.

“They were detained after a member from Monland Restoration Party surrendered to
LIB No. 282 and informed the battalion that some individuals from this village secretly assisting the rebel Read more

Where Is My School, Where Are My Friends?

By WCRP:

A tragic story from one of the Cyclone Nargis hit zones

An 11 year old boy, Maung Thein Naing (not his real name), was surprised to hear his father say he had to leave for school in early June, following orders from the village headmen. Soon after Cyclone Nargis ripped through his village and killed his mother and sister, he forgot he was a student. His school in the north of the village near the rice fields also disappeared in the storms of early May. Read more

Young Boys Threatened with Knife

By WCRP:

Three boys were hunting small birds outside their village when they were confronted by local patrolling SPDC Light Infantry Battalion Number 31 (LIB No. 31), who had been hiding in bushes as they boys went past. One boy, Taw Chan, had a small but sharp military knife pointed at his neck and was questioned in broken Mon about whether they had seen any Mon rebels. He was too fearful to respond so his brother Mon Chai, 15 years old, answered that they had not seen any. Although Mon Chai is very thin and looks young, the soldiers hit him twice. Their cousin Nyi Chan was given 1000 Kyat for answering that they had seen one man. The man he spoke of, a local farmer, was later tortured as a suspected Mon rebel supporter. Read more

Government School Forbids Students from Speaking their own Language

By WCRP:

In June 2008, Daw Kyi Kyi Mar, headmistress of the government high school in Htin Yuu Village, Than Byu Zayut Township Mon State, has forbidden students from speaking Mon language in the school.

According to a mother of the student, “This year is the first time they have banned talking Mon language in the school. They banned it in the classroom as well as outside the classroom.” Read more

Mother and Child Die After Nurse Refuses to Help with Birth

By WCRP:

In February 2008, 24 year-old Mi Hla Kyi and her twin children died after a nurse refused to aid their night-time birth.

At midnight, Mi Hla Kyi went into labor and spontaneously needed emergency assistance for the birth of her twins. Her neighbor from Wai Dot village traveled ten minutes to Taung Pone, and asked Nurse Daw Thun to please attend the birth, as Mi Hla Kyi needed help as soon as possible. Read more

Mon Woman Faces Sexual Abuse by Employer

By WCRP:

A 16 year-old Mon woman working in Thailand, in Samut Sakhon Province, Krathum Bean district, Om Noi subdistrict, in Zin Song Bun village was abused and faced sexual harassment by her employer, including during a massage she was giving him on July 7^th, 2008.

Mi Win (not her real name), worked as a house keeper and was also in charge of taking care of a sixty-year-old patient, who suffers from a number of ailments and is no longer able to walk. Part of her duty included daily massages of the patient, and moving him from his bed to his wheelchair. She was required to follow him should he wish to move. Read more

Concern over NMSP Ceasefire

By HURFOM:

In mid-May, the ruling regime SPDC officially announced that they won the Peoples Referendum with 92% of the vote. However many opposition and ceasefire groups in the country have reported the referendum as a sham.

The SPDC will move forward with its 7-point road map and will soon call for the registration of political parties to contest the 2010 Elections. Since many opposition parties and armed ceasefire groups do not trust the Referendum or the Constitution, it is likely they will oppose the elections. Read more

Forced Labour Use by Burmese Army in Mon State from Mid-2007 to May 2008

I. Background Information

Since the involvement of International Labour Organization (ILO) in Burma from1999-2007 to eradicate forced labour, the use of forced labour in big cities has been reduced. However, the SPDC authorities and especially local military commanders from various military battalions based in rural area, have not changed their behavior, they continue to use local ethnic Mon, Karen and Tavoyan villagers as forced labour.

Between 1999 and 2000, the ILO informed the Burmese military regime, to stop the use of forced labour. However, the use of forced labour has continued as normal practice in most parts of rural areas in Karen State, Mon State, and Tenasserim Division. HURFOM found that the massive use of civilians as forced labour for government infrastructure projects have continued in some SPDC controlled areas, especially by army commanders. In particular, the SPDC used hundreds of thousands of civilians in Mon State and Tenasserim Division for the construction of the 110 miles long Ye-Tavoy railway. Read more

Can Amphetamine be a Threat to the Burmese Community?

By HURFOM:

Sitting together on the boat with some Burmese teenagers who were travelling to work illegally in Thailand, I could hear many of them talking quietly about amphetamines. They said to the boat driver ‘if we could find some amphetamines here that would make the boat trip less boring as we sit here for the whole day.”

The driver replied, “why not, it is easy to find in Three Pagoda Pass, you should have asked me before the boat departed Jai Yin Seik Kyite Township. I could have found some in that town. Anyway don’t worry,” he added, “you can ask any motorbike taxis in Three Pagodas Pass, they will know where to find it.” Read more