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Forced labour in Myanmar (Burma)
Report of the Commission of Inquiry appointed under article 26 of the Constitution of the International Labour Organization to examine the observance by Myanmar of the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29)
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Appendix VII (cont.)
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Summaries of testimony |
101-150 |
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Ethnicity: |
Karenni |
101 |
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Age/sex: |
23, male | |
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Family situation: |
Married with no children | |
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Occupation: |
Farmer | |
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From: |
Daw Taku, Shadaw township, Kayah State (village forcibly relocated to Shadaw in June 1996) | |
(The witness gave his testimony in the presence of witnesses 100, 102, 103 and 104.)
The witness had to work for the army before and after his relocation. He left Myanmar in October 1997. Before relocation, he had to do portering on four occasions. The village head transmitted the order to work. The first time, he was 15 years old. On that occasion, he had to work during the rainy season near the river Salween. The portering lasted 20 days. There were 40 porters, three from his village, for 250 soldiers. There were no women, but young men of 15 to 16 years. The oldest might have been 50. He had to carry cooking pots. He did not see any fighting. He was once kicked because he was not going fast enough. Same routine and treatment the other times he was a porter, aged 15, 16 and 17. The assignments lasted: three days (the second); six days (the third); and 15 days (the fourth). After relocation he also had to do forced labour, the same type of work as witness 100. The work just never ended. He had to work two or three times a month. He was allowed to go home in his free time to fetch food. There were two battalions of 500 men each at Shadaw (LIB 350 and LIB 428).
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Ethnicity: |
Karenni |
102 |
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Age/sex: |
33, male | |
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Family situation: |
Widowed with one son (his wife died at Shadaw a few days after giving birth, due to lack of necessary medical care) | |
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Occupation: |
Farmer | |
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From: |
Daw Kraw Aw, Shadaw township, Kayah State (village had 103 families about 1,000 people; the village was forcibly relocated to Shadaw in May 1996) | |
(The witness gave his testimony in the presence of witnesses 100, 101, 103 and 104.)
The witness's village was burned by the army so that the inhabitants could not go back. He carried out forced labour before and after relocation. He left Myanmar in August 1996. Before relocation, he was a porter on one occasion in 1993 during the rainy season. The assignment lasted two days. There were 30 porters for 70 soldiers, including two children (13 years old) and four people over 60. All the porters were men. The day began at 9 a.m. and ended at 4 p.m. He had to carry ammunition and rice rations for the army from his village to another village. He received very little food and had to sleep in the forest. He was not paid. He was not personally subjected to ill treatment. However his friend was beaten with a stick because, exhausted, he dropped the load he had been given. After relocation, he had to do forced labour for the military. The village head transmitted the work order to him. Same nature as witness 100. The work demanded by the military just never ended. During the one-and-a-half months he stayed at the relocation site, he had to work for the military three times. The military provided food intermittently. The rations were in any case inadequate. He was not allowed to go home. He was not paid. He could not refuse. It was always possible to pay a substitute or bribe someone to be exempted. He did not do so and did not know how much would have to be paid. The military had seized all his animals (buffalos, one cow, four pigs, ten chickens). He went back to his village for a few days before coming to Thailand.
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Ethnicity: |
Karenni |
103 |
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Age/sex: |
30, male | |
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Family situation: |
Married with three sons | |
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Occupation: |
Farmer | |
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From: |
Daw Klaw Leh Du, Shadaw township, Kayah State (village had 37 families and was two miles from the relocation site at Shadaw; it was forcibly relocated there in June 1996) | |
(The witness gave his testimony in the presence of witnesses 100, 101, 102 and 104.)
The witness's village was relocated to Shadaw in June 1996. In August 1997, he left Shadaw to live in the Soh Paw hills six miles away. There he farmed rice and vegetables, but was forced to move by the army, so came to Thailand at the end of 1997. He had to do forced labour before and after his relocation. Before relocation, he had to work on road building (carrying rocks) and had to carry out various types of work for the military: cutting bamboo, building shelters for relocated people, cleaning the camps. As the relocation site was near his village, he helped in the preparatory work. He did that work for three years, ten times a month, six times a year. He saw men, women, children (ten years) and older people (over 50 years) working. After relocation, he had to do the same work as witness 100. In addition, he had to build shelters for people who had been relocated and help repair the road to Loikaw. He had to work three times a month, a total of 12 times in the year. The remaining time, he worked as a day labourer on farms near the camp (the owners were Karenni and Shan). He was paid in kyat and rice. He was arrested once because he refused to work. He spent a night and two days in prison. He was beaten. He saw many other people beaten (30 to 50 people). Soldiers appropriated all his animals without compensation, arguing that the animals were wild and so they could take them.
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Ethnicity: |
Karenni |
104 |
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Age/sex: |
70, male | |
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Family situation: |
Married with two daughters and five sons | |
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Occupation: |
Farmer | |
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From: |
Daw Ta Ma, Shadaw township, Kayah State (village had 50 houses and a population of 1,000; it was forcibly relocated to Shadaw in June 1996) | |
(Witness gave his testimony in the presence of witnesses 100, 101, 102 and 103.)
The witness left Myanmar in October/November 1996. He had to do the same type of work as witness 100 at the Shadaw relocation site. The month he stayed at the relocation site, he worked about three times for the military. Three to four hundred people were doing the same work as him. He did not see any women or children working. He was able to go back to his village several times to fetch food. On one occasion he was arrested by a soldier who threatened him. They tied his hands behind his back. He had to stay like that for a day and a night. Then he escaped. He saw many other people subjected to ill treatment.
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Ethnicity: |
Karenni |
105 |
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Age/sex: |
22, male | |
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Family situation: |
Married (in Thailand) with one daughter | |
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Occupation: |
Farmer | |
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From: |
Daw Ta Ma, Shadaw township, Kayah State (village had 15 families and a population of 200) | |
The witness left Myanmar in June 1996, when his village was ordered to relocate to Shadaw. Before relocation of his village, he was a porter twice in 1991 and 1992. He could not forget the experience (which clearly traumatized him). The first time, the assignment lasted 14 days while the second was extended to two-and-a-half months. In his group there were 20 and 50 porters respectively for 300 and 2,000 soldiers (he could not remember the exact number of porters each time). Women had to do portering on the first day of the second occasion that he was recruited. He himself had to carry cooking utensils and ammunition. The second time, he was used as a human shield for the army in a battle. He was not paid. He was beaten twice because, too exhausted, he could not keep up with the column. After relocation, he left Myanmar because he did not want to go to the relocation site to which his village had been ordered to move. He had heard that people were subjected to ill treatment and that you could only do what the army ordered you to. However, he could not stay in his village. He knew that if anyone refused to move, the whole village would have been executed as a reprisal. A written order was transmitted to the village head to that effect. He saw it and read it. The document was signed by a staff officer of the Loikaw command. The document also stated the place of relocation, the fact that all the villages in the Shadaw area were to be transferred to the relocation site and the deadline (7 June 1996). He saw people who had been arrested by the army because they were hiding in the jungle in order to avoid being relocated. A man who escaped after being arrested by the army told him that he had been beaten and struck while his hands were tied behind him, because he did not want to go to the relocation site.
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Ethnicity: |
Karenni |
106 |
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Age/sex: |
35, male | |
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Family situation: |
Married with three sons and three daughters | |
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Occupation: |
Farmer | |
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From: |
Daw Kraw Aw, Shadaw township, Kayah State (village had 105 families and a population of over 500; village was forcibly relocated to Shadaw in June 1996) | |
The witness left Myanmar in June 1996. Before the relocation of his village, he had been a porter, and had worked on the roads and the railway. He was a porter four times. The first time ten years ago (aged 12) and the last time about five years ago. He had to carry food and munitions, during the dry season (three times) and the rainy season (once). Only men were porters. However, he saw children of about ten years old accompanying the group and having to carry various things. The assignments lasted two, three and seven days. He had to sleep in the forest. The military only intermittently provided one meal a day. The ration was totally inadequate. He did not see any fighting. He was not personally beaten, but saw his friend beaten because he could not keep up with the group. He worked on the road between Shadaw and the river Salween (about ten miles). He worked there for a day about eight years ago (1992). The village head informed him of the work to be done. More than 1,000 people from various villages worked with him, including women (about twenty), children (about ten aged seven) and older people (about thirty aged over 60). The day began at 7 a.m. and ended at 3 p.m. He had to clear the route. He had to bring his own food. He was not paid. He was not subjected to ill treatment. He did not see any ill treatment, either. He had to carry logs six years ago, for the railway near Shadaw. He did not know which railway. The village head informed him of the work that had to be done. About fifty other people had to do the same. He was never paid, even though he was promised that he would be compensated. After relocation he left his village because he did not want to go to the relocation site. The village head showed him the order from the military stating that the whole village was to be transferred to the Shadaw site by 7 June 1996. He saw the document three days before the deadline. As he could not read, the village head told him what it said. He did not want to move to the relocation site because he was afraid that he would not be able to provide for his family's needs. In addition, he had been told that people who were relocated were forced to work for the military without pay.
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Age/sex: |
41, male |
107 |
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Ethnicity: |
Karenni | |
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Family situation: |
Married with three daughters and three sons | |
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Occupation: |
Farmer | |
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From: |
Daw Kraw Aw, Shadaw township, Kayah State (village had 105 families and a population of over 500; it was forcibly relocated to Shadaw in June 1996) | |
The witness left Myanmar in June 1996, after a few days at the Shadaw relocation site. Before the relocation of his village, he was a porter for the army three times. The first time when he was 15. The last time, two years before his departure. That was during the rainy season. Only men were porters, including children (about eight years old) and older people (over 70 years). On leaving his village, he had to go to Shan State. There were more than 80 porters for 500 soldiers. He was not able, however, to see all the porters. He had to carry munitions. The days began at 6 a.m. and ended at 5 p.m. He was allowed only one meal a day, a handful of rice. He had to sleep in the forest. He was not paid. He was beaten and kicked because he was too weak to carry the load he had been given. He also had to work for a military camp at Shadaw three years ago, seven or eight times. The village head told him about the work to be done. He mainly had to do road repairs, work on bunkers, cut bamboo and carry rocks. About 500 to 600 people were working with him each time, including women (about 20) and children (about twenty as young as seven years of age). They did the same work. The day began at 6 a.m. and ended at 5 p.m. He was not paid. He could not refuse and could not pay for a substitute. He was beaten several times because the soldiers thought he was not working properly. He also saw several other people beaten. However, he did not know why they were beaten. The village head told him that he must leave with the rest of the village. He did not personally see the relocation order. He left the relocation site after a few days because he did not even have a shelter where his family could stay. He had not been able to bring anything with him. The few days he stayed at the relocation site he was not forced to do any work.
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Ethnicity: |
Karenni |
108 |
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Age/sex: |
40, male | |
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Family situation: |
Married with two daughters and one son | |
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Occupation: |
Farmer | |
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From: |
Daw Klaw Leh Du, Shadaw township, Kayah State (village had 35 families and a population of over 200; forcibly relocated with all his family to Shadaw in July 1996) | |
The witness left Myanmar in July 1996. Before his village was relocated, he was a porter for the army on innumerable occasions. The first time was ten years ago. The second three years ago. The assignments lasted from one to ten days. He had to sleep in the forest. The village head transmitted the orders of the military to him. Only the men were porters, including children aged about 15 and older people (over 60). The number of porters depended on the number of soldiers. For 100 soldiers, 40 porters were required. For 200 soldiers, 80 porters were required. He had to carry munitions. The day began at 6 a.m. and ended at 6 p.m. He was only allowed one meal a day. The ration was always inadequate. He was not paid. He saw one battle seven years ago near his village against the KNPP. During the battle, the porters had to stay with the soldiers. No porter was killed. He had not personally been subjected to ill treatment. However, other porters had been beaten. He had seen one porter who had tried to escape being caught by the soldiers. He was tied to a tree and had to stay like that all night after being beaten and kicked. He had been moved to the relocation site in July 1996. The village head had told him of the relocation order and the deadline. Anyone who stayed in the village would be shot on sight. He stayed at the relocation site for about thirty days. He was forced to work about five days during that time. The village head told him what work he had to do. He mainly had to cut wood and bamboo and build fences. He had to work for whole days at a time. Between 20 and 60 people, including women, children (eight years of age) and older people (over 70 years of age) were working at the same time as him doing the same jobs. He was not paid. He could pay a substitute to do the work in his place. He did not do so because he did not have the money. If workers did not find a substitute or did not pay a bribe, they were generally punished by being imprisoned for three days and then forced to work. He was not beaten personally but he saw two people who were beaten because their work did not satisfy the soldiers. The rest of the time, he had no work. He was able to go back home twice to fetch food.
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Ethnicity: |
Shan |
109 |
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Age/sex: |
34, male | |
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Family situation: |
Nine (him, mother, two sisters, wife and four children) | |
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Education: |
6th Standard | |
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Occupation: |
Collected and sold firewood, etc. | |
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From: |
Shwenyaung, Taunggyi township, Shan State (Shwenyaung had about 6,000 households, 400 in his ward) | |
The villagers in his Shwenyaung had to do a lot of forced labour and portering. If someone did not go for portering when ordered, they would be arrested and forced to pay a fine of 3,000 kyat. If they did not have this much money, as was often the case, property to that value would be taken. If an important person visited, the people would be forced to clean up the village. The first forced labour he did was constructing a railway line from Shwenyaung to Yatsauk (Lawksawk) in 1992/3. This work started in 1991, but the preliminary clearing work, etc. was done by rural villagers, and only when larger numbers of workers were required did the army start to use urban dwellers such as people from Shwenyaung. The order was given to the Ward LORC (YaWaTa) by the army, and the Ward LORC (YaWaTa) ordered one person from each household to work without fail. Those households who could not send anyone had to pay 150 kyat. He saw hundreds of people working on the railway line. Shwenyaung was split into groups, and one person from each household in the group would have to do forced labour one day per week, with people from different groups working on different days, by rotation. The workers would have to take their own food, and would not be able to return from the work site until late at night. This work went on for a year, but he only did it himself for two months, after which he paid money so he wouldn't have to go, as it was affecting his income. He was only able to afford to pay this money for a month, after which he neither did forced labour, nor paid money. He was in constant trouble because of this, and was called to see the authorities several times, but managed to avoid arrest. The authorities threatened that if someone didn't do forced labour, or pay their fine, they would be arrested and locked up. He saw both women and men doing the work, ranging in age from 13/14 to 60/70. The workers were not beaten, but one person was forced to go from each household, regardless of the situation, so this is why women, children and old people had to go (about half the workers were women). The work he had to do was building an embankment, digging and levelling the ground, and breaking rocks. The workers were collected and taken to the work site in trucks, but they had to find their own way home, late at night. If workers were sick, they did not receive any treatment. If they did not complete their work assignment in time, they would have to come back the next day. He didn't see anyone beaten when doing forced labour, but he himself was beaten during portering. The next type of forced labour he did was also constructing a railway, this time from Shwenyaung to Namhsam. This was in 1995 or 1996. The work was the same as before, and was arranged in the same way. He did this work himself for the first two weeks, then sent his 13-year-old son for the following two weeks. After that he paid 150 kyat per time to avoid going. He paid this money for three months, then could not afford to any more. Then he neither paid nor worked, and was constantly in trouble. The railway line still was not finished. The next forced labouring he did was portering. He started on 17 November 1997. The order again came from army to the Ward LORC (YaWaTa). The order required 40 porters from Shwenyaung, and the residents had to come to the LORC office and draw lots. Five porters were required from his ward (he was one of those chosen). It was possible for those chosen to be porters to pay 3,000 kyat to be exempted; officials would then use some of this money to hire a substitute. He did not have money so he had to go. The lottery to choose porters took place at 8 a.m., and those who were chosen were detained in a military-owned movie house; this was where all the porters were collected from the different wards, a total of about 60 people. He had to send his wife to bring some personal items from their house. They were not informed of the period that they would be away. At 1 a.m. or 2 a.m. they were moved from the movie house and taken by truck to a military camp in Loikaw, and kept in the lock-up there. They spent one night in the lock-up and were then sent by truck at about 7 a.m. to the Shadaw area. They spent one night there, then at 6 a.m. the next morning they were taken to the Salween river. They crossed the river with motor boats. Once on the other side of the Salween, the porters were given their loads (rice, ammunition, and other supplies); he had to carry rice. At this time two porters threw down their loads and ran away. The soldiers shot at them, but did not hit them. The soldiers and porters walked for the rest of the day, then slept in the open beside a stream that night. They continued walking the next morning and arrived at Meh Te in Kayah State (a village which has been relocated and burned). At this point one porter was unable to continue as he was delirious from a sore leg and shoulder pain. Three or four soldiers began kicking him and beating him with rifle butts, until his face was badly injured and blood was coming out of his mouth. A soldier with two stripes then pointed his gun at the porter and was about to shoot him when the commanding officer intervened. The porter was forced to continue, but was given a military backpack to carry instead of his load. That night at around 8 p.m. they arrived at Kyauk Tat Kwe army camp (battalion 261). The porters then had to cook (for the army as well as for themselves, but separately). The porters were given one condensed milk tin of rice to cook between two people. They were not given any curry or salt or anything with the rice. That night it rained. The porters had to sleep on the ground under the house where the soldiers stayed. They left at 6 a.m. the next morning. On the way, some of the porters who were about 60 were beaten by the soldiers because they could not keep up. At 6 p.m. they arrived at the top of 3222 Hill (named after the elevation), and slept the night. The next day they left again at 6 a.m., and went to Sin Taung ("Elephant Hill"). They had to walk the whole day to get there, and they stayed one night. The next day at 6 a.m. they went to Tin Shu Hill, and arrived at about 1 p.m. On the way, one man was tired and could not continue. The soldiers beat and kicked him, and burned him with cigarettes. Then he was tied up and thrown by the side of the path (he later heard that someone had been sent to get him, but he does not know for sure whether this happened). At Tin Shu Hill they stayed two nights (rested for one day). Then they set off back to 3222 Hill, carrying a soldier who had a bullet wound. On the way back they stopped at Daw Taket (a supply base) and picked up some rice to take back to Tin Shu Hill. They stopped for the night at about 10 p.m. at a village known as Thit Set ('Saw Mill'). The next morning they left at 6 a.m. and went to Tin Shu Hill, via Sin Taung. They stayed one night at Sin Taung (where one porter managed to run away). The next day they got back to Tin Shu Hill and rested there for a few days. After this rest they set off with heavy loads for another hill (he does not remember the name). On the way he began suffering from malaria, and was beaten with a rifle butt by a soldier because he could not keep up. They did not reach their destination that night, and had to sleep the night next to a river. He was very sick, and was given two tablets, but they did nothing, and he thinks they were just painkillers. He thought that he would probably die if he had to continue, so that night at 2 a.m. he went to go to the toilet, and ran away. They came looking for him with flashlights, but he hid behind trees when the flashlight beams came near him. He walked for three days to get to the border. His family has no idea what has happened to him.
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Ethnicity: |
Karenni |
110 |
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Age/sex: |
33, male | |
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Family situation: |
Him, wife and four children | |
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Education: |
4th Standard | |
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Occupation: |
Worked as a Government servant for the township (doing various work) | |
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From: |
Duro, Pruso township, Kayah State | |
The witness worked in Loikaw for the government until 1986. He was unable to support himself and left to work in the mines at Mawchi digging lead. He was unable to support himself here either, because whenever the workers had a day off they were likely to be taken away for portering by soldiers, so then they would miss work for the period they were portering and lose income. Because of this he went back to Loikaw. At this time the authorities only controlled the area around Loikaw, but the rest of the area was controlled by the Karenni opposition, and he found it easier to earn money in the Karenni-controlled area, regularly bringing money back to his family. Because he moved between Loikaw and the opposition controlled areas, he was accused (falsely) of working with the opposition and was arrested in 1992. He was released from prison in March 1997, and then was on probation and had to register weekly with the authorities. He was unable to support himself, and also missed a registration because of illness, and so fled. He arrived in Thailand one day before the interview. When he was working for the authorities at a hospital in Loikaw (while working as a government employee before 1986) he had to do work one day a week on his day off doing forced labour. All government employees had to do this, and were paid six-and-a-half kyat for the day (in 1980), but would have to pay a fine of 60 kyat if they did not go. He had to do this one-day-a-week work for several years. His wife, who was also a government employee, had to do this work as well. The situation for government employees was better, because they had to work once a week, but were not forced to complete a given amount of work. If the villagers or townspeople did not finish their work, they would have to continue working until they did. When villagers arrived to do forced labour, they had to report to the army and sign their names against the name of their village; if they didn't finish their work assignment, they would be beaten and could not return to their villages until they had finished. The treatment by the soldiers was also more harsh for the villagers. He was beaten himself while doing forced labour. There was a gunshot, and the soldiers thought one of the villagers had shot at them. The rounded up the villagers and started beating them; they mistook him for a villager, and so he was beaten as well. He was released when he said he was a Government employee. He did not know what happened to the villagers after this. Later, he had to work on the construction of the Aungban-Loikaw railway. The other townspeople also had to do this work. They were given the order by the Ward LORC, with each household or group of houses having to do a given assignment of work (for rural communities, each village was given a certain work assignment). He saw thousands of people at a time doing work. As well as building the railway, he also had to do other work, such as building a motor road, and clearing ground for the Student Sport Festival - every year it was something different. When he worked at the hospital in Loikaw he saw patients who told him they had received their injuries from being beaten by soldiers while doing forced labour.
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Ethnicity: |
Karenni |
111 |
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Age/sex: |
26, male | |
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Family situation: |
Parents, 14 children (of which he is the youngest) | |
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Education: |
6th Standard | |
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Occupation: |
Farmer | |
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From: |
Tee The Klo, Demawso township, Kayah State (village had 100 households) | |
The witness left Myanmar at the end of 1997. He first did forced labour in August 1996. Previously the area had not been under Government control, which is why he had not done forced labour before. When the army came in, anyone who did not do what they ordered was accused of being a rebel and was shot. The village was given three days in August 1996 to relocate to the centre of another village two miles away called Tee Po Klo. Whatever belongings could not be carried to the relocation site in this time had to be abandoned. At the relocation site the villagers had to stay with friends or family until they could build their own shelter. They were forced to build a fence around the relocation site; there were only two exits, and these were guarded. The villagers were allowed to leave the relocation site during the day to do cultivation, but had to come back at night, and could not take food out with them when they left (in case they gave it to rebels). In order to leave the relocation site for the day they had to buy a pass for ten to 15 kyat per day. At the relocation site he and the other villagers had to do forced labour such as work at the army camp, clearing ground, forced cultivation, cutting trees in the jungle. Whenever the army needed people they would just be taken from the relocation site. The army conducted investigations to find out which of the villagers were rebels. His name came up and soldiers from battalion 429 came to arrest him. They blindfolded him and tied his hands to a rope tied around his neck; they also tied his feet together. They took him away with 11 other people and tortured him in various ways. Five of the group died during torture. The torture included having a plastic bag put over their head, chilli powder up the nose, hot water was poured into their nostrils, being hit and beaten, and being cut with knives. The torture lasted for three days and two nights; they were interrogated during the torture. The seven remaining were sent to Loikaw prison, where they were kept in a small dark cell, and they were interrogated again by military intelligence. During the interrogation he would be asked if he was a rebel, then punched when he said "no". They finally decided he was not a rebel, and moved him to the lock-up at the camp of battalion 530 in Loikaw. The situation there was very bad, with not enough food or water, and bad treatment. His family did not know where he was. He thought that if he continued to stay there he would die, and if he tried to escape he would probably die in the attempt, so he decided he had nothing to lose and would try to escape. He punched the soldier who brought him his food, and ran away with one other person. He was shot at but was not hit, and after six days made it to Thailand; the other person was rearrested. He had to be admitted to hospital with internal injuries because of being kicked during torture. He also has a problem with his leg.
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Ethnicity: |
Karenni |
112 |
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Age/sex: |
25, male | |
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Family situation: |
Twelve (mother, father, himself, 11 younger siblings) | |
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Education: |
8th Standard | |
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Occupation: |
Farmer | |
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From: |
Demawso town, Kayah State | |
The witness came to Thailand in June 1993 because he could not continue to do forced labour and portering; his family is still in Myanmar (he fled directly after his final portering trip). He had done portering eight times, the first time in May 1990 (he was the only member of his family who did portering). He was scared that he would have to work for up to six months, so on six of the eight occasions he ran away (the other two times he was released). The first time he was forced to work in a saw-mill, but he ran away after a week. The second time he had to porter for two months in Pwe Pu Laung, after which time he ran away. The third and fourth times he ran away after one month of portering. The fifth time he was a porter for one month, to Hti Hta, and after three weeks ran away. The sixth time was also portering to Hti Hta, and he ran away after one month. The seventh time was close to the Thai border in Kayah State with LIB 18, and he was released after two months. The eighth time was again near the Thai border, near BP9 (Thai Border Patrol Police checkpoint 9); he was released after two months. When portering, he usually carried artillery shells, but also sometimes water, rice, and other ammunition. He portered at the front line, on military operations, and between (non front line) army camps. Sometimes the porters were ordered by the army from the village/ward head, and sometimes the soldiers captured porters directly, especially at markets or movie theatres. The work was the same regardless of which method was used. For him, the most common method was via the village head. Normally, one person from a small village, or one person from each section in a larger village would have to go for portering at a time; who went would be determined by the village head, and if the person he chose was unable to go, they would have to pay 3,000 to 4,000 kyat. If the soldiers found they did not have enough porters after this, they would come and take them directly. The times he went portering, there were usually about 50 porters (sometimes from as far away as Shan State). Porters were punched and kicked by the soldiers, and hit with rifle butts when they could not do the work. This never happened to him because he was able to do the work. Some porters were as young as 13, and some were old. Women were not normally taken as porters, but one time when he was portering near Shadaw, he saw four women taken as porters, because the soldiers could not find enough men. They were forced to carry four 84 mm artillery shells each (about 16 viss, or 25 kg). After one day they were released. The food for porters was not sufficient, consisting of a small amount of rice. Porters were not given water, but had to grab some whenever they passed a stream. Porters had to sleep on the ground with no blankets. The worst experience he had while portering was while carrying artillery shells on his last portering trip. A battle broke out with Karenni rebels, including mortar fire; some porters were killed. The worst treatment he saw of porters was when a porter became sick with diarrhoea and lost strength. The porter was not treated and was forced to continue and died. In another case, a porter ran away, and the soldiers grabbed another porter who seemed about to follow him, then shot him in front of the other porters as a warning for them not to try to run away. He had also done forced labour, as had other members of his family; aside from portering, at least once a month some member of his family had to do some form of forced labour. When he was in Demawso he and others were forced to collect bamboo, bamboo shoots and other things, starting in 1990. He often had to do this once a week. Forced labour included work on the Aungban-Loikaw railway. They had to build an embankment across rice fields, 16 feet wide at the top, 18 feet wide at the base, and eight feet high. This work was from 1992 to 1993, with each family being give a certain quota to complete (about ten feet of embankment to the above specifications, which would take a family between one week and one month). The railway was completed now. No-one was paid for this work; people who could not go were required to pay 1,200 kyat. The orders to do this work came from the SLORC, via the VLORC. A meeting would be called to explain to the village heads what had to be done, and the village head would then instruct his villagers accordingly. He had to work on the railway three times (for three weeks, five days and three days respectively). The soldiers at the work-site didn't treat him badly, but he saw them beat other workers and threaten them at gunpoint if they were not working to the soldiers' satisfaction. After the embankment was built, it had to be covered with rock chippings, then the sleepers and railway track would be laid. There were also prison labourers doing this work, and he heard that the treatment they received from the soldiers was much worse. The amount of various forms of forced labour increased to about once a week per household, in addition to portering. It became impossible to do this much forced labour and still earn a living.
|
Ethnicity: |
Karenni |
113 |
|
Age/sex: |
48, male | |
|
Family situation: |
Ten (him, wife, four daughters and four sons) | |
|
Occupation: |
Village head, and Chairman of a grouping between the VLORC and TLORC levels; before this he had a position within the BSPP (Burma Socialist Program Party), and before this he was a leader of the youth wing. | |
|
From: |
Tong Pet village-tract, Shadaw township, Kayah State | |
The witness did forced labour for the SLORC many times: portering, cutting bamboo, working at the army camp ... all sorts of things. Even though as a village head he was responsible for arranging for his villagers to do forced labour, he also had to do the labour on behalf of his own household. The first type of forced labour he did was portering for the military, carrying rice from Po Kyaw to Shadaw, a distance of about 15 miles. This was about ten years ago (though he had previously been a porter in 1971/72). Since then he has done portering a total of about ten times. Because he was the village head he would only have to go on short portering trip of around three days; the longest trip he went on was ten days. When he was portering he had to carry rice, ammunition and other supplies. The treatment of porters by the soldiers was bad; the soldiers were rude and sometimes beat porters. He was never beaten himself, but one time some of his villagers ran away during portering, so because he was the village head he was arrested. He was beaten which resulted in some damage to his chest; he was only released when the escaped porters were replaced. His chest wound was made worse by having to carry heavy loads while portering, sometimes up to 60 kg. He still has some trouble with his chest. He has seen other porters with serious injuries from beatings, such as broken noses and blood coming from the mouth. Porters would be beaten if they could not keep up, or if the soldiers thought they were going to run away. He saw some porters killed by the soldiers when they were unable to continue. The bodies were then left by the side of the path. In the case of his village (which was quite large, about 100 houses), orders for porters were sent from the military to the village head (in writing), and the village head had to arrange which villagers went. Because these orders came so often, the villagers could not take it and would often run away. It was thus sometimes difficult to find people to go, so sometimes he had to go himself. One time he went himself and had to carry supplies to Shadaw. When he arrived he was released, but then arrested again by some other soldiers. He was released only when a local VLORC Chairman, who was his friend, complained to the military. The written orders did not contain threats, but verbal threats that the village would be burned down and the village head arrested if an order was not carried out were often made. Porters would only be released when replacements arrived, usually after about ten days, but often as long as two months or more when it was difficult to find replacements. Porters were not paid, but as village head he would arrange for a collection of a little money from the villagers to give to the families of porters so that they could survive. Women were not normally taken as porters, but occasionally, when the soldiers could not get enough men, they would take women, even nursing mothers. Villagers also had to do forced labour at the army camp (he did not do this work himself, but had to arrange for villagers to go). They had to build fences, dig trenches, etc. There has been an army camp in the Shadaw area for many years, and this work has been going on for a long time. The order for this would come from the TLORC, and if workers did not arrive, the army would come directly to the village and grab people. The villagers were also required to provide thatch and other building materials. Sometimes as many as 20 people at a time were required, with the requirement to provide labour rotating among the villages in the area. Women were also required to do this work. He does not know of any case of physical abuse of women during forced labour/portering, but verbal abuse was common. Other forced labour his village had to do included cutting bamboo and making thatch for use renovating the army camp (one to two times a year). The army camp was ten miles away, so when villagers had to work there they had to sleep one or two nights at the army camp. All the villagers also had to do forced labour on the Aungban-Loikaw railway. Each village was given an assignment to construct a given length of embankment. Most of the villages in the whole of Kayah State were involved. His village first had to go in 1992. Once in 1991 or 1992, 100 people from his village (one from each house) had to go to work for a few days building a road from Shadaw to the Salween River. He came to Thailand with his family after his village was given seven days to relocate to Shadaw on 1 June 1996; about 100 families came at the same time, from various villages. After the order came, he discussed it with the village, but they did not want to relocate. He wrote a letter to the authorities in Shadaw explaining the reasons why the villagers did not want to be relocated, viz. health problems, lack of shelter at the relocation site, the lack of education for relocated villagers, food shortages at the relocation site, and the difficulty for old people of making the trip. These arguments were not accepted, and the authorities said that the village would be burned, so some villagers relocated to Shadaw, but many others fled. The villagers had to walk 12 miles to the relocation site, so they were unable to take all their possessions. The village was then burned and the animals and remaining possessions were stolen by the army. "Not even one dog was left".
|
Ethnicity: |
Karenni |
114 |
|
Age/sex: |
46, male | |
|
Family situation: |
Nine (him, wife, four sons and three daughters) | |
|
Occupation: |
Farmer | |
|
From: |
To Ka Oh, Shadaw township, Kayah State (village had 100 families) | |
The witness left Myanmar in June 1996. He had done many kinds of forced labour, including portering, cutting bamboo, cutting wood for railway construction, carrying rice for the soldiers guarding workers on road construction. The most difficult work was portering: "people don't dare to do this work". He did portering five or six times, usually for three to six days at a time. The longest time was for 11 days. The first time was in 1972 and the last time in 1987. He had to carry ammunition, food and other supplies. The loads were very heavy, up to 30 viss (49 kg), and caused wounds for the porters. If a porter could not carry his load he would be kicked, beaten or punched; one time he slipped over while portering and could not get up because the load was so heavy, and he was kicked by the soldiers in the lower back and beaten badly. On the last occasion he did portering there was a battle; the porters were very scared and some ran away. He also had to cut bamboo for the military to construct a camp. He had to cut 100 bamboo poles in one day, which was very hard. Many other people also had to do this work. He also had to cut large trees for railway sleepers in about 1992, together with about 100 other villagers. It was difficult for him to estimate how much time he spent doing forced labour, but it was usually one or two times a month for several days at a time. Orders for forced labour came from the army to the village head.
|
Ethnicity: |
Shan |
115 |
|
Age/sex: |
39, male | |
|
Family situation: |
Married with three children | |
|
Occupation: |
Farmer and village head (1994 to 1996) | |
|
From: |
Pa Ku Da, Bawlake township, Kayah State (village on the bank of the Salween close to Ywathit; forcibly relocated to Ywathit in 1996) | |
The witness's village was part of large-scale relocations. The entire village was ordered to relocate. Order came from an army officer on 16 April 1996. Fifteen families, about 50 to 60 people (mostly children) affected. He tried to stay and ignore the order. Second order came saying the villagers had to move, and that if they stayed the village would be burned down. Other villages in the area were also being relocated at the same time: about seven (100 families in total) all Shan villages in Kayah State. His village was relocated to Ywathit near an army post on the hill above the paddy field where they were sent. Half-day travel by foot away from their village. They were given one week to move and had to leave most of their possessions behind, including water buffaloes and chickens, since there was no motor road to the new site. Other villages moved with them were Wan Loi, Wan Pla, Ko Su Pa, Ho Hta, Wan Pha Ku and Leh Way. They could only take one pot of rice with them. Went back one time after one week time period elapsed without authorization to try to find buffalo, but could not find them. They were given much less land in the new place: ten to 20 times less than cultivated before. Told to build new houses themselves. Not given building materials, just a very small amount of rice, equal to one soldier's rice pot a week per person. Had to live with villagers already there until they built their own houses. Military units in area of original and relocated village: Battalion numbers 54, 72 and 102 before 1994. Division 55 and LIB 429 after 1994. As village head he had a lot of experience with forced labour. The work his villagers were ordered to do was mainly work at the army camp, including maintenance work and portering. This was done on a rotating basis: five people each week every week, one per family, from ten days to one month in length. Orders came in written form and were received by him. No one dared to refuse to go when told to do so. If someone was sick someone else had to go in their place. The village collected 30 to 40 kyat per day to cover the cost of 210 to 280 kyat per person per day. This was paid to an administrative officer, not the military. He did forced labour himself before he became village head in 1994, but not after. Forced labour was also required for work on the road to the mouth of the Pai River from the village, one week per family; work was also done with forced labourers from other villages in the area. This was in 1994, before portering and army camp work was required on a regular basis beginning in 1995. Other types of forced labour were not required because the village was small there were only a limited number of available families and workers. With regard to the way people were requested, the first order that came was simple, telling a certain number to report for work. But if the villagers were late or did not come then the second order came and would be more threatening. It came with a bullet and a chilli. These were traditional warnings meaning death and making things hot for the village. He had to keep the order at all times, and send back the bullet and chilli to show he had received them and understood the message. Orders came from LIB 429 and/or 55 Division. He saw abuses when he was a porter (pre-1994). Labourers were forced to go on foot with very heavy loads, and to keep up the steady, fast pace. Once a porter could not keep up and a soldier took his rice sack and hit him hard on the back of the neck, forcing him to the ground. He was badly injured and died. That was in 1992 during the big offensive in Mye Leh, near the river Pai. Villagers who returned reported never getting enough food and only a small ration of rice per day. If a villager fled during a forced labour assignment the village head had to go to the army to bribe them or pay a fine. Usually, they paid in chickens. Once he had to send women as porters as men were not available. Once they told the soldiers there were not enough people to send and meet the quota. The soldiers came to the village, called everyone out: men, women and children, even babies, and took everyone to the camp for forced labour for four days. The men cut bamboo, the women cooked and cleaned the compound. They were told "this was the first punishment. If you disobey again we will punish you this way again." He heard about but did not witness mistreatment of others during forced labour. Rapes were reported when the soldiers were on patrol or entered a village. He was paid only once for forced labour when repairing an old traffic road. He received 25 kyat a day for seven days.
|
Ethnicity/religion: |
Shan, Buddhist |
116 |
|
Age/sex: |
55, male | |
|
Family situation: |
Married with eight children | |
|
Education: |
2nd Standard | |
|
Occupation: |
Farmer | |
|
From: |
Pa Ku Da village, Bawlake township, Kayah State (village on the bank of the Salween close to Ywathit; forcibly relocated to Ywathit in 1996) | |
The witness came from the same village as witness 115. He took some food provisions when relocated but had to leave behind 300 baskets of rice and ten water buffalo. Took chickens and pigs, but had to eat them for food at the new location. Took some tools. It was five days' walk to the relocation site. The army promised to help and said they would cut logs at their sawmill for free, but villagers had to pay them to haul the logs to the mill and to transport the wood back, so this could not be done as it cost 70 kyat a day to rent a bullock cart. They were given neither food nor money at the relocation site. He left before completing his new house. With regard to forced labour, the army sent an order for five people to make a fence on the army post for two days of work on a rotating basis. Even the old men (60 to 70 years old) had to go if no other people were available. Workers were given one day of rest and then had to return if assigned work not finished. No food or money was given. He was also asked to send two, three, four or five people as porters on patrol. Guide porter heads the march and was subject to stepping on land mines. There were also porters from Wan Loi village (close to Pa Ku Dah). Three porters were killed from mines during portering: two as porters, one as guide. This happened in 1975. The families of the first porter killed received nothing. The families of the other two shared 10,000 kyat paid by the army as compensation. For all these forms of work, they were not paid anything nor given food. After 1995, three people were required to serve as porters every week on a rotating basis. Five others were assigned to perform other tasks: building fences, digging bunkers, building camp facilities. This involved work three to four times a month per family for at least two days. If the porters complained about the excessive weight they were beaten, even old people. Two roads used forced labour. One from Bawlake to Ywathit and the other from the village to the mouth of the Pai river. This was in 1995. It involved five days work, two days off, then five days work again for a total of ten days of work per family. Paid three kyat and 50 pya (he received a total of 33 kyat and 50 pya for the work). No choice, had to go.
|
Ethnicity: |
Karenni |
117 |
|
Age/sex: |
27, male | |
|
Family situation: |
Married with three children; had eight siblings | |
|
Occupation: |
Farmer | |
|
From: |
Daw Ku Say, Shadaw township, Kayah State | |
The witness left Myanmar in July 1996. Before this, he had to porter for the army. Soldiers came to his village and called him as a porter and beat the porters. He and brothers left because of fear of staying in the village. Came with whole family (wife, children and siblings). They were being called and taken as porters one or two times a month or more, usually for two or three days each time, but sometimes people would be taken for one or two months at a time. They were requisitioned either through written orders to the village head or arrested directly by the military. If the village head questioned anything he was told to "... go away or we will seize even more people for portering". It was not done in a systematic way. Sometimes twice a month, sometimes once in two months. It got to the point where the villagers tried to flee when they heard soldiers were coming. The soldiers would shoot at those they saw trying to flee. They beat and tortured some villagers too. That was in 1995. As a porter he was taken to the north-eastern part of Kayah State. Sometimes fighting would break out. He carried ammunition for 16 days the first time, in 1991, for one month in 1993 and a third time, also in 1993. He was told it would be for a short time. They went down the Salween river. He feared for his life, so escaped and returned to his village. He was also made to work for the army cutting bamboo and making fences at the army camp, four hours walk away. Orders came in writing for this too. Shadaw army camp was the site. Worked one day. Other work done on rotation basis too: five days per person per family per month, sometimes once in two months, sometimes twice a month. For all these forms of work he was neither paid nor fed. No medical care or treatment was given if sick or injured. Workers were beaten when tired or if they took a rest. Once the army came to the village looking for porters. All the men were away working in the fields, so they took all the women in the village to work in the camp for one day and they were beaten there. They did not report sexual abuse. Talked only about being beaten. The last order that came that caused him to flee Myanmar was for the village to relocate. It came just before he left in June 1996. They were relocated because the army was afraid they would supply the insurgents.
|
Ethnicity: |
Karenni |
118 |
|
Age/sex: |
21, male | |
|
Family situation: |
Was single when left Myanmar (now married); four siblings | |
|
Education: |
1st Standard | |
|
Occupation: |
Farmer | |
|
From: |
Daw So Kya, Shadaw township, Kayah State (village forcibly relocated to Shadaw in June 1996) | |
Order came in June 1996 to relocate to Shadaw. He left there one month after the relocation to flee to Thailand with parents. There were 89 families in Daw So Kya that were relocated. Order was to relocate in one week or be shot. The new site was five hours walk away. Could only take what could be carried. Buffalo were left behind. Given only a tiny piece of land of five metres square, only enough to build a house but not enough to farm. No materials for building were provided. Given a small amount of rice as a ration. With no land and no job there was no way to survive. That was why they fled across the border. Every villager had to do forced labour, even women and children. He portered himself four times, three times before he was 18. First and second times were when he was 11, when he was used as a guide to lead the troops. The third time troops came in and seized people. They tied and beat the village head and took him (he was 12 years old at the time) and used him as a guide again. The fourth time, he was working in his field plowing with his father. Troops came and seized them both to carry ammunition. He was 17 or 18 at that time. He portered for five days. A fight broke out with the insurgents near Daw Ei Lah village. One woman porter tried to run from the fighting that broke out with others and her baby on her back was shot and killed. Those who could not carry their loads were beaten. No food was given so people were weak, and then they were beaten and kicked. Sometimes they would torture the workers by hanging them by the legs with a stick under their knees. Women and children over 12 or 13 were also used as porters, as well as old men. The porters were neither paid nor fed; they had to beg food from houses in villages along the way. They were given only a small amount of dry bread when they got to the Pon river. Orders were also issued for forced labourers to cut bamboo and do other work in the military camp. Five to ten at a time were called from the village to do this from the 89 families on a rotating basis. They had to build bunkers and cut logs for camp buildings.
|
Ethnicity: |
Shan |
119 |
|
Age/sex: |
36, male | |
|
Family situation: |
Married with one daughter | |
|
Occupation: |
Farmer | |
|
From: |
Banlak, Taunggyi township, Shan State (grew up in a village near Namhsam town) | |
The witness left Myanmar in mid-1997. He was called up by the army for portering, road and railway construction, and work for a military camp. It was the village head who transmitted the order from the military. In general, the rule was one person per family. However, it often happened that when the designated member was far away, the military requisitioned an additional member of the family. When he was away on the work assigned to him, his brother looked after his land. He personally had to do forced labour for the military on average twice a month, every month for 15 years (portering, railway, roads combined). The first time he had to porter for the military was 15 years ago. The last time was six months ago. The assignments could last from five days to a month. He had to carry rice and ammunition. Fifteen porters were required for 20 soldiers. Forty to 50 porters for 60 to 70 soldiers. Men and women could be called up, including children aged 15 and 16 and people over 60 years. He had to march all day. He was not regularly fed. The rations were always inadequate. He had to sleep in the jungle. He was not paid. It was impossible to refuse or pay a substitute. Twice he saw people killed because they refused to do the work. It was always possible to pay a bribe: 5,000 kyat each time. He once tried to pay not to go but the village head refused his money. He therefore had to work. He was subjected to ill treatment, being beaten twice. He saw other porters struck and beaten to death. He also saw porters shot by the military. In cases where the women could no longer carry the loads assigned to them, they were subjected to sexual abuse (rape). He had personally seen that on four or five occasions. He also worked on road construction for the first time 13 years ago. The last time about six months ago. He worked on many roads, notably Shwenyaung-Yatsauk (Lawksawk) and Shwenyaung-Namhsam. He had to make embankments and level the road. The roads were used exclusively by the military. About 2,000 people worked on the roads at the same time as him, including men, women, children and older people. The day began at 8 a.m. and ended at 5 p.m. with an hour's rest at midday. He had to bring his own food. He was not paid. Any refusal could lead to arrest and a fine of 1,000 kyat and the obligation to work. It was not possible to hire a substitute. The soldiers supervised the work. He saw many people subjected to ill treatment because their work did not satisfy the military. When he was on railway construction, he had to build embankments, level the ground and lay the track. He saw the track on which he had worked when it was finished: Yatsauk (Lawksawk) to Patu and Namhsam to Shwenyaung. The railways were used both by the military and civilians. The whole of Taunggyi had to participate. Three thousand people worked on the railways at the same time as him, including men, women, children and older people. The situation was the same as for work on the roads as regards hours of work, food, pay, possibility of refusing, the consequences of refusal and ill treatment inflicted by the military. He also worked five times for a military camp in Namhsam, from the age of 13 (1975) to 19 (1981). Each assignation lasted about ten days. He had to sleep in the military camp. Sixty to 70 people worked with him each time, including men, women and older people (over 60 years). There were no children. He had to bring his own food and had to provide water to the military. The day began at 8 a.m. and ended at 5 p.m. He was not paid. It was impossible to refuse or pay a substitute. He was not personally subjected to ill treatment, but twice he saw people beaten by the military. With regard to taxation, part of his harvest had to be given to the military. If the farmers could not pay the tax, they were put in prison.
|
Ethnicity: |
Shan |
120 |
|
Age/sex: |
25, female | |
|
Family situation: |
Married with one daughter | |
|
Occupation: |
Farmer | |
|
From: |
Wan Mai Hong Nai, Nam Mong village-tract, Laikha township, Shan State (village had about 80 families) | |
The witness's husband wanted to leave Myanmar because he did not want to be a porter for the army. He left nine years ago and she joined him in mid-1997. She had not been personally forced to work. As her husband was in Thailand, he had not worked for the military either. The men of her village fled when the military approached the village so as to avoid being recruited. However, other people in her village had been forced to cook (rice, curry), for the military when they stopped in the village. It was impossible to refuse. Just before she had left, a woman had been killed near her house because the military suspected her of links with a Shan soldier. She had heard that the village had been relocated to a site near Laikha.
|
Ethnicity: |
Pa-o |
121 |
|
Age/sex: |
22, male | |
|
Family situation: |
Married with one daughter (aged two) | |
|
Occupation: |
Farmer | |
|
From: |
Wan Yong, Panglong village-tract, Loilem township, Shan State (village relocated to Panglong at the end of 1997) | |
The witness's village was relocated to Panglong at the end of 1997. He left Myanmar in January 1998 and walked for four days to reach Thailand. Before relocation he worked as a porter, on construction of roads and railways and in military camps growing maize and rice. He was a porter for the army for the first time at the age of 16 and the last time about a year ago. He had been a porter countless times. The village head informed him of the order from the military. The assignments could last from one to three days. He had to carry rice and ammunition. Only men between 14 and 50 years of age were porters. The food rations were always inadequate. The hours could vary. He often had to march for many hours without rest. He had to sleep in the jungle. He had not seen any fighting. He was not paid. It was possible to pay a substitute: 400 to 500 kyat a time. It was impossible to pay bribes, because the military needed porters. He had been subjected to ill treatment and had personally been beaten with a rifle on three occasions because he was walking too slowly. He saw many other porters beaten because they could not carry the load given to them. He had also worked on the railway for a year two years ago, on the line between Namhsam and Mongnai. These lines were finished and used by both military and civilian traffic. He had to work there every day. He had to level the ground, carry and break stones. He had to sleep at the work site. Five hundred to 600 people worked with him on the site, including men and women (no children). He was not paid. He had to bring his own food. The day began at 8 a.m. and finished at 5 p.m., with an hour for lunch. He had to take on day labourers to work on his farm. He had not personally been subjected to ill treatment. However, if the workers tried to escape and were caught, they were beaten with a stick. He saw that happen twice. He worked on road construction three years ago on the road between Panglong and Namhsam. He worked about 25 times there (for one day) during the year. He had to bring his own food. Twenty to 25 people worked there at the same time as him, including men and women (no children). He had not been subjected to ill treatment and had not seen others ill treated, although the military often shouted at them. He had also been forced to work five times a year ago on the military's fields, growing maize and rice. Twenty people had worked there at the same time as him. He had been relocated two months ago. The village head had informed him that he had three days to move. No one was allowed to stay in the village. All the people of the village were relocated to different places. The village was then burned by the military. He stayed at the relocation site near Panglong for two months. He left there because he could not find enough work to provide for his family's needs. He was not allowed to return to his village to fetch food. However, he had not been forced to work for the military or anyone else.
|
Ethnicity: |
Shan |
122 |
|
Age/sex: |
23, male | |
|
Family situation: |
Single, his parents are alive and he has five brothers | |
|
From: |
Mauk Mong Lae, Taunggyi township, Shan State (village had 30 families) | |
The witness left Myanmar in mid-1997 because he did not want to be requisitioned as a porter by the army. He had never himself been a porter. He knew several people who had done portering (not in his immediate family). However, he had to do other forms of forced labour: roads and railways. He worked on the building of the road between Yatsauk (Lawksauk) and Yangon, two years ago (1995), about ten times during the year. The village head informed him of the work required. The day began at 6 a.m. and ended at 5 p.m. He had to bring his own food. Forty people worked at the same time as him, including men, women, children (16 years) and older people (over 50 years). He could return to the village to sleep. He was not paid. It was possible to pay a substitute: 50 kyat a time. Bribes were impossible. His brother looked after the farm in his absence. He had not personally been subjected to ill treatment. The soldiers often shouted at them. He had sometimes seen people who had tried to escape being caught and beaten with wooden sticks by the soldiers. He also worked on the railway line between Taunggyi and May Shee Law a year ago about ten times. Each assignment lasted 15 days on average. The village head informed him of the work required. He had to carry and break rock. He had to sleep in nearby villages because he could not go home. He had to bring his own food. Forty people worked there at the same time as him, including men, women and children (16 years). He had been subjected to ill treatment because the soldiers thought that he worked too slowly.
|
Ethnicity: |
Shan |
123 |
|
Age/sex: |
25, male | |
|
Family situation: |
Nine (mother, father, him and four siblings) | |
|
Occupation: |
Farm labourer | |
|
From: |
Mong Yen, Kyaukme township, Shan State (45 households in his section of the village) | |
The witness left Myanmar at the end of 1997. He left because of too much forced labour. He did forced labour collecting rubber trees (saplings) for a very large army rubber plantation (stretching for about 2 miles), then planting the saplings to make the plantation, then looking after them. The plantation was owned by battalion 324. The villagers who did this work were given no money or food, and even had to bring their own tools. They had to work for ten to 15 days a month. In his family him, he parents and his brothers and sisters all did this work at various times. There were between five and 30 other villagers doing this work at any one time, depending on how much work needed to be done. They were ordered to do this work by the soldiers, through the village head, and if they did the work badly, they would have to come back again to re-do it. The villagers (including him) also had to work on a sugar-cane plantation for battalion 324. They had to do all the work: clearing the ground, planting the sugar cane, looking after it. When the sugar cane was ready for harvest, they had to bring the village sugar-cane machine to crush the cane and extract the juice, then make it into raw sugar ("chandagar"). This then had to be given to the soldiers. All this work was done without pay or food being provided, and the villagers even had to bring their own tools, including the village-owned sugar cane machine. About 20 to 30 villagers at one time would have to do this work. The soldiers then sold the sugar (not locally) for their own profit. The orders to do this work also came from the battalion via the village head. His older brother used to do portering, not him. His brother first went in 1989, and was away for four months, carrying things for the soldiers. Porters were demanded by the soldiers via the village head, but they also sometimes came directly to the village and rounded people up. At the time when he left, there was not much portering, it was mostly forced labour. This has been the case since the 1996 cease-fire, but before this there was a lot of portering and little or no forced labour.
|
Ethnicity: |
Pa-o |
124 |
|
Age/sex: |
23, male | |
|
Family situation: |
Nine (him, wife and seven children) | |
|
Occupation: |
Farmer | |
|
From: |
Bang Nim, Sanin village-tract, near Panglong in Loilem township, Shan State (village had 80 households) | |
Twenty days ago the whole of Sanin village-tract was ordered by Infantry Battalion 513 to relocate to Panglong within seven days. He and his family moved to the relocation site, but there was nothing there and they had to build a house and set up everything, so he fled with his family (his parents were too old to make the trip, so they stayed behind with his sister). He thought the relocation was done because the army was frightened of rebels. They were told that those who did not relocate would be shot. It was a one-day journey to the relocation site, so they could not take all their possessions and had to leave animals behind. They could not go back to work in their fields, so the farmers who were relocated had to get work as labourers for farmers in Panglong; some people had to beg. Relocated villagers were allowed to leave the relocation site during the day, but had to return by 5 p.m. There was not much forced labour before, but once they arrived at the relocation site, they had to do a lot of forced labour. One person from each family had to do forced labour permanently. The people had to plant three acres of sweet corn for the army. People also had to make thatch sheets for roofing the army camp. The villagers did not have to do much forced labour before, but there was portering. There was an army camp in the area of their village, which had been built by the villagers. The troops changed every three months, and the village would have to provide them with their food, and even cook for them. They would send orders to the village head, demanding whatever they needed. He was taken as a porter many times, usually for one or two days at a time, but sometimes longer. He had done longer periods of portering twice. The first time was in 1993 or 1994, when he was taken for four months. Soldiers surrounded the village and arrested about ten porters, including two women (the women were kept for three days, and when they got two male replacements the women were released). The ten people were tied up and beaten. They were not informed how long they would be away. They were then taken to an army camp at Panglong, where they spent one night. The next day they were taken to Langkho by army truck (a distance of about 80 km). They spent the night at battalion 99, then the next day went on foot to No Kong village. He had to carry a load of 4 RPG (rocket-propelled grenade) shells. They then crossed the Nam Taem river by boat, then went to Pang Hat in the MTA (Khun Sa's Mong Tai Army) area. At Pang Hat there was a battle. The porters stayed behind the soldiers, and none died. Many soldiers died, however. The battle lasted 48 hours, day and night. The porters had a little food--rice and watery fish paste. They stayed in this area for about one month. There were about 600 soldiers and 80 porters, but there were also many horses, which is why there were not many porters. During this period, seven or eight porters became sick and died without receiving treatment. Two porters also died when they tried to escape and ran across a minefield. This happened near to the Salween river. When the soldiers were marching, the porters had to go ahead of them, but not at other times. He also went as a porter for 15 days in 1997, in the Laikha-Mongkaing area. He was arrested by soldiers early in the morning when he was working in his fields. He had to carry a radio set to Lin Yok, which was one day walk. They then slept there for five nights. Then they had to continue to Wan Larng Long, about two hours' walk away, where they spent the night. He was released in Wan Larng Long. In total there were six porters and four horses for about 90 soldiers. During portering, the soldiers would steal chickens to eat from villages. If a porter could not keep up, he would be beaten. Porters who could not continue would just be left where they were at the side of the path. The porters ate two times a day; they were only given a little rice with some fish paste.
|
Ethnicity: |
Shan |
125 |
|
Age/sex: |
40, male | |
|
Family situation: |
Eight (him, wife and six children) | |
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Occupation: |
Labourer | |
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From: |
Laikha town, Shan State (for twenty years, then six years ago he moved to Lashio town, Shan State) | |
The witness had to do a lot of forced labour before he left in early 1997. On average he only had about ten days per month to do his own work; the other 20 had to be spent on forced labour. The first time he did forced labour was in 1976. The villagers were ordered to build an army camp, and after this the soldiers demanded standby porters. The orders were given by the army through the village head. One year ago he fled to Thailand because he found he had no time left to earn a living, because of excessive taxation and forced labour. About twice a year he had to pay 5,000 kyat to hire a replacement for portering, and also pay regular monthly porter fees (to avoid minor portering). He used to go himself, but now he is too scared that he will die during portering, so he does not dare go. He knew of many porters who had died during portering. They either died in battle (especially in Kayin and Shan States), were shot trying to escape or died of illness. Some starved to death because of insufficient food and hard work. He used to have to do portering about 12 times a year, usually for a few days at a time; the longest period he went for was one week. The treatment of porters by the soldiers was bad. Porters were beaten if they could not keep up. He personally saw two people shot dead who were unable to continue. In one case, seven years ago, his friend had a bad stomach (he thinks from lack of food), and was unable to continue. He saw the soldiers beat his friend to death in front of him. Women were sometimes taken as porters if the soldiers could not find any men. If the soldiers went into a village and there were no men, they would rape the women. Women who were taken as porters were also raped; he saw this himself on two occasions. Porters were given food that the soldiers took from villages, but sometimes they were only given a little army rations, which was worse. Sick porters were not treated, but if they were totally unable to continue they would be released. The orders for porters were given through the ward authorities in towns, but in the villages soldiers would just arrest people directly. He had also done forced labour. He had to plant sweet corn for Infantry Battalions 64 and 77, work breaking rocks and shifting soil for construction of roads from Laikha to Mongkaing and Laikha to Mong Hsu. He had also worked cleaning the army camp.
|
Ethnicity: |
Shan |
126 |
|
Age/sex: |
19, female | |
|
Family situation: |
Five (parents, her and two sisters) | |
|
From: |
Ho Purk, Lashio township, Shan State (village had 50 households) | |
The witness arrived in Thailand at the end of 1997 with five other people (she was the only member of her family who left). She left because of excessive forced labour, which meant her family could not survive. In one month someone from each family would have to do about one week of forced labour, but sometimes as much as 20 days. She herself had done forced labour many times since the age of 15. She usually did forced labour only for short periods (usually one day); longer forced labour assignments (three to ten days) would be done by her father. Villagers had to work at the army camp making fences, and cleaning, and also constructing roads. She herself did mainly the cleaning at the army camp. The soldiers treated her badly, often swearing at her, but never beating her. Some of her friends (male) were beaten, but she did not know why. Orders for forced labour were given by the army through the village head. If someone failed to turn up for forced labour they would be arrested and food or money would be demanded for their release. It was possible to hire another person to go in her place for forced labour, but paying money directly to soldiers would not work. Her father had to do portering. He said he had to carry things for the soldiers over mountains, and if he was slow he was beaten and kicked. When he was away portering, the family faced many problems and had to sell belongings in order to eat. This happened very often.
|
Ethnicity: |
Shan |
127 |
|
Age/sex: |
25, male | |
|
Family situation: |
Family of four including parents | |
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Education: |
6th Standard | |
|
Occupation: |
Farmer | |
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From: |
Wan Mong, Mong Yai township, Shan State | |
The witness came to Thailand at the end of 1997 when a group of former MTA soldiers, turned into a kind of militia to fight against remaining rebels, recruited people in his village, so he sneaked out. In Myanmar he could not make a living because of too much forced labour and taxation. He saw no improvement as long as the military regime was in power. Since the military took over, his family had to provide forced labour at least once a week. He himself started when about 18 years old, digging trenches around a military camp. There were over 60 families in his village and about six villages in his area, and when the camp was built seven years ago, over a period of four to five months, one person from his family (as from all the other families in the six villages) had to go three times for seven days in a row to build the camp, digging trenches, fencing, etc. He went twice, his elder brother once. The order came from the camp commander to the village head, who chose the families. Anyone failing to go was fined 700 kyat. The soldiers forced the people to work, giving them no rest. If someone stopped, a soldier would hit him and tell him he had to complete the work before going home. He was beaten once, when cutting wood for a fence. His wood was not as required and he was slapped in the face once and kicked in the back once. Once in a Palaung village, when gathering sand for a military camp, another person did not understand Burmese properly, and he saw a soldier kick that person so that he fell on the stones and was hurt. About one year ago (1996) he had to spend two Sundays, and his elder brother two Sundays and one Saturday, not far from the village/military camp, to clear the ground and plant pineapples for the military. He had to plant pineapples in rows of about 50 plants. For their own crop the villagers would plant one row a day, but for the military they had to do two in a day. Always, when working for the military, one had to be afraid all the time of being scolded or beaten. He had to be there at 7 a.m., work from 8 to 12 a.m. and 1 to 5 p.m. Only one or two villagers who spoke Burmese were given milk by the military, he got no food or anything. He also had to work on a rubber plantation set up by the military since 1988. He had to spend only one day making a barbed wire fence around the plantation, but his father had to work there five different days. Generally, since the military seized power in 1988 Saturdays and Sundays had become a regular time for forced labour. People had to work for the military one way or another. It had become routine. Even if there was nothing to do, they had to fetch water, clear the ground, rake leaves, wait. His family did not have to go every weekend; he did not remember how often. Witness also did portering once, in 1995, for 15 days. The villagers had to take turns, some had to provide bullock carts with drivers, some labour. Normally, the column commander would send an order to the village head, stating how many carts and porters were required, and the village head would look whose turn it was. He started from his village, carrying rice, soybeans, salted fish, a heavy load, up to Mong Hsu. They were not given enough food, and at night they were tied in pairs to their carrying yokes by one hand. If someone looked clever, both hands were tied to two different yokes. Other members of his family had done portering service countless times, as porters or driving a cart, a long time before he went in 1995. When the military went on an operation, they usually stayed in an area for six months and during that time, each village on average had to supply porters four times a month, for a period ranging from 15 days to one or two months. His village of 60 families had to supply each time about six persons, plus sometimes three carts. He went only in 1995 because before this he was at school in town. His brother, who suffered from a stomach disease, had terrible pains when portering and not getting regular meals, so the soldiers had to release him at a village and send him back. When he was still very young his father had to work as a porter for nearly two months. This was the longest anyone from his family had to be a porter. If there was no one in the family who could go, they had to pay porter fees. It happened to his family who paid 700 kyat to Government troops. There were two kinds of soldiers. The kindhearted told the porters to move fast and, if they complied, did nothing to them. Others kicked them and told them to move fast, whatever they did. It had not happened to the witness himself; but when he did portering in 1995, a fellow villager, Ai Thawn, was carrying mortar shells too heavy for him. He tried to rest by putting down the load and a soldier coming behind kicked him, so he fell down and injured his knees. On patrol, soldiers beat a villager for interrogation, killed and ate animals from a village after the inhabitants had run away. He also had to do road work in 1995, too often to remember. The first time they had to repair a branch dirt road leading to a military camp, setting out from a point remote from their village, where they had to bring their own food and then work for five days staying on the site. It took two months. He went twice, once for five days and once for three.
|
Ethnicity: |
Shan |
128 |
|
Age/sex: |
18, female | |
|
Family situation: |
Married (wife of witness 121) with one child | |
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Occupation: |
Farmer | |
|
From: |
Wan Yong, Panglong village-tract, Loilem township, Shan State (village relocated to Panglong at the end of 1997) | |
Witness left Myanmar in January 1998. For her and her fellow villagers forced labour started only after relocation to Panglong, about two years ago in the dry season. The order to relocate was given by soldiers from battalion 513 to the village head, giving them three days to move to Panglong and prohibiting them to go back. They said that if the villagers did not move, they would burn the village, round up all the villagers and beat them to death. They were not allowed to take with them livestock, paddy, building materials. The livestock was shot for the soldiers to eat. They had to walk to the relocation site. The villagers were too afraid to take carts. At the new place, they collected some wood and built little tents and huts. The soldiers did nothing during relocation. Since then, it has become very difficult to get enough food to make a living; they are not allowed to go and work. At the military compound, the villagers had to clear the ground, supply bamboo and thatches. She herself had to prepare the ground for planting chillies and grow them, and cut bamboo, once or twice a month for one or two days. This was all the forced labour she did. Her two elder brothers had to go more often, three to four times a month, out of which two to three times, two days in a row (over a two year period). She had to go only when they were not available, as the soldiers mostly asked for men. Also, the road to the military camp was regularly washed out by rain and they asked for people to repair it. Her elder brother had to go many times, also fetching sand to pile up for the road even when it was not being repaired. At least four times a month a family member was away doing forced labour.
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Ethnicity: |
Shan |
129 |
|
Age/sex: |
35, male | |
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Family situation: |
One younger brother and one younger sister | |
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Education: |
No formal education | |
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Occupation: |
Farmer | |
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From: |
Mong Maw, Namtu township, Shan State (he fled to a village in Laikha township when his village was forcibly relocated nine years ago) | |
The witness left Myanmar early in February 1998. Nine years ago his native village of 85 families was forced to move to Pang Hai village-tract in Namtu township, where there is a silver mine. At that time, he himself went in four days to Laikha township in central Shan State, because he did not want to go to Pang Hai. The soldiers told the village head (of Mong Maw) that the village had to move within three days. The villagers were reluctant, so the soldiers came back and, seeing that the majority of the villagers were still there, burned the village. His younger brother broke his knee when running out of the burning house and falling. He got no treatment from the soldiers. Another person broke his arm. The soldiers shot and ate the livestock as if it belonged to them. If they saw people around the village they beat them or even shot them. When the village was burnt, people lost all their things. In Laikha township, witness went to a small remote village of only 13 houses, where there were no SLORC soldiers and hence, he never did any forced labour there. But over one year ago in the cold season (end of 1996), that village was forced to move by the Burmese soldiers, who hated the Shan opposition soldiers who were around at that time. They gave the villagers three days to move to Laikha and shot one villager dead after he went back to the village in spite of their prohibition. They were relocated to the outskirts of Laikha, from where he fled here two or three days ago because the situation was quite chaotic. Forced Labour in Mong Maw. He had to stand guard all the time, taking turns, about three times a month for one night. He also had to cut bamboo and wood, dig trenches and build fences and houses, all for a military camp. He had to go almost every day for three months, until the camp was finished. He was the only one in his family who went. He also had to do forced labour building bridges, repairing roads. His family could only send him, because his brother and sister were too young. He had to go 15 days at a time about 15 times. The soldiers told him to finish a marked stretch in a given time and, if he could not, they beat him. He was beaten with a cane as long as his arm, very painfully, on three occasions. Other people doing forced labour were also beaten by the soldiers because they were slow at work, some because they were opium addicts. Railway construction in Laikha. He did forced labour working on the new Taunggyi to Namhsam railway line. He had to work there 15 days straight, sleeping where he worked, with hundreds of others. They had to bring their own food. SLORC soldiers told the villagers how to do the work. They did not beat them, but warned that, if they ran away, they would be shot. Also, for electricity lines from Panglong to Laikha, he had to work three times one day. There were hundreds of people at the same time, but not from all the villages at the same time.
|
Ethnicity: |
Shan |
130 |
|
Age/sex: |
38, male | |
|
Family situation: |
Married with two daughters and two sons | |
|
Occupation: |
Farmer | |
|
From: |
Pang Long, Wan Hat village-tract, Langkho township, Shan State (village had 70 families) | |
The witness left Myanmar six years ago because he did not want to be forced to work for the army any more. He had been forced to work as a porter and on the construction of a road and a military camp. In the three cases, it was the village head who transmitted the order from the military. He was not paid. He was not subjected to ill treatment, although the military often shouted at the workers. With regard to forced labour, he was recruited as a porter on just one occasion at the age of 16 (1976). The assignment lasted 36 to 37 days. He had to be a porter in the region of Wan Hat, Mai-hsa-Se and Mawkmai. There were over 100 porters for 600 to 700 soldiers. Only men were recruited as porters, and they were aged between 16 and 50. They could eat twice a day. It was impossible to refuse to do portering. He had seen people arrested because they refused to work. Their punishment was to work as porters for a longer period. It was possible to pay a substitute, although he had not done so: 1,500 kyat a time. Bribery was impossible. He had seen fighting. Some porters had lost their sight or limbs by stepping on anti-personnel mines. No medical treatment was given. He did not know what army they had been fighting. He had also, on one occasion, been involved in building roads for the army between Salong and Wan Hat. It was an earth road. He was 20 years old (1980) and the assignment lasted 17 days. He had to carry rock from the mountain to the road. Then he had to break it. A civilian supervised the work. The work was generally done in rotation: one village had to work for a given number of days, and was then replaced by another. About 70 men worked at the same time as him, aged between 18 and 60. The soldiers gave general orders but did not stay on site. He had to bring his own tools. The day began at 8 a.m. and ended at 4 p.m. He could eat twice a day. He had to sleep by the road. He had not been subjected to ill treatment. He once worked for a day on the construction of a military camp at Wan Hat, one hour's walk from his village. He was 21 (1981). Sixty men worked at the same time as him, aged from 15 to 60. He had to cut wood. The day began at 8 a.m. and ended at 3 p.m. There was no food, only a little water.
|
Ethnicity: |
Shan |
131 |
|
Age/sex: |
29, male | |
|
Family situation: |
Married with one daughter | |
|
Occupation: |
Farmer, woodcutter | |
|
From: |
Hokun, Wan Hat village-tract, Langkho township, Shan State (village had 45 families) | |
The witness left Myanmar at the end of 1997 because he did not want to be forced to work for the army any more. He had worked as a porter and on road and railway construction. When he was away, there was no one to look after his farm. In all cases, it was the village head who transmitted the order from the military. He was not paid. He was a porter on five occasions, the first time when he was 20 (1989) and the last when he was 27 (1996). The first assignment lasted five days and the others lasted a day and a night. He had to carry food and munitions. Five people from his village accompanied him on the first assignment. There were also a considerable number of porters from other villages for the 36 soldiers. The other times, there were about 15 porters for 40 to 50 soldiers. The day began at 7 a.m. and ended at 5 p.m. He mainly did portering on the plains near the river Salween, from Wan Hat and Mai-hsa-se. He slept in the military camps and had to bring his own food. He was not subjected to ill treatment, but he saw several porters who were beaten because they were not going fast enough. He also worked on the construction of the road between Wan Hat and Langkho for two months just before his departure. New arrivals had told him that the road was not finished. Forty people from his village had been working at the same time as him, including men, women, children (12 to 15 years) and older people (70 years). The day began at 8 a.m. and ended at 4 p.m. He had to carry rocks. The work was supervised by a civilian. The military only came to give general orders. He had to bring his own food. It was possible to pay not to go by paying 200 kyat a day. He had paid three times because he had to work on his farm. He had not been subjected to ill treatment. He once worked on the construction of the railway line between Mongnai and Mawkmai, five to six months before his departure. He had to clear the ground and cut wood. Twenty nine men had been working at the same time as him, aged from 17 to 60. He worked for 15 days, then escaped, taking refuge in Kayah State where he stayed for five days before returning to his village. During the 15 days that he worked, he had to bring his own food. He worked without a break. The soldiers shouted at the workers. It was possible to pay the village head not to have to work: 2,000 kyat a time (20 days). It was also possible to pay a substitute: 2,500 kyat a time (20 days). He had hired a substitute on two occasions since he had to look after his farm.
|
Ethnicity: |
Shan |
132 |
|
Age/sex: |
30, male | |
|
Family situation: |
Married with two sons | |
|
Occupation: |
Farmer | |
|
From: |
Songkhe, Langkho township, Shan State (village had 130 families) | |
The witness left Myanmar a year ago because he could no longer meet the needs of his family. The military came regularly to appropriate food or other goods. They did not always pay, and when they did, it was always a derisory sum. He had to work for the army as a porter. He was also forced to work on road construction. When he was away, his younger brother and his mother looked after the farm. He was a porter 70 or 80 times for the army, the first time aged 14 (1983) and the last aged 29 (1997). He was informed of his assignment by the village head, who transmitted the order from the military, or by the military themselves, who came straight to his home to find him (that had happened 14 times). The longest assignment lasted 94 days in 1995. On that occasion, there were about 72 porters for 200 soldiers. In the end, 52 porters came back (three killed, including one beaten to death and the rest escaped). The other assignments lasted at least five days. He mainly had to carry rice, cooking utensils, water, cook for the soldiers and dig trenches. On the first assignment, some porters escaped. He then also had to carry their loads. The day normally began at 7 a.m. and ended at 5.30 p.m. He was only allowed a short rest of three to five minutes. He was fed intermittently and the ration was always inadequate. He was not paid. He had to sleep in village houses where the porters were locked up to prevent them escaping. He also slept in the forest. On seven occasions, he was caught up in fighting with drug smugglers. Generally porters were kept away from the fighting. However, they were sometimes used as shields. He had been beaten at least seven times. At the age of 28 (1996), he had been beaten with a spiked stick because he was unable to carry water to the top of a mountain. He did not receive any medical treatment. He had often seen porters subjected to ill treatment. If porters tried to escape, they were often beaten. During his three month assignment, he went from Wan Hat to Hopong via Mai-hsa-se, Na-kenglong, Loikaw, Inle Lake. He was released at Hopong. He then returned to Langkho by car, where he was arrested again and sent to Mongpan to work there for about another two months. He had to build a military camp, carry material from Mongpan to Bang Dowee, where he had to cut wood. He was then sent to a place near the river Salween to build a camp. He stayed there nine days, and then carried munitions to Mongpan. The march lasted about two days. From Mongpan, he was sent to Langkho to do excavation work for about two days. The 52 porters who had remained after the three-month assignment did the same work as him. He was subsequently forced to work twice for the army and then fled to Thailand. He also worked on the construction of the road from Wan Hat to Salong, a year ago, on three occasions. Each assignment lasted ten days. One hundred and fifty people were working at the same time as him, including men and women, aged from 15 to 60. The village head told him about the work to be done. The work site was about a day's march from the village. He had to sleep on site, near the road. He had to bring his own food. He was not paid. It was possible to pay a substitute: 2,500 kyat a time (ten days). It was possible to pay bribes of the same amount. He saw people being subjected to ill treatment because they did not work fast enough.
|
Ethnicity: |
Shan |
133 |
|
Age/sex: |
33, male | |
|
Family situation: |
Seven (him, parents, four siblings) | |
|
From: |
Hang Loi, Wan Hat village-tract, Langkho township, Shan State (village had 20 households) | |
The witness arrived two years ago. He fled to Thailand because could not take portering and forced labour. An average of five days per month per family were spent on forced labour. The 20 houses in his village were split into five groups of four each and the forced labour was rotated among them. One person from each house would go for five days. This was in addition to portering. With regard to the various forms of forced labour he had to perform, work on building Wan Hat to Salong road was one project. The road was a seven hours' walking distance from the village. He had to stay overnight at the project with no shelter, sleeping under trees by the side of road. At any one time more than 300 people were working on the road. After two months of this rotation he also was taken for portering, but escaped and returned to his village. Normal procedure was for soldiers to inform the village how many people were needed. If a person was selected and did not go soldiers would come to arrest them. On his first day of portering he carried rice for the soldiers. Second day he carried ammunition. The third day he stayed at an army base and used the chance to escape. More than 100 porters were used for about 200 soldiers. Most of the porters came from other villages. Many fled at the same time as him. Since the soldiers did not know where the porters came from they couldn't track them down when they went home. This was in 1996. He stayed three more months in the village. During that time, when called as a porter instead of going he paid money and when he could not pay anymore he fled. Paid 1,500 to 2,000 kyat each time. When doing portering he did not have to do forced labour and vice versa. Portering could be for a period of one to two months. Most people fled rather than complete the assignment. People who fled would be shot at. He saw two killed by the soldiers this way. His father did the portering for his family before he was married. When soldiers came to get porters in the village they behaved very badly. People would run away, so they had to capture and arrest people to get porters. If a person could not keep up while portering they would be beaten. He never saw women during portering but they did do forced labour. In general they were not abused. Children 14 to 15 and upwards were taken for portering and forced labour. They gave nothing to the porters or forced labourers. If a porter was sick or injured he would be shot or left at the side of the road, usually shot. As porters, they were given only a small amount of rice, sometimes with jungle leaves, no curry. Porters were fed like dogs, with the food placed on bamboo sheet for everyone. For forced labour he had to bring own food.
|
Ethnicity: |
Shan |
134 |
|
Age/sex: |
24, male | |
|
Family situation: |
Seven (parents, him, four siblings) | |
|
From: |
Khan Tu, Nam Lot village-tract, Mawkmai township, Shan State (village had 170 households) | |
The witness left Myanmar mid-1997. There were lots of one or two-day forced labour projects, and one major one working on the Namhsam to Mongnai railroad construction project. Forced labour started on the railroad project one year ago, or five months before he left. Many people were beaten during work so they became frightened of going and started to run away. After two months only the village head (his father) and five or six others were left of the 30 assigned. The soldiers told his father that since the others had fled then those remaining had to do all the work themselves, which was impossible. When the work was not done they shot his father dead. Work was done on rotation: one person per family. The work consisted in breaking rocks, clearing trees, digging ground and building embankments. Other forced labour for one or two days planting and tending crops for the military. The army gave a certain area of land for cultivation to each village and told them the amount of crop that was required to be produced. If the village did not grow enough to meet the quota then it had to buy the short fall at the market to give to the soldiers. He very often did this work himself. Soldiers kept the crop, he did not know what they did with it. If new army units came they had to build trenches and bunkers for them. Overall, forced labour took three weeks of the month for the main worker of the house, with only one week left for his own needs and income. It was easier for larger families to survive as they had more people to share the forced labour. It was hard on those just starting a new family, and for that reason the village head would give young couples a couple of months free from forced labour to get started. The orders for forced labour were sometimes given in written form. Otherwise the village head called to camp to get instructions. If an assignment was not done fast enough the workers would be beaten. If the workers tried to rest because of being tired from the hard work they would be beaten and kicked. The same ting applied if the work was not up to standard. In his village seven people were badly injured from beatings during forced labour. Six of them died. Some died on the spot, others were shot. Finally, soldiers were relocating everyone to towns, so they could not farm or earn a living. That is why so many fled.
|
Ethnicity: |
Shan |
135 |
|
Age/sex: |
24, male | |
|
Family situation: |
Married (in Thailand) with one child, two siblings | |
|
From: |
Wan Ho Pai, Laikha township, Shan State (village had 300 houses) | |
The witness left Myanmar mid-1995. He left because of portering. He fled after he finished his last portering assignment. His father died young, so he had to go in his place from the age of 16 on. He went 14 or 15 times, usually for ten days to one month. The longest time was during two trips of 25 and 26 days respectively. Army would usually go through the village head, but sometimes would just take people at random as needed. On the 26-day trip he had no shoes or thongs so he went slowly and was beaten a lot. For the first eight days he kept up the pace, but after that started to fall back and was beaten a lot. He carried rice, pots for cooking, and ammunition, weighing about 14 or 15 viss (about 23 kg). When he was younger he was sometimes used as a guide. Others from other villages were arrested by the soldiers for portering. Some people tried to flee during portering. If they were caught they would be brought before the whole group and beaten to death as an example to the others not to try to escape. He saw executions of porters happen four or five times. He and other porters were tied to their loads by a rope around their wrists so they would not try to escape. He saw women used as porters in his group. Sometimes they were used as guides or to carry pots. He also witnessed an incident of rape and torture of women. This happened in a village they were passing through. The soldiers could not find any men to take as porters. They accused the villagers of collaborating with rebels and raped 15 or 16 young women and girls and set six older women on fire. This happened five years ago in Wan Mon, Laikha township, one day's walk from Laikha town. Women also did forced labour, the same work as the men, but they usually insisted on having one man at least in each small work group. He also had to dig a fish pond, work on a railroad and do other forced labour projects. The railroad work was four years ago on the Namhsam-Mongnai railroad line. Everyone in their village went for 26 days at a time every few months to work on a 30-mile stretch of the line. They were collected by truck and taken to the site for 26 days. If their assigned work was not done in that time they had to stay longer. Of the 12 who went with him to work on the railroad site, six or seven were beaten because their work was not good, or because they did not finish on time, or as fast as the others. Some were injured badly from the beatings, but had to continue working anyway. Households usually did forced labour or portering, but not both, except for families that had enough men to do both at the same time. Had to pay 7,000 kyat if a member of the family could not go as assigned.
|
Ethnicity: |
Shan |
136 |
|
Age/sex: |
32, female | |
|
Family situation: |
Married with children | |
|
Occupation: |
Day labourers | |
|
From: |
Kung Hart, Namhsam township, Shan State (village had about 30 households) | |
The witness's family came to Thailand about two years ago because life was difficult, they had not enough to eat, little time to work for themselves and too much time to work for the authorities. Forced labour started long ago, she could not remember how long. Her parents' and husband's families had to grow vegetables, guard the roads and railroads, do portering, build the military camp. Also, the military always asked one way or another for money and food. They had to go mostly once a week, sometimes for four to five days straight, including building the military camp. The soldiers beat some people doing forced labour (not in her family) and if they tried to respond, they were kicked and beaten even harder. She only knew when her husband had to go and work for the Burmese military, not what for. He went three to four times a month, mostly for one to two days, to do different kinds of forced labour, until they fled to Thailand. The order came through the village head. She herself also did forced labour when her husband was not at home/not available. She had to dig trenches for the military camp, build a railroad. She also had to go from early morning until late evening, many times for almost a year. The soldiers also came to the work site and gave instructions, people could return only after completion of their assignment. They took turns in the family. Her father and brother, who lived in separate houses, also had to go independently. This was when she was about 26/27 years old, for the railroad from Mongnai to Namhsam. Her family could not make a living anymore because, when they did not have to go and do forced labour, they had to try and find money to give to the soldiers, who always asked for one reason or another, three or four times a month to be given at least 100 to 200 kyat at a time. The bigger families had to pay more. Her family usually had to give 200 to 300 kyat, although it was a small family and they had nothing, no land. It was very difficult because her husband earned 30 to 40 kyat a day, as a labourer: forced labour and the money exactions were equally difficult. She herself generally worked as a labourer in other people's gardens, fields and farms to earn money, about 30 to 40 kyat a day, depending on how the labour was needed by the employer. She would work as a day labourer even if there was no money exaction.
|
Ethnicity: |
Shan |
137 |
|
Age/sex: |
33, female | |
|
Family situation: |
Married | |
|
Occupation: |
Agricultural day labourers | |
|
From: |
Wan Yong, Laikha township, Shan State (village had about 100 households) | |
The witness's family came to Thailand at the end of 1996 because the Burmese military were very oppressive, they had a very difficult life, with every household asked for porter service one day out of five. When all the men ran away, they even took the women. Women normally would be taken not for portering but for showing the way, but sometimes they took the women for one or two days until they found someone to replace them. In her father's family three people did portering in turns. Sometimes, when the military badly needed more porters, they would take all the rest of the family. It had happened to many families in the village, including her own. When one was away on portering and had not returned, and the military wanted more they seized all they could. Her husband had to do portering ever since she married him (when she was 13, 20 years ago). In the last year before they fled, about every five days her husband had to go and wait at the military camp, even if they did not need porters. Then, if they took him for portering, he would have to go for five to six days or more, sometimes 10 to 20 days. Often, after he returned, he had to go again. The longest time her husband was away on portering was for over one-and-a-half months, but some people had to go for much longer, some for three months, and some did not return. When porters could not walk properly, the soldiers would kick them, sometimes beat them with rifle butts, fill water in their mouths. She had seen it done on two or three occasions to two or three people, even to the village-tract head of Kung Pak. Her family members were also beaten, sometimes kicked so that they fell down, but they did not have water poured in their mouths. She saw it happen to porters from other villages when the military passed through their village, but not to people from her own family because that happened far from her village. The witness herself had not done portering, but twice she had to guide the soldiers, holding up a torch and walking in front to the next village for two or three hours, depending on the route. Her husband also had to cut bamboo or wood for the army, once a month, sometimes for two or three days. For the last seven to eight years, they had to cultivate corn (maize) every year for the military, from planting until harvesting, the full season. Villagers took turns. Her husband had to go sometimes three times in a season, mostly one day from early morning to late evening. Some people from other villages had to bring their bed and sleep there, because their village was far away. Thirty to fifty people worked together, sometimes from two to three villages. Her husband also had to do work on a road near Panglong. This started about eight years ago, and three or four times her village had to go, her husband included. They had to bring their own food and stay on the site for about a month. Her husband had to go twice. When they fled, roads were still being built here and there. About 25 or 26 times a year, they had to use three bullock carts at a time to carry water to the military camp. Because her family did not have a cart, they had to give money, sometimes 60 kyat, sometimes 180 kyat. Her husband paid, so he did not have to go, the owner of the bullock cart did the work. The soldiers even asked for rice, which the villagers had to give. They also asked for chickens and meat. For the latter, the villagers had to collect money to buy a cow or bull to give to the soldiers. When her husband was away portering, she worked as a day labourer, tending gardens or collecting natural fertilizer. If her husband had not been away, she would only have helped part-time, and mostly looked after the children.
|
Ethnicity: |
Shan |
138 |
|
Age/sex: |
42, male | |
|
Family situation: |
Married with three sons | |
|
Occupation: |
Farmer | |
|
From: |
Wan Hat, Langkho township, Shan State (village had 300 families) | |
The witness gave his testimony in the presence of witness 139. He left Myanmar in 1992. He was a porter for the first time at the age of 17, 25 years ago. The assignment lasted 33 to 34 days. The village head told him about the order from the military. He had to carry munitions and soldiers' clothing. He had to bring his own food. He was not paid. He was ill treated. He was beaten. He had even been shot at but the bullet missed. He saw other people beaten because they were not fast enough. It was possible to engage a substitute: 3,000 kyat a time (five days). Bribes were not possible. On road building and work in a military camp, he confirmed what witness 139 said (see statement of witness 139).
|
Ethnicity: |
Shan |
139 | ||
|
Age/sex: |
41, male | |||
|
Family situation: |
Married with two sons and one daughter | |||
|
Occupation: |
Farmer | |||
|
From: |
Wan Hat, Langkho township, Shan State (village had 300 families) | |||
The witness gave his testimony in the presence of witness 138. He left Myanmar in 1992. He had been a porter five times, the first time at the age of 21 (1978) and the last time about seven years ago (1990). He was not always fed and the ration was in any case always inadequate. He had to sleep in the forest. The soldiers slept above the porters to stop them running away. He could not say where he was a porter. It was possible to engage a substitute: 3,000 kyat each time (five days). It was impossible to bribe anyone. He had seen porters beaten to death by soldiers. He had personally been beaten because he had not been able to carry the load he had been given. He also participated in building roads between Wan Hat and Salong, Wan Hat and Mawkmai and Wan Hat and Langkho about nine years ago (1989). He worked there on two or three occasions during the year for five days at a time. The place of work was five hours march away. More than 100 men worked at the same time as him, aged between 15 and 60. He had to carry and break rock. The day began at 8 a.m. and ended at 5 p.m. The work was supervised by a civilian, although soldiers were present. They had to sleep at the work site. Food had to be shared by those people who had been able to bring some. He was not paid. It was possible to engage a substitute: 200 kyat a time (five days). He had no money to do that. Finally, he worked in a military camp one hour's march away. He worked there once for five or six days about seven years ago (1991). He had to dig a trench and install defensive spikes. Fifty to 60 men were working at the same time as him. The village head told him the work that was to be done. He had to bring his own food. Only water was supplied. It was possible to engage a substitute: 100 kyat a day. He could go home to sleep. He was not ill treated and did not see others ill treated at this time.
|
Ethnicity: |
Shan |
140 |
|
Age/sex: |
70, male | |
|
Family situation: |
Married with four children | |
|
From: |
Pang Keng, Langkho township, Shan State (village had 12 households) | |
The witness left Myanmar in 1992. He did portering four times over a 14 year period: twice at age 50, once at age 60 and once at age 64. Completed the work the first three times. Fled the last time because he feared for his life if he did not flee. He was given no special treatment because of his age. The last time he was a porter for 19 days before fleeing. The last day he received no food. Nine people fled at the same time. He was never beaten, but saw others beaten when they could not carry their loads. Two other porters were his age (over 60), the rest were younger. There were no women. They received three rest breaks per day. They had to walk all the rest of the time. Only a handful of rice and some salt was given to them. The reason they took old people was that there were few families in the village, so there were not enough younger people to fill the quotas. The amount of portering required was very variable, because he was old he did not do as much as the others, which varied from twice a month to twice a year. If porters tried to run away they would be shot. He witnessed many beatings and kickings, but never saw anyone shot. Porters would be beaten if tired or could not work because of fatigue or age. Other work involved working for soldiers at their army camps. Seven years ago he did this work also (at age 63). Went once or twice a month for one day. It was almost a half-day's walk to the army camp, so he had to leave very early to get there and returned very late. Six years ago the village was relocated. That was part of the reason he felt the need to leave too.
|
Ethnicity: |
Shan |
141 |
|
Age/sex: |
40, male | |
|
Family situation: |
Married (wife and two children) | |
|
Occupation: |
Farmer | |
|
From: |
Mark Oon Lao, Wan Hat village-tract, Langkho township, Shan State (village had about 40 households) | |
The witness came to Thailand four years ago because the Burmese soldiers were so oppressive. When he wanted to go to work, even to his own fields, every time that he had to go to some other place, he had to ask for permission, a pass from the soldiers; without a pass he could go nowhere. Whenever the soldiers wanted people to do something which the people wanted to avoid, they kicked and beat them. He had seen this happen to people from his village. Besides his family, six or seven other families from his village have come to Thailand for the same reasons. If they did not have to do forced labour for the soldiers, they would not have come. He had to do portering once, at age 13, for 26 days. He was told to do so by the village head, who had been asked by Burmese soldiers. Many people had to go at the same time. His younger brother also had to do it once, for 20 days. He saw soldiers beat a porter into unconsciousness, and the porter then had to be carried back. This was because they did not give him anything to eat, so he was very weak and could not carry anymore. He himself was beaten, but was able to explain that he could not go further, and was released. "We will find someone else". While saying that, the soldiers also scolded and beat him before letting him go. Starting at about the age of 22 until he came to Thailand, witness also had to do road building work, on the main road from Mark Oon Lao to Salong, three or four days at a time, and often had to go back after five days. They had to stay at the work site, received no food, nor a place to sleep (had to sleep in the forest). He was not tied up at night, there were no soldiers to look after the work, so he could have run away if he wanted, but they had brought their rations and bullock carts with them. The soldiers had marked a certain stretch of the road for each group to make, and they had to work until their section was finished, then they could go home. On the days he went there, about 20 people and ten bullock carts (to carry rocks and stones) from his village were there, as well as people from other villages: all together 200 to 300 people. He did not see anybody hurt or injured by the soldiers while doing this work. He never got paid for this work. When he was out at road work, he would leave a pyi (2.5 kg) of rice for his wife and children to survive on until he came back. In addition, people from his village had to work at military camps, one old, deserted, then re-occupied, plus a new camp they had to build before he left. Four villages around had to work for the camps, one person from each family (his village had about 40 houses, the other three villages had about seven, ten and 20 houses respectively). People who did not work properly were scolded by the soldiers. They had to dig trenches, make fences. He also worked there, making fences, about five times for two to three days each time, depending on how long it took him to finish the work assignment. They also had to stand guard, once in five days. That started about two years before he left and still continues. With regard to taxation, he also had to give money and rice once a month to the soldiers. The poorest families had to give at least one pyi of rice and 50 kyat, the richer, three pyi of rice and up to 500 kyat per month.
|
Ethnicity: |
Muslim |
142 |
|
Age/sex: |
40, female | |
|
Family situation: |
Widow with seven children (husband died ten years ago during portering): five boys (eldest is 27) and two girls | |
|
Occupation: |
Day labourer | |
|
From: |
Yebu, Hlaingbwe township, Kayin State (village had around 100 families) | |
The witness testified in the presence of witness 143. She left Myanmar in May 1997 with her family. There was a military camp nearby. The whole village was burned down some twenty years ago by the KNU army because there was a military camp there. The villagers lost everything. Some went back. Others settled in the neighbouring fields. There was still a military camp nearby. Women had to go and work for the army when their husbands were away or deceased. She personally worked for a military camp. She had to get information on the movements of the KNU army. She had to do this work once a week for 20 years every month. This work had to be done on a rota basis between 20 villages. She worked with one other person. It was mainly women who had to do this work. The day began at 8 a.m. and ended at 4 p.m. If there was no news to pass on, she had to stay at the camp and work there: fetching water, putting up fencing, digging trenches. On one occasion, she had to carry food for the military (one day). She was personally beaten on one occasion with a bamboo stick for arriving late for work. She had also been ill-treated and kept in wooden stocks, which immobilized her feet, for a whole day (8 a.m. to 4 p.m.) for arriving late. She confirmed the point explained by witness 143 that, if the work was not done, she had to pay (300 kyat each time) or be put in the stocks. She saw several people who had been ill-treated. As a punishment for arriving late, they were made to stay in the sun for long hours. She also worked on the building of the road between Dawlan (Natkyun village) and Hpa-an. Witness 143 worked on the same road, but on a different section. That road was used by the army, and civilians dared not use it. It needed rebuilding after each rainy season. The work site was a day's walk away. She worked there on three occasions, each time for a week, in 1994. One hundred other people also worked at the same time on the section assigned to her, including men and women aged from 17 and to over 60. There were more women than men, since the latter had to provide for their family's needs by doing paid work. Each family had to provide one worker, as usual. A civilian supervised the work in accordance with orders given by a member of the military. She had to move earth. The day began at 7 a.m. and ended at 5 p.m. with a one hour break at noon. She had to bring her own food and sleep at the work site, near the road. She was not paid. It was possible to engage a substitute: the cost of doing this varied depending on the distance and the work to be done (it was approximately 100 kyat). She confirmed the description given by witness 143 of the treatment received: she said she had been beaten and had seen several other people suffering the same treatment for not working fast enough. Her husband had acted as a porter.
|
Ethnicity: |
Muslim |
143 |
|
Age/sex: |
48, female | |
|
Family situation: |
Widow with eight children: four sons and four daughters | |
|
Occupation: |
Day labourer | |
|
From: |
Yebu, Hlaingbwe township, Kayin State (village had around 100 families) | |
The witness testified in the presence of witness 142. She left Myanmar in October 1997. She did the same work as witness 142 for the military camp. See the statement by witness 142 in this regard. She added that if the work was not done, she had to pay or be put in the stocks. She had to pay on numerous occasions: 300 kyat each time. She was also beaten on more than ten occasions for being late as a result of trying to provide for the needs of her family. She also worked on the building of the road between Dawlan (Natkyun village) and Hpa-an. Witness 142 worked on the same road, but on a different section. She worked there more than five times in 1994. Each assignment lasted one week, except for one which went on for 15 days. She had been beaten several times for not working fast enough. She confirmed the description of the work and the site given by witness 142.
|
Ethnicity: |
Muslim |
144 |
|
Age/sex: |
12, male | |
|
Family situation: |
Nine (him, parents, six siblings) | |
|
Education: |
None | |
|
From: |
Sako, Hlaingbwe township, Kayin State | |
The witness was forced to work from the age of seven/eight on road-building and for a military camp. He left Myanmar in early January 1998 with one of his aunts. With regard to forced labour, he had to carry earth for a road from Paung to Yebu. The road was not far from his village. He had to work there on four or five occasions when his parents could not go, as they were trying to provide for their family. Each assignment lasted a day and he could go back home to sleep. He had to bring his own food. He had been beaten with a rifle for not working quickly enough. More than half of the people working on the road at the same time as him were children of his age (he could not give a total number). He also worked for a military camp from the age of seven or eight. He had worked there for one day on more than five occasions, cutting wood or putting up fences. There were children of his own age working at the same time, but the majority were adults. He also worked for this same military camp more than ten times cutting the grass. He was hit with a stick and punched for showing signs of tiredness. He had to work at the military camp when his parents were away providing for their family.
|
Ethnicity: |
Karen |
145 |
|
Age/sex: |
23, male | |
|
Family situation: |
Married with two children | |
|
Occupation: |
Farmer | |
|
From: |
Paw Baw Ko (Nabu area), Kawkareik township, Kayin State (village had about 100 households; two military camps nearby) | |
The witness gave his testimony in the presence of witnesses 146, 147 and 148. He left Myanmar in early February 1998. He worked as a porter, on road-building and for a military camp. He also had to grow food for the military. He left Myanmar because he no longer had the time to attend to his own work. Three days a week had to be reserved for the different jobs required of him by the military. Moreover, the military had taken all his possessions without any form of compensation. The assignments for all the forms of forced labour were communicated to him through the village head. He was not paid and received no compensation. He could, however, pay a substitute. The sum involved varied depending on the work to be done and the time needed. He first acted as a porter at the age of 18 (1992) and had done this more times than he could remember since then (around twenty times). He last had to work as a porter just before he left for Thailand. The sum required to pay a replacement was 2,500 kyat for five days. He had paid a substitute on four occasions. It was also possible to pay the village head to be exempted: 400 to 500 kyat. He had paid this sum on ten occasions because he had to take care of certain members of his family who were ill. So far as food was concerned, he very often had to take his own since what the soldiers gave them was never sufficient. The assignments lasted five days on average and were carried out in Kayin State. He had to cross both flat and mountainous terrain. He had to carry ammunition. He was caught up in an engagement with the KNU on one occasion two years ago. The battle lasted one hour. The porters tried to hide. None were wounded. The last time he acted as a porter there were three men from his village with him. He was not able to give the total number of porters on that occasion. There were, however, around a hundred soldiers. He was never personally ill-treated. However, other porters were severely beaten for being too tired or exhausted to carry the load allotted to them. He also had to work on the road from the village to the military camp on ten occasions three years ago. Each assignment lasted one day. This was a road which could be used by carts and cars, and which was built in six months (November to April). The military and the villagers used it. One member per family had to work on it. The work was carried out under the supervision of the military. He had to dig earth and carry and break stones. Some one hundred persons from two villages worked at the same time as him, including both men and women. The women worked when the men could not go. Though he had never paid a substitute, the sum for doing so was 300 kyat per day. In addition, he had worked on the building and maintenance of two military camps. The sum for paying a substitute for this was 300 kyat per day. He had paid a substitute on ten occasions. Three years ago, he worked on the building of the older of the two camps. He worked on this on four occasions, one day in every seven. As regards the more recent camp, he worked on this seven times, one day in every three, just before his departure. In both cases, ten men worked with him. He was subsequently required to perform different forms of maintenance work on the camps - including cleaning duties, cutting wood and bamboo, and putting up fences. This work had to be done every three days for the new camp. Ten persons worked with him. The same thing had to be done for the older camp every ten days with two other persons. He had to go to the military camp five days before his departure to do cleaning work and build bunkers there. He also had to fetch logs. He was never beaten, though the soldiers did shout at the workers when they thought the work was not proceeding fast enough. Finally, since 1995, he had to grow rice for the military twice a year during the rainy season. He was not paid and received no compensation in return.
|
Ethnicity: |
Karen |
146 |
|
Age/sex: |
30, male | |
|
Family situation: |
Married with three children | |
|
Occupation: |
Farmer | |
|
From: |
Paw Baw Ko (Nabu area), Kawkareik township, Kayin State (village had about 100 households; two military camps nearby) | |
The witness arrived with witnesses 145, 147 and 148. He heard witness 145's statement. He personally left Myanmar because he was no longer able to survive. He added that he had acted as a porter on more than ten occasions. The last time was approximately two months ago (end of 1997). All the portering was done in Kayin State. The portering assignments lasted between a week and a month. He was caught up in a battle with the KNU. He was severely beaten on several occasions (he still has scars). He also worked on road construction on ten occasions, the last time being one month earlier.
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Ethnicity: |
Karen |
147 |
|
Age/sex: |
37, male | |
|
Family situation: |
Married with five children (three daughters and two sons) | |
|
Occupation: |
Farmer | |
|
From: |
Paw Baw Ko (Nabu area), Kawkareik township, Kayin State (village had about 100 households; two military camps nearby) | |
The witness arrived together with witnesses 145, 146 and 148. He heard witness 145's statement. He added that he was wounded at the age of 21 when his friend stepped on an anti-personnel mine during portering. He worked as a porter seven times thereafter. The last occasion was one year ago. Each assignment lasted approximately five days. He was caught up twice in engagements with the KNU. He also had to do road construction one week before his departure. Ten days before leaving Myanmar, he went into the forest, accompanied by his nephew, as they had been conscripted by the military to fetch wood. They were not paid. His nephew stepped on an anti-personnel mine and lost both his legs. He took him to the hospital.
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Ethnicity: |
Karen |
148 |
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Age/sex: |
28, male | |
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Family situation: |
Married (no children) | |
|
Occupation: |
Farmer | |
|
From: |
Paw Baw Ko (Nabu area), Kawkareik township, Kayin State (village had about 100 households; two military camps nearby) | |
The witness arrived together with witnesses 145, 146 and 147. He heard and agreed with witness 145's statement.
|
Ethnicity: |
Karen |
149 |
|
Age/sex: |
31, female | |
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Family situation: |
Married with three children | |
|
Occupation: |
Day labourer | |
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From: |
Kopadu, Hpa-an township, Kayin State | |
The witness left Myanmar in mid-February 1998. She had to work just before leaving, both for a military camp and as a porter. Her husband was often away for the whole month.
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Ethnicity: |
Burman |
150 |
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Age/sex: |
24, male | |
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From: |
Mayangone township, Yangon | |
The witness left Myanmar in 1996. He was arrested in 1988 at age 13 when involved in pro-democracy demonstrations on 8 August 1988 near the Shwedagon Pagoda. Army cars with machine guns surrounded the demonstrators and fired on them, killing and injuring several. He was put in prison without trial for one month but released because of his age when he signed agreement not to be involved in political activities. Between 1988 and 1996 he travelled extensively to various places throughout Myanmar, including Shan State, the Ayeyarwady Delta, all over. Called for forced labour wherever he was at the time. It was not done on a voluntary basis. People were ordered to work. The military ordered a certain number of labourers and indicated how much had to be paid if a person could not go. He did forced labour in Yangon and at a quarry in Patu, Taunggyi township splitting stones for surfacing roads for seven days. Had to pay 1,000 to 2,000 kyat to avoid going. People who had little money, not even enough to buy rice, had to do the work. Orders came from the area LORC down the chain of command through the local area chairman. The quarry was close to home so he did not need to stay at the work site overnight. He also, saw forced labour being done by prisoners. Forced labourers received no food or pay, but those who lived in town had no tools, so these were provided. Villagers in rural areas had to bring their own tools. All the people in Yangon, even the civil servants like his parents, had to take part in forced labour. All his brothers did work on the Ayeyarwady road. His father was a police officer and his mother worked in a Government factory. They used to get week-ends off, but days off were reduced from two to one, with that day used for forced labour. This system started in 1993/94. Also, forced conscription was going on. There were three choices available involving forced labour: do the work, pay to have someone else do the work, or pay a fine for not working (usually more than paying to have someone else do the work). The amount of forced labour depended on what was needed at the time. In the Yangon area there was the every Saturday assignment. Then there were bigger special projects. Saturday work involved cleaning at the LORC office or doing administrative work. Also, when there was a big military offensive somewhere there were roundups of people to serve as porters. During his time in Yangon area, he also saw land confiscated and road building work with forced labour on the road from Yangon to Danubyu to Pathein (Bassein). Soldiers served as guards but did not do the work. He left Yangon in 1989, but has returned pretty regularly, at least once a year since then. Last time in Yangon was 1995. He did portering once and forced labour two or three times in the various places where he happened to be visiting outside Yangon. Longest time was portering in 1991. He was called by the village LORC chairman. He was a porter for one month, including carrying rice sacks on a pole (one sack between two people). From his experience he had seen a big difference in the way forced labour works in urban and rural areas. In richer places people use their money to buy their way out, or to pay for the building work to be done using equipment and paid labour. It was the poor who bore the brunt of forced labour problems.