The first photo above was taken on January 6th 2013 and shows two boys, 14 and 15 years of age, beside the Meh Tee Loh River collecting stones used commonly for building and repairing army camps. According to the community member who took this photo, the boys will sell the stone to a Burma government construction company from Hpapun to earn money for their living. At the time of this photo, the two boys had already been collecting stones for three or four days, but they had not sold the stones yet. The construction company buys one full truck of stones (see blue ‘Cantar’ truck below) for 15,000 kyat (US $15.24).[4] The second photo above was taken on January 7th 2013, and it shows three people who collect stones for their livelihood, piling stones onto an oxcart for transport. The cart belongs to a Ta Kon Taing villager, Win Nyo, who is running his business by using his two cows and a cart to transport stones from areas where large trucks cannot travel due to lack of a vehicle road, and transporting the stones to a truck (see blue ‘Cantar’ truck below) waiting on a vehicle road. He receives 3,000 kyat (US $3.05) for transporting one oxcart full of stones, but he does not transport the same amount every day. The village tract leader and the security guard have not given permission for this business activity but Win Nyo’s village head has given him permission to continue this work until January 19th 2013, after which he will have to stop. [Photos: KHRG]

The above photos were taken on January 7th 2013 beside Meh Tee Loh River, which is near Ta Kon Taing villagers’ flat farms in Meh Klaw village tract. The photos show villagers and the areas where stone mining occurs. This mining site is close to the flat field farms, canals and rivers which the Meh Klaw village tract residents rely upon for their living. The Ta Kon Taing village head worries that the removal of the stones will cause the river to overflow and flood villagers’ farms during monsoon season. [Photos: KHRG]

The above left photo was taken on January 8th 2013 in Ta Kon Taing village, Meh Klaw village tract, and shows a person who is blind, but collecting stones like other people for his income. The above right photo was taken on January 7th 2013, and it shows villagers who are collecting stones at Meh Tee Loh River, Meh Klaw village tract for their livelihood, which they sell to a Burma government construction company. According to the community member who took these photos, they work for the whole day but only earn 5,000 kyat (US $5.08) per person per day. Collecting stone may destroy Klaw Day villagers’ flat farms and canals, so villagers from Klaw Day are opposed to ongoing stone mining. [Photos: KHRG]