FORCED LABOUR IN MON AREAS

An Independent Report by the Karen Human Rights Group
May 22, 1996  /  KHRG #96-20

[Note: Some details have been omitted or replaced by ‘xxxx’ for Internet distribution.]

The accounts below were given by villagers from coastal areas of Mon State and Tenasserim Division in southern Burma, ranging from Kya In Seik Gyi Township in the north to Ye Pyu Township in the south. The main problems they discuss are forced labour on the Ye-Tavoy railway, the Ye-Tavoy motor road and other roads, at army camps and as porters, and the increasing extortion of money from villagers by the ever-increasing number of SLORC troops in the region. Ye Town now has regular curfews; parts of Ye Pyu Township are under martial law because of the gas pipeline project; travel is becoming more difficult as more and more army checkpoints are set up where everyone has to pay in order to pass. Things were supposed to get better after SLORC made a ceasefire deal with the New Mon State Party (NMSP) in June 1995, but villagers consistently say that things have only become worse. The deal said SLORC would stop taking porters and porter fees, but both the Army and the local-level SLORC administrations have been doing this as much as ever, even more in some areas. SLORC battalions are even forcing some villages to pay money for 'welcoming ceremonies' each time NMSP leaders pass through.

Forced labour is getting worse as SLORC steps up its project to widen and gravel the Ye-Tavoy motor road. These same families also have to do labour on the Ye-Tavoy railway, often one family member for 2 weeks every month, which was already enough to make them flee their villages. SLORC' s current strategy is to focus labour on particular stretches of the line until they are done; right now, much of the labour is being concentrated in the Kyaun Sone - Kalein Aung portion just south of the planned gas pipeline route, where the pipeline will cross the railway - part of the reason for this may be so that the foreign oil companies can bring their pipeline through after the most blatant forced labour in the area has already stopped. For the villagers, the main result of this 'focussed labour' system is that many of them now have to go several days' walk or pay hundreds of Kyat in car fares just to get to the forced labour site, as well as bringing all their own food and tools. People from as far as Ye now have to go as far as 80 km. to the south to do work in Kyaun Sone and Nwe Lay. In many areas, people are being forced to rebuild the embankment year after year after it is destroyed every rainy season. 50 km. south of Ye, south of Pya Thon Zu, starting in 1993 SLORC forced everyone to clear a route southward to Mintha Sakan. Then they changed their minds and forced them to do 2 years of labour clearing and building an embankment further east, taking the railway through Yah Pu and Baw Law Gone along the Tavoy River. Now they've decided that route has too many streams and told the villagers to start again along the original route. The change affects 30-40 km. of 12-foot high embankment built by thousands of people. Villagers in the area are wondering if this will ever end, starving, dying, and fleeing indefinitely due to the sheer incompetence of SLORC planning. Villagers in Yah Pu are told by the authorities that they will only have to do three 15-day shifts per year on the railway, so they work a month or more straight to get it done before growing season - then as soon as they get home, they are called back again.

A steady flow of people continue to flee these areas toward the Thai border, but the Thais have just completed the forced repatriation of all Mon refugees after arguing that the NMSP ceasefire is sufficient grounds for repatriation. The refugees are now grouped in small areas near the Thai border given to the Mon under the ceasefire terms. However, some of these areas are designated 'temporary', meaning all Mon troops must soon withdraw. Once they do, SLORC troops may well move in, despite their promise not to. The refugees are very afraid of this, especially when they look at Halockhani, one of the refugee sites on the Burma side of the border where people were attacked by the SLORC Army in 1994, then forcibly driven back after fleeing to Thailand. (See "SLORC's Attack on Halockhani Refugee Camp", KHRG 30/8/94.) Plat Hon Pai section of the camp is right on the route SLORC troops use when they rotate between Ye and Three Pagodas Pass, and they are getting into the habit of stopping there to rest, loot crops and look for food and porters. People in the camp live in fear and sometimes in hiding as a result. Making matters worse, a road has just been finished from Three Pagodas Pass to Halockhani, giving SLORC troops access to the camp within 20 minutes. All the repatriated Mon refugees may soon face a similar situation.

Even while these repatriated refugees try to establish themselves in a difficult and dangerous situation, traders continue to come from coastal towns like Ye to seek anyone who has any rice to sell. The rice crisis in SLORC-controlled towns caused by SLORC crop confiscation has become so severe that these traders even look to the war zones as a possible source of rice.

The interviews in this report were conducted by KHRG in areas of Burma near the Thai border. Interviews #7 and #11-15 are also used in "Effects of the Gas Pipeline Project" (KHRG #96-21, 23/5/96). Further information about the area can be found in that report as well as in "Ye-Tavoy Area Update" (KHRG #96-01, 5/1/96) and other previous reports on the region. The names of those interviewed have been changed, and a few details omitted to protect people. All false names are enclosed in quotes; all other details are real.

Abbreviations

SLORC = State Law & Order Restoration Council, Burma's ruling military junta
NMSP = New Mon State Party, Mon opposition organization which made a ceasefire with SLORC in June 1995
MNLA = Mon National Liberation Army, military wing of the NMSP
KNU = Karen National Union, main Karen opposition organization.

TOPIC SUMMARY

Forced labour (Interviews #1-15), extortion of fees (#1-15), deaths (#7,8, 9,11,14), rape (#2,3,6,7,11,14), beatings (#2,3,6,11,12), convict labour (#7,14), looting (#1,3, 11,12), rice confiscation (#3,7,11-13,15), economic conditions in Ye (#7), curfew in Ye (#7), conditions since NMSP ceasefire (#6,8), extortion of money to 'welcome' NMSP leaders (#6), difficulty of travel (#6,9,11,13), blocking escape of refugees (#11,13), crop destruction/portering when SLORC passes Halockhani refugee camp (#1), gas pipeline (#7,12,13).

Forced labour projects: Ye-Tavoy railway (#2-4,6-15), railway route change (#2,3,4), Ye-Tavoy motor road (#3,9,12,14), Nat Gyi Zin - Pya Thon Zu motor road (#15), Kya In Seik Gyi - Thaung Bauk motor road (#5), Kya In Seik Gyi - Baw Klo motor road (#6), Thanbyuzayat - Proh motor road (#4), army camps (#3, 7,10,13,14,15), portering (#1-3,5,6,8-15).

NAME: "Nai Win Soe"          SEX: M          AGE: 45 Mon Buddhist
FAMILY: Married, 4 children aged 9-22
ADDRESS: Halockhani refugee camp, Mon State      INTERVIEWED: 19/3/96

["Nai Win Soe" is a refugee in Halockhani. His fields are repeatedly destroyed by SLORC troops rotating between Ye and Three Pagodas Pass.]

I have been living in Halockhani [main section] for two years. My field is in Plat Hon Pai but I live here [in the main section] because my field is near the main road. When the SLORC troops are crossing the area, they pass near my field and it is not safe to stay in the field. It is better to stay in Halockhani. My field is about 5 acres and this year I started to grow sugar cane. The SLORC troops passed through my field in February [1996] but I don't remember exactly which day. At that time I was in my field, but I went to hide in a place near the field. This year, the troops crossed my field twice. The troops who went to Three Pagodas Pass damaged part of my field and the troops returning from Three Pagodas Pass [to Ye] completely destroyed the rest of my field. The other fields are far from the road but my field is just near the road and near the stream. It is the place where the soldiers and the porters take a rest. And they took all the sugar cane. They just pulled by hand all the sugar canes and broke them to eat them. Nothing was left. There were a lot of soldiers and a lot of porters. The soldiers took some, the porters too, and they completely destroyed my sugar cane field. The troops going from Ye to Three Pagodas Pass were about 300 soldiers and had around 40 porters and the troops going from Three Pagodas Pass to Ye were more than 400 soldiers and had around 70 porters. I don't know which are their battalions. [Another villager confirmed that this February, the troops going from Ye to Three Pagodas pass were from 343 battalion and the troops going from Three Pagodas Pass to Ye were from 31 battalion.] They arrived in Plat Hon Pai one day apart. When the new troops arrived from Ye, the other troops left Three Pagodas Pass and passed through Plat Hon Pai the next day. They didn't stay overnight. They passed through and spent the night in Pa Tep Join. The SLORC troops cross Plat Hon Pai every six months, each time they change their troops.

Last year I planted corn, not sugar cane. Last year too, they were changing troops. The troops who went back to Ye travelled back by truck but the troops from Ye to Three Pagodas Pass came on foot and passed near my field. It was in August 1995, just at the time when the corn was ripe and they took 2,000 or 3,000 cobs of corn from my field.

They take their porters from Three Pagodas Pass. In Plat Hon Pai they didn't take anyone, but along their way they caught some people as porters. Last year in August, when the troops going from Ye to Three Pagodas Pass crossed Plat Hon Pai they had 5 porters who were sick, so they needed more porters to replace these and they took 5 people from Plat Hon Pai to carry their things to Three Pagodas Pass. Later these people came back. This year when the SLORC troops passed, all the men in Plat Hon Pai went to hide because they were afraid to be taken as porters by the SLORC troops. Just the children and the women stayed in their houses.

At the beginning of the rainy season [in June], I will grow corn and some rubber trees. Last year I didn't grow any rice and this year I want to grow more vegetables and corn. I have another field where I grow rice. It is mainly to have food for my family, but if I have a surplus I sell it to other people. I am very angry because they destroyed my field but I can't say anything and I can't get any protection for my field. That's why I am so angry.

NAME: "Nai Myint Naing"          SEX: M          AGE: 23 Mon Buddhist fisherman
FAMILY: Married, 2 children aged 3 and 6
ADDRESS: XXXX village, Ye Township     INTERVIEWED: 20/3/96

["Nai Myint Naing" did forced labour on the Ye-Tavoy railway and as a porter.]

I arrived here 6 days ago because of the railway line. They asked for people to work every week. If we can't go, we have to pay 3,000 Kyats per family. We also have to pay porter fees. Even if we go, we have to pay 4,500 Kyats. And we have to carry our own food. If we don't go, we have to pay 3,000 Kyats more. SLORC first told us that if we pay the 4,500 Kyats and come to work once, then for one year they won't call us anymore and won't ask any more money. But that was not true. They call us all the time. After they finish the rotation among all the houses, they call us again. But not next year, the same year!

I worked on the railway in September, after the harvest. I had to work between Nat Gyi Zin and Pya Thon Zu [Three Pagodas village in Ye Pyu Township, not Three Pagodas Pass] to build a new embankment along the old Japanese telegraph route. It is all new. Last year during rainy season they stopped the work, and this year they started a new route. I had to work for 15 days. We also had to bring food with us, and 1,500 Kyats per person to buy food [they carry only rice with them and they have to buy vegetables and other things at the worksite, which are very expensive].

This year, some people from our village and a nearby village have to work in the Kalein Aung/Kyaun Sone area. We don't have to walk there. They take us by truck but we have to pay for the truck.

I was a porter 15 days ago. At first, the headman asked me for porter fees to give to SLORC but I couldn't give. I had no money left, and not even enough food to eat at home. That's why I couldn't pay. So I stayed at home and SLORC soldiers from #409 Battalion came and arrested me. "Why didn't you pay the money?" they said. And they kicked me with their big army boots in my back. Until now, I cough with blood. Then they took me to carry heavy things. They arrested me in the village. Many people were sleeping outside the village [in field huts or in hiding], so they only arrested two men. The SLORC said: "If you don't come as a porter, we will consider you as a rebel!" I was a porter for 15 days but they didn't let me go. I ran away.

After we ran away, the SLORC came back to our village and asked the women: "Where are your husbands?" They questioned them and beat them too. Sometimes they called the women on various days [to the Army camp] and some had to stay for the night. Some were forced to sleep with them.

NAME: "Nai Kyan Mon"          SEX: M          AGE: 29 Mon Buddhist farmer
FAMILY: Married, 2 children aged 2 and 6
ADDRESS: Yah Pu village, Ye Township     INTERVIEWED: 15/3/96

["Nai Kyan Mon" fled after doing constant forced labour on the Ye-Tavoy railway, the Ye-Tavoy car road, at army camps and as a porter.]

I came here with my family 15 days ago. I didn't face any problem along the way. I will stay here. Yah Pu is a village of over 100 houses. I was doing slash-and-burn farming. SLORC ordered me to work on the railway construction. If I didn't work, they would put me in the lock-up. We have to give 30 villagers every week for the railway. For my household, sometimes I had to go and work 2 or 3 times per month. I didn't give money. We also have to work as porters and do "voluntary labour". Sometimes when they come to our village, we have to serve them.

This year, I worked on the railway five times. Two months ago was the last time. I worked in Kyaun Sone for 15 days. I went there by motorcar. We had to pay 50 Kyats each for the transport. Before, SLORC declared that the railway construction was already completed but now they are calling people again. We had to bring the food from our homes. We had to build a shelter ourselves. I had no problem but some people were beaten by the soldiers. They raped some girls. They said that the villagers would get some money. For a hole of 10 feet x 10 feet x 1 foot, they said they would pay 70 Kyats. There were more than 7,000 people there in one place. We have already finished some places near Kyaun Sone. Some other places are almost finished.

At Yah Pu they stopped and changed the route to Mintha Sakan. I don't know exactly why but I think that there were too many rivers and bridges on the old railway route. Last year I worked on the railway near Yah Pu. But we never finished that part because we worked on different sections which were not linked together. Now they've stopped that. First SLORC chose the route Pya Thon Zu to Mintha Sakan, etc. and people cleared that way. Then they changed their plans and started clearing the route from Yah Pu towards Baw Law Gone. Now they've changed the route back again according to the original plan. They started again this year. Now we all have to go to Kyaun Sone area [for labour]. They didn't say when that will be finished.

They are widening the whole Ye-Tavoy car road, near Yah Pu as well, so we have to go and work there too. We have to do both projects. The road work is section by section. At the moment, our duty is from Yah Pu to Kywetalin. This part is not finished yet. They are starting now from Yah Pu to Mayan Chaung, but south of Mayan Chaung they haven't started yet. I went there last month for 5 days. I worked near Yah Pu. We had to clear up all the bushes and burn them. We had to dig up all of the roots and stumps. We had to carry rocks from the foot of the hill or the stream, far from the road. Then we had to crush them near the road. Some of the people dug the ground. We had to gather all the stones into a pile of 10 feet x 10 feet x 1 foot.

Last month I had to go and work at the army camp. It is near Yah Pu and some old men from our village have to work there carrying bamboo and cooking. I had to build a fence and cut the firewood for three days. We even have to go as porters. I have been a porter too. The last time was in January. When the soldiers stay in a village, we have to stay with them for 5 days. One time I had to go to Khone Zar for 45 days.

Car road, then railway. Then after I finished that, I was a porter. Then "voluntary labour" again. All I had left was 5 or 6 days in one month. That is why I left my village. My younger brother was helping me work my paddy field. He is still working there.

My field is 12 acres. I get 700 tins of paddy per year. I had to give 15 tins per acre to the SLORC. They paid 35 Kyats per tin. Last year 135 Kyats, but this year only 35 Kyats. Last year the market price was 350 Kyats per tin of paddy, and this year it is only 300 Kyats. We also have to pay more taxes to the SLORC but I don't know how much because my parents pay them every month. SLORC soldiers come often to the village. #104 battalion have their camp nearby. When they come, they take chickens and some vegetables too.

NAME: "Mi Pan"          SEX: F          AGE: 45 Mon Buddhist day labourer
FAMILY: Married, 4 children
ADDRESS: XXXX village, Thanbyuzayat Township, Mon State      INTERVIEWED: 20/3/96

["Mi Pan" fled because of extortion and forced labour on the Ye-Tavoy railway and the Thanbyuzayat-Proh road. Thanbyuzayat is 80 km. north of Ye, far from the railway.]

I arrived in XXXX about one month ago. In my village, we are working [for SLORC] all the time and we can't get enough food to feed our family because we have to pay too many taxes like porter fees, fees for the car road and for the railway. That is why I left. We had to pay 100 Kyats for general work, and for porter fees 50 Kyats every month for each family. The people from Thanbyuzayat township have had to work on the railway since last year. Last year I had to work on the railway. Not this year, because we left just before they called for people again.

The railway goes from Ye to Tavoy through Kalein Aung. People from Thanbyuzayat township have to work near Ye. Other people work in other sections. Our village has to work in Kaloh village, about 2 miles south of Ye, in Ye township. One person from every family in the whole village has to go. I had to dig and cut through the mountain. They are repairing the railway from Kaloh village to Kalein Aung. They stopped the work last year and started building a new embankment which is going in a straight line. The old embankment had many curves. Now they are building in a straight line.

We also have to work on the road from Thanbyuzayat to Proh village. This is a new road. The road is passing through six villages: Pa Nga, Krok Pi, Ah Khong, Ang Kae, Koh Lee and Proh villages. The people from these villages have to work on the car road. They started building this road this year but I don't exactly when [they started in October 1995]. They are working on several parts of that road.

NAME: "Nai Kyin"          SEX: M          AGE: 50 Mon Buddhist rubber planter
FAMILY: Married, 4 children
ADDRESS: Thaung Bauk village, Kya In Seik Gyi Township      INTERVIEWED: 20/3/96

["Nai Kyin" did forced labour on the road from Thaung Bauk (30 km. east of Thanbyuzayat) to Kya In Seik Gyi, 20 km. to the north on the Ataran River. He was also a porter.]

I arrived here 10 days ago because of the car road from Thaung Bauk to Kya In Seik Gyi. It is a new road. They started it in October 1995. Our headman called every section to work there. Later, the SLORC kept ordering him all the time to get workers for the road. Our headman doesn't like to call the villagers so often, who have no more time for their own jobs. So the headman told the SLORC, "If you want people, take them yourself". Now the SLORC come and arrest people all the time to work. We have no time to find money for our family.

In Thaung Bauk, there are five "islands" [before there were islands; now there is no more water in between, but the villagers still call the 5 parts "islands"]. On each "island", there are about 100 houses. Every day, the headman called 40 people from one "island" to go. First one "island", then the next one, etc. Then they took 40 people from the first "island" again [by rotation]. We had no time to rest. I worked on that road 3 days every week. No pay. We could not go home at night. We had to stay at the worksite. Now the headman doesn't select like before, and the SLORC themselves arrest people to work. Now, it is no longer 40 people per "island", it is as many as they grab. When they catch people, they order them to work much more than 3 days. If the villager doesn't want to go, he has to pay money.

They also take porters. If the villager doesn't want to go, he has to pay money. They catch porters themselves. In January this year SLORC arrested me to go as a porter. I was on the way back from my garden to my house. They tied me up with a rope. I had to carry army things, like guns and bullets. I was a porter for 17 days. They didn't release me but I ran away.

NAME: "Nai Aung Sar"          SEX: M          AGE: 24 Mon Buddhist farmer
FAMILY: Married, 1 child aged 3
ADDRESS: XXXX village, Kya In Seik Gyi Township      INTERVIEWED: 20/3/96

["Nai Aung Sar" had to do road labour and has also had to pay SLORC for 'welcoming ceremonies' for NMSP leaders since the ceasefire.]

I arrived here about 20 days ago. XXXX I am planning to stay here. It is better than in my village. I had to work for the car road construction. We can't do our own work and that is why we left our village.

I worked there for 2 days. Only once. After 2 days, SLORC said that I could go back home but that after one week I should come back and work again. The road is from Kya In Seik Gyi to Baw Klo, far from my village. I had to walk half a day on foot. It is a new road. They started building it at the beginning of this dry season. In my village, there are about 100 houses. One person from each family has to go. 100 people. They are not rotating. If a family is not able to send a person for work, they have to pay money and hire another person to go instead. Usually people have to go for one week. We have to go for a set number of days. We have to bring food from home. The tools also belong to us. I slept in the forest, in the bushes near the worksite.

The trees were already cut [to clear the road route]. I had to dig ground and cut through the mountainside. Lots of soldiers were around. When I was there, three of my friends were beaten up by SLORC troops because they were digging too slowly. They beat them on their bodies with a wooden stick. One of them couldn't walk after being beaten and he had to be carried back home. They beat him seriously on his body and his legs. He was bleeding. There were women too. Some women had to sleep with the soldiers. Some of them, the soldiers didn't let them go back home.

In my village, the SLORC came several times to ask money from the villagers to organise welcoming celebrations for the Mon leaders from Kanbauk area. They came and asked 400 Kyats before the celebrations and another 200 Kyats more after the celebrations. These celebrations took place three days before we left our village. When some Mon leaders come to the village, SLORC organises welcoming parties for them, with a stage show. These leaders are just local Mon [NMSP] leaders. This is happening often, once or twice a month, in our village and also in the nearby villages - in every village. The section leader collects the money and it is used for everything, food and everything. Each time some Mon leaders came, they collected money for these welcoming performances.

Q: Has the situation with SLORC improved since the NMSP ceasefire?

A: No, now it is worse than before. They send villagers to the railway, to Ye area, this year as well. It is by rotation. Not every family has to go at the same time. In my village, we have to pay 300 Kyats for railway construction fees. Two months ago SLORC also came to take porters. They usually sent orders to the headman, the headman gave money and the people didn't have to go. But now I heard that they came again to get porters. Travelling is getting harder, but I don't know why. SLORC now gives trouble to people when they are travelling. We had to give money to pass through the checkpoints.

NAME: "Nai Maung Hla"          SEX: M          AGE: 25 Mon Buddhist trader/labourer
FAMILY: Married, no children
ADDRESS: Ye Town, Ye Township     INTERVIEWED: 19/3/96

["Nai Maung Hla" is a trader from Ye town who tells of the curfews and extortion being imposed on the citizens of Ye. He has also done railway labour.]

I arrived here four days ago, but I am used to coming here and going back to Ye. I have relatives here but I am a trader. I came here with goods from Burma to sell here.

The situation in Ye is hard. People have to pay a lot of taxes and also the cost of living, like the rice price, is very expensive. So most of the people, mainly the teenagers, would like to try to go to Thailand to seek jobs. Also the SLORC have made a curfew in Ye, so after 10 p.m. nobody can leave their houses and go on the streets. If someone is caught on the streets after 10 p.m., he will be arrested and put in jail for one day. This curfew is because many SLORC leaders come often to the area to deal and discuss about the gas pipeline project. They always have meetings and get-togethers in Ye and SLORC is afraid that they can be a target and these leaders are in danger, or that the people could start demonstrations like in 1988. So to prevent this from happening, they impose a curfew for 10 days or 15 days at a time. When they have leaders in Ye, they impose curfew. When the leaders leave and they see everything is okay, then they lift the curfew. The curfews started a long time ago. Before 1988, we also had curfews but with the SLORC it is much stricter.

Before Ye was a happy place. Many people were walking around the streets. In the night, we had movies and a lot of businesses were going on. But now, Ye is so quiet. Now we have a very big cinema hall but we don't have enough electrical power. This oil lamp here gives more light than the lamps in the cinema. And after 8 p.m., there is no more power supply at all. This means no more movies. At night time, nobody walks in the streets. It is quiet and the business is not so good. Ye now is not so happy.

[He drew up the following list of taxes that people in Ye have to pay:]

Normal Tax: 200 Kyats/month
Porter fees: 300 Kyats/month
Railway protection fee: 40 Kyats/month
Fire guard: 6 Kyats/month
Section fire protection: 20 Kyats/month
Railway construction fee:
    minimum (for poor families): 3,000 Kyats
    maximum (for richer families): 7,000 Kyats
House tax for the poor: 22 Kyats/year for a bamboo house
    For others, tax on the value of the house, which is half the price of the house. For example, if your house is worth
    50,000 Kyats, you have to pay 25,000 Kyats per year.
Farm tax per acre: 1,000 Kyats/year
Paddy tax per acre: 3 baskets of paddy/year

The porter fees are collected by the section leaders. After collecting this money they find people to hire as porters and they pay them with that money. But for example, if they collect a total of 30,000 Kyats and need to hire 5 people as porters, they just pay each porter 3,000 Kyats. In total, they pay 15,000 Kyats to the porters. The section leaders keep the rest of the money for themselves. They are corrupt. They are appointed by SLORC. If the people are unable to pay this tax, they have to go as porter without any pay.

Even if you pay the porter fees, sometimes the soldiers see you in the street and arrest you. Then your family has to go with money, 5,000 Kyats to pay to the SLORC and after that you can go back home. If you don't pay, you have to go as a porter. Yes, they are doing this in Ye now.

Q: The 3,000 Kyats as a minimum for railway construction fee, is that per year?

A: No, not per month or per year. It depends on the project needs. If the work is not completed, people have to pay another round. Just this year [1996] I've had to pay this three times already. Each family has to pay this - and 3,000 Kyats is only for poor families. If the family is wealthy, they have to pay 7,000 Kyats. The people who cannot afford to pay all that money have to go and work on the railway. A lot of people from Ye have to go. Five months ago people from Ye went to work on the railway. Two people were just taking a rest on the side of the railway. The ground collapsed and these two people died.

At present, people from Ye township have to work on different stretches between the border of Tenasserim Division and Ye. Some people have to go to some stretches and others on other stretches, far from Ye. At this moment, people from Ye don't have to work on the Ye-Tavoy car road, only on the railway. But before, they used to go to repair that road. Now they are only enlarging small parts of that road. Near Ye as well.

Also at army camps. Before, the people had to build for Battalion 61. Now, they have to build for 343 Battalion. It is a new battalion, so they need a new army camp close to Ye town. People have to pay for camp construction fees. And after they have already paid, people have to go and work there. They have to do construction work. They have to build bunkers too. Everything! 343 battalion seems good [not too bad], better than 61. 61 Battalion always steals chickens, pigs. They shoot them and eat them. When they see women, they call them and rape them. When they see men, they catch them to be porters. 343 is better. They don't take people's chickens and don't rape women. 61 is still in Ye. These two battalions do not cooperate well together.

I bring dried fish, books, chilly powder, thanaka [makeup], and cigarettes to sell here. I carry nothing back to sell in Ye. As a trader, I earn sometimes 1,500 Kyats, sometimes 1,800 or 2,000 per month.

Q: How can you afford to pay the railway construction fees?

A: I had to go and work there twice. The first time for 10 days in October 1995 near Bauk Pin Gwin and the second time for 6 days in January 1996 at the "12-mile" site. These sections were not completed last year yet. There were many prisoners there too. I had to dig the ground and carry the ground to the embankment. No salary. I had to bring food and rice from my house in Ye. At the worksite, villagers sell food but it is very expensive. For example, two cigarettes cost 5 Kyats in Ye and at the worksite, you get only one cigarette for 5 Kyats. At night, I just slept in the forest.

NAME: "Ma Tin"          SEX: F          AGE: 35 Mon-Indian Muslim farmer/trader
FAMILY: Married, 3 children
ADDRESS: XXXX village, Ye Township     INTERVIEWED: 17/3/96

["Ma Tin" has done 45 days of forced labour on the Ye-Tavoy railway since last November's harvest.]

I have a slash-and-burn field. It is very small. We grow paddy and we get between 15 and 25 tins a year. We don't have to give any to SLORC. It is not enough to feed our family. We can only eat a few months with that. We have to buy rice from other people. It costs 60 Kyats for one pyi [about 2 kg.] of rice. We have to work as day labourers in other people's gardens. I am also trading. I brought some dry fish, dried chillies and cooking oil to sell here. I will buy and carry back 10 pyi of rice. The rice price is different between here and there. In XXXX, it is very difficult to get. We have to go and buy it in Ye. Here, we use the barter system.

I had to work on the railway in Nwe Lay for 45 days after the harvest. First time, 15 days. After 15 days, I could go home and rest for 15 days. But the next time, I worked for 30 days without stopping. Altogether 45 days. I didn't get any money. I had to work there for my family [as the one person demanded from each family]. Now I have finished the work on the railway for my family and I am crushing stones. For this job, I get money.

On the railway I had to dig holes to get earth. A work assignment is given to each village. We had to buy food ourselves. At night we slept in a labour camp, in a place like a barracks for the workers. We had a roof and walls. Fifty villagers had to sleep in one barrack and there were more than 10 barracks. It is near Nwe Lay. All of the villagers had to build the camp themselves. There were no soldiers there. Some of the headmen worked with us and were in charge. The headmen had to go together with the workers but they only watched them. They had to stay there all the time. One of the villagers was sick at the time and she was given medicine, but as soon as she returned home she died. I think that woman was about 30 years old and she had two children. There were men too. But if a woman has no husband, she has to go herself.

XXXX villagers have to crush stones and do the railway construction. Sometimes the army also orders porters, each time for 5 days. Whenever the soldiers go, the villagers have to follow them. My husband has to be a porter twice a year. He went to Kywetalin and Kyauk Taung, not so far. Four months ago he was a porter for 5 days, then they replaced him. They are still calling porters since the Mon ceasefire, and they will call us again for the railway construction.

NAME: "Ma Nyi Nyi"          SEX: F          AGE: 32 Burmese Muslim trader
FAMILY: Married, 3 children
ADDRESS: XXXX village, Ye Township    INTERVIEWED: 17/3/96

["Ma Nyi Nyi"'s husband does forced labour on the Ye-Tavoy railway and crushing stone for the Ye-Tavoy car road. As a trader, she comments on the growing number of SLORC posts which are making it harder to travel.]

I've just come from XXXX but my home village is XXXX. I sold my house in Ye three years ago and moved to XXXX. Now I live in XXXX. I am usually trading with my husband. Now he is sick and that is why he couldn't come with me.

I only know a few things about the situation in XXXX because I am so busy with my business. There are about 500 soldiers there. We have to be "voluntary labourers". My husband had to work on the railway construction. SLORC never gives food to the "voluntary labourers", so all the villagers have to take their own food and cook it themselves. They have to wake up early in the morning at about 4 a.m. and they come back in the evening at dusk. Some villagers got sick. Last year, so many people died of fever. Before he was sick, my husband had to go. All the villagers have to work, one person per family. He worked three times, each time for 15 days. Altogether 45 days. He worked at Nwe Lay, near Kyaun Sone. Nwe Lay is too far - we have to go by motorcar and we have to pay the transport ourselves. A return trip is 250 Kyats. We had just finished "voluntary labour" for one and a half months. The headman said that we'd already completed our work for this year. He signed for it, but then he called people again. At the time my husband was ill, so I had to hire another person for 2,500 Kyats. One of the rocky mountains is very difficult to cut, even with dynamite. The villagers had to go and hit it with pickaxes. Then after they didn't order villagers for that anymore. I don't know exactly how the headman complained to the SLORC about it.

Now they don't order people anymore for the railway. They order the villagers to crush stones in small pieces for the car road. The road goes from Rangoon to Tavoy, passing through Ye. We get the rocks from anywhere. Wherever we can find rocks, we have to crush them and inform the SLORC. Then we have to carry them ourselves by truck to the car road, in order to widen the road. They have no machine to load the truck, so they use manpower, same as for crushing the stones. They pay 300 Kyats for each kyin [10'x10'x1' of stones]. They lay a bamboo [cut to length] for measurement and the people have to pile the small stones there. We have to carry them ourselves by truck. This truck belongs to the villagers.

They have already started laying stones on the road from Yah Pu to Kywetalin. We are responsible for the part between Kywetalin and Ma Hla Weh Taung. Other villages from Ye township worked at other places but that doesn't concern us. They called other villagers to work building the car road, not us, but the stones we have to crush are for the car road. Each family has to do two kyin, volumes of 10'x10'x1'. My husband is alone, that is why he can't finish in one day. He has to spend three days for each kyin.

They formed different groups. For example, 10 villagers have to be porters and 80 have to do "voluntary labour" and go to Tavoy. Now they can't do it anymore because it is too difficult. We always have to hire labour to do the "voluntary labour". My husband also had to be a porter because of the rotation system.

Last time when we came here we didn't meet any soldiers on the way. But yesterday on our way here a Captain called us to their camp between XXXX and XXXX and asked some questions like "Where are you going to?" I answered, "I am going to the refugee camp to sell things". He allowed us to go. I don't know what news they heard and why they have put an outpost here. I come here to sell cooking oil, coconut oil, onions, liquor and children's medicine and buy paddy to sell in Burma. I cannot say whether I will face problems coming back here next time.

NAME: "Nai Tint Win"          SEX: M          AGE: 44 Mon Buddhist day labourer
FAMILY: Married, 6 children
ADDRESS: XXXX village, Ye Pyu Township     INTERVIEWED: 15/3/96

["Nai Tint Win" has done forced labour building an army camp on the pipeline route, and had to pay or send his son for other labour.]

I arrived this morning. I have no field for my family. I am working on other people's farms. We had to give money for the railway construction even if we had no money to eat in my family. Before I left my village I had to give 800 Kyats. If I need to hire someone else to go instead, I have to pay more money: 2,000 or 5,000 Kyats, for the railway and for porter fees. If we don't have money to hire someone else, we have to go ourselves. I had to work on the railway construction.

I was a porter once, at the beginning of the rainy season last year, but I always try to find money to hire someone else. After that, I didn't go but I had to give money. Before we left our village in the month of Na Daw [Nov. 22 - Dec. 20/95], they asked for porters again. I paid 700 Kyats to the headman and then he hired someone else. They asked for porters once or twice a month, 2 or 3 villagers each time. There are at least 40 houses in our village. The army stay near our village but I don't know which battalion.

They are still calling people now for the railway to work between Ye Pyu and Kalein Aung. My son worked there 15 days in the month of Thadin Kyut [Sept. 24 - Oct. 22/95], before the harvest. After that, they called again but I moved out of my village. I went to stay in XXXX near Yah Pu for three months before I went back to XXXX. I went there to work in a paddy field. After my job was finished, the owner of the field gave me some paddy. Then I went back to my village and stayed there for one month. Then I left to come here as they were asking again for people to work on the railway. I didn't go myself but I always sent my son to work there. He went more than 10 times. I didn't hear that he had problems with the soldiers.

They didn't call people for car road labour but we had to go and build the army camp between On Bin Kwin and Kanbauk. I heard about the pipeline but I have never been there.

It took me 6 days to come here because we rested along the way, we had no problem. I feel better staying here, although everything depends on fate. I have to stay like other people - I can't predict the future. I am going to stay here. I won't go to Thailand. But it is too late now to clear the mountain to do slash-and-burn for this year.

NAME: "Mi Aye"          SEX: F          AGE: 34 Mon Buddhist farmer
FAMILY: Married, 7 children aged 2-16
ADDRESS: XXXX village, Ye Pyu Township     INTERVIEWED: 14/3/96

["Mi Aye" had to sell everything to pay SLORC extortion, then when her husband offered to go as a porter instead of paying money he was arrested and beaten. She also witnessed rape while doing forced labour on the Ye-Tavoy railway.]

Before we had a field, but one month ago we had to sell it to pay all the taxes to SLORC. Now, we have no field anymore. So I arrived here one week ago with my family. It took us 3 days to come here. We feel safer here. They were asking for porter fees twice a month. Each time 2,400 Kyats, to get another person to go instead of us. If we don't go, we must give this money to the headman. The army orders the headman and he asks the villagers. If he doesn't give, they will beat him.

I didn't go and I paid. SLORC don't need people to go as porters, they only want the money. When we had no more money, my husband was not well but he told the SLORC that we could not pay so he would go as a porter. "We have no money to pay. I am sick but I will go even if I have to die", he told them. And they beat him up. They slapped him hard. They called him to the army camp. He was there for 3 days. They slapped him twice on his ear and now he can't hear from his right ear anymore. His face was swollen too. They also hit his ribs and his feet once, and he became unconscious. They wanted to kick him down into the river which is near the army camp but the headman went and requested the soldiers not to push him. "He is really a poor man. He has no money to pay", he said. The village headman had to vouch for him. He brought money to the camp and my husband was released. Another man was also beaten with a gun butt.

They also called villagers to do forced labour on the railway between Kalein Aung and Kyaun Sone. Even if the villagers go, they have to pay 400 Kyats. If they don't go, they have to pay 2,400 Kyats. Go or not go, we have to pay. The 400 Kyats are for the army. I had to pay this at home while my husband was working on the railway. We have been working there many times. Twice in a month. I have been there three times but my husband countless times!

When my husband came back after 15 days, I had to go. It was by turn. If some families have more people, they all have to go. My village has the worst conditions in Ye Township area. In my family, 4 of us went separately, each time for 15 days: my husband, myself and my two sons aged 16 and 15. When I have to go, my old parents are looking after the children. I worked there last month, in February. After we came back from the railway, they called my husband to be a porter. He was sick and they slapped him. Then we came here.

There were many soldiers on the railway. They were not working, but if you are not able to work they will beat you. It was hard work to dig very deep and carry the ground. I had to do that. They didn't give us any food. We slept under a shelter that we built ourselves. Sometimes when it was raining, we couldn't even eat rice. More than one hundred people were there. For the people who left [fled] the village, SLORC said that they will try to get them back. About 60 people from four villages wanted to come to XXXX [refugee camp]. SLORC said: "If we meet you on the car road, we will rape the women and kill them." So when we villagers crossed the road without problem, we were very happy.

[At the railway worksite] They point their guns at women and rape them. The next day, they let them go. I saw many women that the soldiers took away. When they see a beautiful girl, they call her and rape her. They raped many women but one of the girls died. She was 15 years old. She was raped so many times and she died. Her name was Mi Thein, she was from Kywe Thone Nyi Ma. It was in February when I was on the railway. I didn't see the soldiers taking her but the next day, I saw that she was taken to hospital with a French car. The French people from the car felt great pity for the young girl. She was unconscious. They tried to take her to Tavoy hospital but she died on the way. Many girls were raped but didn't die. Only this one died.

We also had to carry for the army, and when they come to our village they take our chickens, pigs, cows and they do as they want. We usually harvest 160 tins of paddy and we have to give 28 tins. They don't pay anything for this paddy, and we had to carry it ourselves to the army in Kywe Thone Nyi Ma.

NAME: "Nai Tin Aung"          SEX: M          AGE: 27 Mon Buddhist farmer
FAMILY: Married, 2 children aged 3 and 7
ADDRESS: Mayan Chaung village, Ye Pyu Township      INTERVIEWED: 14/3/96

NAME: "Mi Sein"          SEX: F          AGE: 36 Mon Buddhist farmer
FAMILY: Married, 4 children and pregnant with a fifth
ADDRESS: Mayan Chaung village, Ye Pyu Township      INTERVIEWED: 14/3/96

["Nai Tin Aung" and "Mi Sein" fled their village due to forced labour on the Ye-Tavoy railway, Ye-Tavoy road, as porters, and on gas pipeline infrastructure. The rest of their testimony is included in "Effects of the Gas Pipeline Project" (KHRG #96-21, 23/5/96).]

"Nai Tin Aung": I arrived here [near the Thai border] one month ago. I came with all my family and it took us 3 days. We had to work on the railway and on the road. Every month, we have to pay so much money to SLORC. We are a poor family. We could not provide for ourselves any more. We had to come here. That is why we came here.

I was growing rice. With one basket of seed paddy, you can grow 100 baskets. Out of 100 baskets, you have to give 8 or 10 to SLORC and they pay nothing for these. The rest was not enough, because we had to sell some to get money to pay the taxes to SLORC. For porter fees, we had to pay 2,500 Kyats for two months to hire other people. Because there are a lot of people in our village, our turn comes up less often [each family's turn to work or pay is once per 2 months instead of once per month as in most villages]. Every time SLORC come unexpectedly to our village, they even catch people. Whenever they come they ask for things like chickens, pigs, meat. If the people don't give or if anyone says something, they are beaten up. They come all the time. When a group arrives, they stay for three days. When one group leaves, another one arrives. The troops are from LIB #404, #410, #415. LIB #410 ask for the porter fees. I had to sell my rice to pay these. After all my rice was sold, I had no more provision for my family and we came here. I know I can get rice here. If you don't pay, they will beat you, arrest you and put you in jail. Sometimes they tell you that they will take you to the battalion [camp] or the worksite. If you can't pay anymore, you have to flee.

Sometimes they don't care who pays or doesn't pay porter fees, they just come and catch porters. SLORC came when they wanted and caught people. But if it is by turn, the headman will go and collect people for SLORC. I had to go for 7 days. I had to go to Nat Ein Taung [the remote area at the Thai border where the pipeline is to cross - SLORC has been mounting offensives there to secure the pipeline route]. At the time, I was working around my house, making bamboo ropes. Three people were arrested with me. I couldn't give money. They didn't take money. There was some fighting in the area between SLORC and KNU [Karen National Union]. I was a porter 4 or 5 times. Sometimes I was a porter for 15 days. I had to carry bullets. The last time I was a porter, I ran away and came here. Then I went back to my village to call the whole family, and we came here. When I left, the army was around the village and I had to call my family to get out of the village.

I was beaten once, with a rifle butt in my waist because I couldn't carry the bullets. It was too heavy when I climbed the mountain. It was 2 or 3 years ago, during the rainy season, when I was a porter. I couldn't carry well and they beat me in my back with their gun.

I had to work on the Ye-Tavoy car road, between Mayan Chaung and Yah Pu. They are widening the old road. During the first week of February this year, I worked there for 4 days. After I finished the work on the car road, I had to be a porter and then I escaped. There are about 60 families in Mayan Chaung. One person from every family had to go for 4 days. Each village had a work assignment. When I finish, I can go home. If not finished, I can't go back home. People had to dig and place a volume of rocks of one kyin [10' x10' x 1']. Each two men had to do 5 arm lengths [15 feet] wide and one falong [220 yards] long [of embankment].

"Mi Sein": We worked together on the railway in September. When he came back from the railway, he was a porter then he worked on the car road, then porter again.

"Nai Tin Aung": From my family, only I myself went to the railway. It was near Kyaun Sone. We travelled one day in a passenger car and then we worked there for 15 days. The car costs 50 Kyats. We didn't receive any food or any pay. I worked on the railway three times. September was the first time. Then the second time was in October, and the last time in November, everybody from the village went for 15 days. After the railway, they called people for the car road and for the helipad. The helipad is for SLORC at "52-Mile", near Mi Kyaun Laun. [For further details on the helipad labour, see "Effects of the Gas Pipeline Project" (KHRG #96-21, 23/5/96).]

NAME: "Nai Kyaw"          SEX: M          AGE: 50 Mon Buddhist farmer
FAMILY: Married, 6 children aged 6-25
ADDRESS: Kywe Thone Nyi Ma village, Ye Pyu Township      INTERVIEWED: 15/3/96

["Nai Kyaw" fled because he could no longer pay the extortion. His daughter also had to do railway labour, and he did pipeline and portering labour.]

I arrived here yesterday together with five families from Kywe Thone Nyi Ma. SLORC asked for porter fees and money for the road. We couldn't give anymore. It took us 5 days to get here. Our group had no trouble coming but we heard from some traders that other people after us ran into troubles. SLORC stopped them on the way. They were travelling from Kywe Thone Nyi Ma to Yah Pu and then to Kin Chaung to come here. Three days ago, when they arrived at Kin Chaung, the SLORC stopped them. There were about 100 people. The SLORC don't want people to come to Pa Yaw, and sent them back. I also passed near Kin Chaung but I made my way around. In Kywe Thone Nyi Ma, there were about 500 families. I don't know how many left, but about 30 families already arrived here.

In our village, SLORC ask for porters but people are afraid to go so they have to give money. We have to pay 1,000 Kyats regularly every month. Sometimes, we have to pay special porter fees in addition to that. It depends on the number of porters that they want. We have to give this money directly to the army. In Kywe Thone Nyi Ma there is an army camp for battalion #273. Some people have to go as porters if they don't have money, for one month, sometimes more. My family and I didn't go because I gave money.

I had a field of 3 acres. Sometimes we got 100 tins of paddy, sometimes 70 or 80. For the last harvest, I got 60. We had to sell 24 tins to SLORC for 90 Kyats/tin when the market price is 370 Kyats. I only grew rice. To get money to pay the fees to SLORC, I worked for other people cutting bamboo and trees. They paid me about 100 Kyats per day. We had some gold and we sold it all. Now, we have no more gold and we can't pay any longer. We also sold our pots, our jars and all our belongings. I had to borrow money from other villagers. So when I left, I sold my field to pay them back. Now, we have nothing left.

People from Kywe Thone Nyi Ma have to go to the railway too. I couldn't go, so my 25 year old daughter went last December. She worked for one month near Kyaun Sone digging the ground and carrying stones. She went by boat to Kanbauk, and from Kanbauk she walked. She had to pay 45 Kyats for the boat. When the labourers arrived in Kyaun Sone, they were given an area to finish. If they didn't finish after one month they had to stay on until it was completed, but if they finished early they were given more work to make them stay for the whole month.

We had to do railway labour, labour to clear the pipeline route, clearing ground for pipeline buildings and portering. I know of the pipeline. They call for people to clear the road, cut the bamboo and trees and build things near the pipeline road. This construction work is to protect the pipeline. They are building buildings for the army, buildings for the soldiers to do the protection on the pipeline. For #408 battalion. Sometimes, my child went. But when they were sick and couldn't go, I had to pay 2,000 or 3,000 Kyats. It depends on the number of people they need. The people usually worked there for one month. I had to clear the place to build a building.

NAME: "Nai Sein Hla"          SEX: M          AGE: 42 Mon Buddhist farmer/sawyer
FAMILY: Married, 6 children
ADDRESS: Yah Pu village, Ye Pyu Township     INTERVIEWED: 17/3/96

["Nai Sein Hla" has done forced labour on the gas pipeline infrastructure, the Ye-Tavoy railway, the Ye-Tavoy motor road, at army camps and as a porter.]

I left Yah Pu one month ago because I was really afraid to work on the railway construction. I am a slash-and-burn farmer and I have been working in a sawmill for 8 years. Since the beginning of Taw Tha Lin month [Aug. 25/95], I've worked on the railway near Kyaun Sone over a 3-month period. I worked for 15 days each month, altogether for 45 days. Prisoners, police and villagers were there but they were staying separately. The prisoners all had shackles. I saw them working. The soldiers used to come and check twice a day where we were working. There were 2 policemen and one soldier, and also a group of 5 prisoners and 3 soldiers. I saw their beatings and killings. When someone tried to escape, they shot him with a gun. They didn't give enough food to the prisoners, so how can they work? They didn't beat the villagers. If someone was sick, they never gave treatment but they allowed them to go home.

I also worked on the Ye-Tavoy car road. First I had to crush stones, then load and unload them from trucks. Then I had to carry and put the stones on the road, and the steamroller passed over them. Afterwards, I had to melt the tar and pour it on the road. My duty was finished by then. They only use manpower to crush and load stones and the steamroller is the only machine they use on the road. Now, SLORC is still working on that road. I had to work there since a long time ago, since my son was a child. He has a baby now. Now a bus is running. I also worked there after SLORC took power. The last time was 4 years ago. Now this road is damaged and they called people again but I didn't go. They are widening the road to 50 feet wide.

I also worked building army buildings near the pipeline at On Bin Kwin and also in Ka Daik harbour. In On Bin Kwin, it is a new building for the army. I don't know for which battalion. I worked there in Taw Tha Lin month [Aug. 25 - Sept. 23/95]. I worked twice in Ka Daik and once in On Bin Kwin in Thadin Kyut month [Sept. 24 - Oct. 22/95]. Twice two days in Ka Daik and three times 5 days in On Bin Kwin. I had to cut trees and clear bushes for the road.

I had no time to work for myself. That's why I left my village. I had to do so much loke ar pay work [forced labour] for SLORC. Sometimes I had also to go as a porter and I had to weave bamboo and build walls for the soldiers' buildings. Just before I came here, I had to follow the soldiers as a porter for 5 days. I carried bullets from Yah Pu to Kin Chaung, and to Kywetalin. Also to Mayan Chaung.

Now, NMSP and SLORC have made a ceasefire for almost one year. I can't count how many times I have been a porter since then. When I was a porter in Nat Ein Taung and Kyauk Tha Yan, near Ma Yen, they took all the belongings of the villagers and raped the girls. At the time, I was with them [this is on the offensives to secure the eastern end of the pipeline route]. There was a battle between SLORC and revolution groups, probably MNLA, for 6 hours. This happened about one year ago, before the ceasefire. The woman was from Ma Yen and after raping her, they released her.

Q: In Yah Pu, did SLORC ask for taxes?

A: Yes. Why Not? They always take money from the villagers. They didn't take the money directly themselves, they always ordered the money from the headman. 30 or 40 Kyats per family for their eating and their drinking.

It is better to stay here. I lost 3 bulls this year. When I couldn't go to work on the railway construction, I had to hire someone and pay 2,500 Kyats. Also I had to pay 3,000 Kyats for porter fees. I had to sell my bulls to pay this money.

NAME: "U Thein Myint"          SEX: M          AGE: 41 Tavoyan Buddhist farmer
FAMILY: Married, 7 children
ADDRESS: Nat Gyi Zin village, Ye Pyu Township      INTERVIEWED: 14/3/96

["U Thein Myint"'s village is 40 km. south of Ye along the railway route. He has to pay extortion for the railway and the pipeline security troops, and work on the Nat Gyi Zin - Pya Thon Zu road, part of the 40-km. road southward to Kanbauk. It skirts the eastern side of the Heinze Basin, about 10 km. west of the Ye-Tavoy motor road.]

I arrived here [near the Thai border] 3 days ago, and it took 3 days to get from there to here. Sometimes I had to go as a porter. I couldn't go to the railway, so I had to pay taxes to SLORC: one time 1,000 Kyats, and the second time 300 Kyats. We had to pay this money for the Nat Gyi Zin railway [the Ye-Tavoy railway, which passes through Nat Gyi Zin]. If we don't go to work there, we have to pay even more money. We have to go there anyhow. But when I have no more money to feed my family, what can I do? Now, I have so many children, seven, and I have no more money. That is why! How could I stay there?

In Nat Gyi Zin there are about 300 houses, or maybe 400. In the month of Da Baun [Feb. 18 - Mar. 18/96], at least 30 villagers from Nat Gyi Zin had to work in Nwe Lay, near Kyaun Sone [about 60 km. to the southeast on the Ye-Tavoy railway]. For nearly one month - each person until the end of the work assignment. If they don't go they must pay 1,500 Kyats. If the husband cannot go and if he cannot pay, then his wife has to go. We are very poor. We cannot find this money easily. We don't have to work on the car road, but every month we have to pay money for it: 300 Kyats per family. Now it is 500 Kyats. This is the Nat Gyi Zin to Pya Thon Zu car road [from Nat Gyi Zin through Pya Thon Zu to Ain Daya Say and Kanbauk in the pipeline area about 40 km. to the south, skirting the eastern side of the Heinze Basin]. It is a new road. They are starting to build it now.

We have to pay money for the Pyin Gyi project [army camps in the pipeline area]. For their army buildings. I don't know exactly which battalion. Maybe #406. In Nat Gyi Zin, #410 battalion is there. So all the villagers have to work in the army camp. They have to carry firewood everyday. They also have to carry water to cook their meals. They have to find food for them everyday. The villagers have to rotate for this work. I can't count how many times I went there.

Me, I only grow rice. SLORC takes two tins [per acre]. It depends on the number of acres. This is for slash-and-burn fields. Farmers who have paddy fields have to give more. Sometimes, when they want, we have to give chickens.

Nat Gyi Zin villagers don't have to work on the pipeline yet, but they will start soon. Now people have to go as porters occasionally. If we cannot go, we have to pay money three times per month. In other villages, it is the same. But now, they will call porters very soon. That's why we left the village. I have never been here before. I want to stay here. I will build my house here. If SLORC come, I will have to run away again and I will have to follow the other people. When I fled from my village, some of my children were crying. I was really upset because of that.