Khin Cho Myint was detained for five years and nine months, because of her activity in a democratic student union.

How was your life when you where younger in Burma?

I was the youngest in my family. We had a big family. I had two elder brothers and two elder sisters. As the youngest I got all the attention of my parents, this increased when I turned out to be good at school after I was twelve.
In 1990 I passed the mathematics exam at the same time I was involved in the 1988 uprising democracy movement(*1).

After I passed the exam I had to wait three years to join the university. The military closed all universities to prevent student movements. In those years I worked as a private tutor for second-degree students while I was waiting to attend the university.

In 1993 I was attending Yangon University as a physics major student and in ‘94/ ‘95 I was attending as a honors student. In 1996 I got my honors degree, but at that time I was still secretly involved in the 8888 uprising movement. Secretly, because we where not allowed to organize or start a students union.

When I look back upon my youth in Burma under the ruling of the Burmese military, my life was sometimes rich and exiting because of my involvement in the student uprising. I was happy. Even dough I’ve lost some friends.

On September 26th, 1998 when I was attending my master’s degree I was arrested. They sentenced me for 10 years. I was detained in prison for 5 years and 9 months.

Why did they arrest you?

They’ve arrested me for two reasons. One, because of my involvement in a student union and that the student union released a statement in which they stated that they support the NLD, the democratic party of Aung San Suu Kyi and that they planned to meet her.
Secondly they’ve arrested me for trying to contact colleagues at the border in Thailand to support political prisoners in Burma and to support the movement.

Can you tell me more about the day they’ve arrested you?

Two intelligence officers arrived at my home on September 26th, 1998 at about 10 pm. They told my parents that they where military intelligence and they wanted to meet with me. At that time my mother requested them that she wanted to come along with me, but they refused.

They took me with an army jeep and they blindfolded me. They took me to a big house. I didn’t know where it was at first, but later I’ve found out that it was near Summit Parkview Hotel(Yangon). They asked me some questions and the same night they’ve sent me to Insein Prison.

When I was there 3-4 people questioned me for two full days. I had no sleep and got no food. The first question they asked was about me. So I told them about me, but not about my activities in the student union. They asked me about my colleague, where he was. I denied that I knew him and that I didn’t know where he lives. They asked me again and again where he was.

I didn’t hope for 10 years. At the time the military intelligence asked me if I could guess my sentence. I told them about six months. They where laughing.

Was there a lawyer? Was it a fair trial?

No, there was no defense lawyer. We where judged in an unfair trial. They accused me on two counts: 5-J and 17-1.

They accuse almost all political prisoners on 5-J of the Emergency Provisions Act, which carries a 7-year sentence. Those who “cause or intend to affect the morality of the general public or who threaten the stability of the Union” are detained under this act. Article 17-1 of the Unlawful Association Act is used to detain activists who are members or associated with unlawful organizations and allows for sentences of two or three years.

Did you know at the time what would happen with you?

I didn’t hope for 10 years. At the time the military intelligence asked me if I could guess my sentence. I told them about six months. They where laughing.

After two days and two nights without food I finally got food. But I couldn’t eat it. The rice was all black and the curry was really bad. I was so hungry but I couldn’t eat it. The guards cursed at us the whole time. I wasn’t used to it to be looked down upon like this. They treat me like an animal, bad food and harsh words. It was a very hard time for me.

After a day they interrogated me again. I had to sit on my knees and they threatened to beat me with a big stick. The told me to write a message to my family to bring me food. When they brought me food I couldn’t meet them. I finally could eat dough.

Where you treated different as a political prisoner?

Yes, we where kept separated from the other prisoners. We couldn’t see our family, when other prisoners could. Other prisoners could also possess stuff like food. They could buy it from the prison staff. We couldn’t buy food. We didn’t have anything.

After a few months my female cellmate and I where transferred to another part of the Insein Prison. We where there with 30 female political prisoners and times where getting a little bit better. We could order food from our family and trade with each other. At night we where singing and dancing together. But after we where singing we where transferred again to a prison very far away from my native town to Moulmein prison. I already stayed at Insein for seven months.

Moulmein – release

In the Insein prison my family could visit me twice a month. In Moulmein they could visit me only one time each month. I felt very depressed. Sometimes I got sick. After five years my mother passed away. So they planned to take me to my mother’s funeral.

But they didn’t say my mother passed away. They didn’t say I went to her funeral. They said I was released. I was sent back to Insein and I saw some colleagues. But they couldn’t talk to me about my mom.
At the time they said to me I was released, so I didn’t bring anything. So when I arrived at Insein again I didn’t have anything. So some of my colleagues gave me some food.

A friend told me later that my mother passed away. They let attend the funeral. At the funeral my sister told me that I should write the letter of appeal because she told me that my father was sick and I needed to take care of him.
The Intelligence want you to write a letter of appeal saying that you will never join the movement again and never let yourself in with your old friends who are/where members of a democratic party.
I have refused all the time. Just like many others we don’t want to bend to the will of the government.

When I wrote the letter of appeal they didn’t release me. Probably because I was still demanding my basic human rights like enough and pure drinking water.

After seven months I asked them why I wasn’t released. I told them I already wrote the letter of appeal and my father is very old. I needed to take care of him. After a few days the head of security told me to write the letter of appeal again.
So I wrote it again and wrote it to the head of the Burmese army and the first minister. After three days I was released.

We demanded that she should be treated but the guards refused. They didn’t allow us to help her. In three days passed away. They didn’t care.

How did you feel about your time in prison?

I was very angry because they tortured you mentally. They tell you that you are getting released, but actually you weren’t. They let other criminals out of prison who where sitting a sentence of 25 years.
They’ve locked me up for just being a member of a student union. I was just a student and I wasn’t released. I was very angry.

Sometimes I cursed them. But I was very afraid they might hear me. So I had to curse very quietly.

The thing I remember best was about a 23 years old girl. She was a thief and stayed for already three months. She came in healthy but then she got sick. Even dough she was a thief I still believe she should have basic rights as medical treatment. The prison refused to give her good and enough medicine. We demanded that she should be treated but the guards refused. They didn’t allow us to help her. In three days passed away. They didn’t care.

Things like that made me very scared. At that time three or four women died within six months. It was mental torture.

How was the situation when you where released?

Things where changed. A lot of my friends had already a family or had a business. I had nothing. Some friends and family asked me to home school their kids and they paid me for it. But I was still depressed and cried sometimes. I don’t know why.

Why did you decide you get out of Burma?
The main reason was that I am afraid to go back to prison again. I wanted to resettle my live and to develop my life.

How is your life in Thailand?

Whenever I go outside the Thai police can arrest me. They can send me back to Burma, because I don’t have official documents. I hope in ten years I will have an ordinary life. I don’t want to be rich but just a family and be safe.

For more information about political imprisonment and human rights in Burma visit the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma) on www.aappb.org.

AAPP has three main activities:

- Supporting political prisoners and their children inside of Burma;
- Documenting/monitoring political prisoners and their situation;
- Report to international community and organizations.

They have a documentation center/office and museum in Mae Sot, Thailand.

(*1) In 1988 the majority of the people in Burma demanded their human rights and democracy. Students in Yangon started the Uprising on August 8 (also called 8888 uprising). Hundreds of thousand of monks, young children, university students, housewives and doctors demonstrated against the regime. The riots and protests where violently broken up by the SPDC killing thousands of students, monks and schoolchildren.

For Robert, a volunteer, I’ve created this short movie so you can see what they’re exactly doing.

Why build playgrounds? Well, because there are a lot of migrant learning centers and orphanages who don’t have a decent place for the kids to play. The learning centers are in Thailand, but are not recognized as schools by the Thai government. Only in Mae Sot alone you’ll find 50+ centers. The centers have no income and are merely funded by organizations and other donors.

Another reason you should help is: you’ll meet interesting volunteers from all over the world and it is very rewarding to see the kids play after a week of hard work.

We encourage children to gain the skills they need to succeed in a changing world
by providing a space and resources to play. We design and build great playspaces
to improve the learning, health and wellbeing of children in the developing world,
and we support and train others to do the same.

That play is the tool children use to experiment with, and master how, the world
works. Classroom learning is important, but play is learning put into practice.
Play is fundamental to a child’s overall development and wellbeing. We believe
that all children have the right to play and that all children deserve safe and fun
places to do so.

Visis www.goplayproject.org

In Karen State is a constant fighting between the government and insurgents for over 60 years. This causes thousands of refugees and internally displaced people every year.

Currently there are over 125.000 people in hiding for the Burmese militairy or otherwise driven from their homes by the conflict in Karen State.

This story of Eh Kaw Hto Wah who currently lives in a refugeecamp in Thailand represents thousands of others.

We often brought food and medicine over, and I always carried my film and photo camera to show donors where their money is going to.

On 24th of January, the police ran a crackdown on the dump to get rid of illegal immigrants and after we had to support the people and bring over the food and supplies that the Thai authorities had taken away.

In this photo gallery I took pictures from 3 am until 2 pm, showing you how the inhabitants are living.

The 100 families that are living on the garbage dump are trying to support themselves by collecting plastic, glass and other useful materials. When they have collected enough, they will bring it to a recycle center.

They earn around 50 bucks a month. That is only when the whole family is working together and every family is working in shifts.
Around 10 to 16 times a day ,24/7, a garbage truck arrives and dumps their load.

They do not earn enough to maintain themselves. There is a lot of disease, the people sleep literally on the dump and if they find food in the garbage they eat it.
In the community they’re seen as lower-class, but they live generally in peace on the dump.

Fred a friend of mine, is going over to the dump for almost 2 years, several times a week. He ‘s bringing over food and medicine and medical aid whenever that is possible. Sometimes he arranges with medical students of the Mae Tao clinic or doctors, to come over and visit and help the people.

[View with PicLens]

12►

They try to make some money by collecting plastic, glass and other materials. When they have collected enough materials, they bring it to the recycle center.
They make about 50 dollars a month for a whole family. That means the children also have to work.

The money isn’t enough to supply them in their primary needs. That’s why some volunteers bring over some food or medical aid.
We have brought doctors over from the Mae Tao clinic, or students who have their internship at the Mao Tao clinic.

We also have raised money for boots, blankets and other necessary supplies.

Here are some photo’s that I’ve made during my stay on the Thai-Burma border.

[View with PicLens]

What the paper didn’t mention is that they stole all the pots & pans, food, money and all other supplies the inhabitants of the garbage dump.
We’ve donated 200 blankets 2 weeks before the crackdown, they also where all taken.

The trucks where overloaded so the Thai authorities used sticks to hit and push the people in the caged trucks.
After several hours of interrogation they released the people inside Burma under the custody of the DKBA, which is a Burmese guerrilla army.

The Thai authorities brought along a firetruck and mentioned to the inhabitants that they do not belong in Thailand, and if they come back they will burn everything down.

[View with PicLens]

The video details the horrendous situation that villagers in Toungoo, Nyaung Lay Bin and Muthraw Districts are facing and includes testimonies from villagers and prison porters affected by this offensive. Throughout this military campaign, which began in November 2005 and is still ongoing, villages have been shelled with mortars, looted and burnt to the ground.
Crops and food supplies have been destroyed.

Burmese soldiers are ordered to shoot on sight regardless of whether it is a combatant or a defenseless civilian. As a result more than 27,000 people have been forced from their homes, either hiding in the jungle or trying to find refuge in Thailand.
The Burmese army continues to increase its military presence in these areas and carry out attacks against villagers.
Thousands of lives have been affected by this offensive and many have been lost – all valuable and irreplaceable.

The three actions that we are calling for are:

• For ASEAN, China and India to pressure the SPDC to stop the attacks in northern Karen State
• For Thailand to enable more humanitarian assistance to cross the Thai-Burma border into Burma, and for donor countries to support cross border work
• For a United Nations Security Council resolution on Burma

To find out more information about Burma Issues Video Team please click here.

AAPPB (2006) Eight Seconds of Silence:
The Burmese government, like most dictatorships, does it best to hide the crimes it commits against its people. Perhaps on some level it knows that what it does is shameful. But more likely, it views secrecy as another means to torment its persecuted opponents. It tells them: “Not only will we harm you physically, but no one in the world will know we did this to you. No one will know that you suffered. No one will know that you even excisted. And if they do not know, they will not care.”

Aung Kgaw works for the organization AAPP(B), Assistence Association for Political Prisoners (Burma).
After he fled to Thailand in August, 2007 he currently helps out in the organization.

Aims and objectives of AAPP:
1. To report on the number of political prisoners held by the military regime, and on human rights violations carried out against them in various detention centers, prisons and labour camps.
2. To secure the support of governments and international organizations to put pressure on the Burmese military regime to stop the further persecution of political prisoners, and release them all.
3. To provide political prisoners with basic necessities such as food and medicine.
4. To protect political prisoners from harassment and intimidation by the military regime upon their release from prison, including when they are looking for employment, continuing their studies, associating with friends and colleagues, and especially to protect them from persecution if their political activities are resumed.
5. To aid in the reconstruction of ex-political prisoners’ lives, including both their mental and physical well-being.

Aung Kgaw, can you tell me who you are and what you are doing right now?
Yes.. my name is Aung Kgaw, I have spent in prison for 14 years, before I fled from Burma to Mae Sot 6 august 2007. I now work for AAPP(B).

At AAPP our most important job is assistance, we assist political prisoners and especially their children. In 2007 we assisted 200 children of political prisoners. .

We collect data and facts about political prisoners situation in our office and put them on our website www.aappb.org If you visit our website you can find out how many political prisoners are locked up and how many monks and students are locked up.

We also have here next to our office a small exhibition.
In march 2007 we’ve launched our campaign “free Burma political prisoners now”
We work together with alliance organization US and UK campaign for Burma, Amnesty International, Human right Watch.

What was your life like in Burma?
I was born in Theingyaung Township, Yangoon.
I had a common family life in Burma. My father was a government servant when I was a child.

What for job did you have?
I was a first year economic bible student in 1988.

How was your childhood when you where younger.
When I was 20 years old my father passed away so I had to move to my grandparents. I helped them with their business and also for my own school intuition.

Was it a nice place to live?
I don’t think it is a really nice place to live, because when I was a child, when we wanted to play in my township I didn’t see any playfields, we couldn’t play football or basketball because we didn’t have any fields.

Why did you come to Thailand?
Because I wasn’t safe anymore in Burma, Whenever I go, where ever I go, intelligence followed me. Also whatever I did, Intelligence followed me… watched me. So it was very difficult to stay in Burma.

Why did they follow you?
After I was released from prison, I tried to join a NLD student group, led by Min Ko Naing . He is well known in the 1988 democracy uprising as a student leader. After his release  in 2004 he founded a NLD student group. I joined the campaign.
Especially in 2006 we had a white color campaign. Every Sunday we whore the white color clothes and then visited the political prisoner families. The intelligence really hated our movement and arrested our group leaders including Ming Ko Naign in September 2006. So we started a campaign to release our leaders and all political prisoners and release Aung San Suu Kyi.

The regiment released our five leaders in jauary 2007, but they ignored our other demands. We where also under watch. I think all our families where also under watch.

Why where you arrested in 1988?
I participated in the 1988 democracy uprising as an economic university student.
At the time we had a economic university union so we.. I participated in my union especially for our freedom. Marching on the road. And we had speeches demanding to be free and to get democracy in Burma.
But  I was not arrested in 1988 but in 1991. In 1990 our  NLD party won the election, but the regime didn’t want to have NLD in the parliament, so they arrested the prominent leaders.

At the time we stayed hiding and working, to make a big demonstration in burma again, but then me and others where arrested.

Did you get a fair trial and did you get a lawyer?
No, uhh they put me through the military code, military code means the judge came from the army and  he gave me 12 years of imprisonment within 1 hour, without any defense lawyer or any public in the Insein compound.

Did your friends know what happened to you? Or your family?
No my family didn’t know… When intelligence arrested me.. at that time my family didn’t know what happened to me.
After the sentence my family got the information from other sources, not the police or intelligence.

How was your life in prison?
It is a really how do I say it.. a cruel situation. It was bad situation, so bad, it was a really bad situation. Especially when I, in January, went to Insein Prison,  Authorities treat all prisoners as pets or as their enemy.
We have to do whatever they want, we have to obey what every they want. That’s all in the prison.

How was it as a first time in the prison?

Yes first time in the prison, they call interrogation a prison custom, since I arrived in the prison I was covered with a blanket over my head and was beaten a lot.. but It’s a prison custom. We have to pay money to the prison guards. They introduce us with a beating.

What for food did you get?
2 Times a day we got rice and fishpaste and then one times a day we can get bean soup and a little bit vegetables.

Where you hungry?
Yes… the food was not enough.. Hungry and weakness. Our resistance was getting weaker.

Did you had a bed to sleep on?
No,we had to sleep on the concrete on a bamboo mat.

Was it cold or hot?
It was cold, wet and not clean.
We always asked the authorities, we want to clean our cell but they didn’t allow.

I can imagine you can get easily sick?
Yes.. I was sick many times, food not enough and not clean, water not enough and also not clean and so often I was suffering..

Did you get any medicine?
In the prison whenever you’re sick, they only give you Burminton and paracetamol. Burminton is to recover from allergic reactions and itching and paracetamol only for headaches, that is all they had.
And when you want to get some treatment then you have to buy it. Sometimes when your family is visiting they can get you medicine.

Did they interrogate you often?
Yes in my 14 years of imprisonment they interrogated me 6 times.

What did they want for you?
They want me to surrender, that I get out of my party.
Also they want me working together with them as a informer.

Where you scared?
No, because before.. we already discussed this with my colleges . we had to sacrifice our lives. We have to meet with the poverty, killings.. with the imprisonment..

Was the prison only for political prisoners or also normal prisoners?
In our cell compound, there where 6 cell blocks, but almost all where political prisoners, but some where criminals..

Did they treat you different then the criminal prisoners, was there a difference?
For criminal prisoners, when they arrive to prison they have to work, also they can go to places in the prison,  but they have to follow the rules.
Political prisoners are not allowed to do anything, we have to just stay in the cell.
We always try to protest our rights..

Your family can easily visit you?
When my mother always tried to visit one time in 2 weeks, but when I was moved to Thauwei prison, but then my mother could only visit me one time a month because I was so far away from home.

Where you afraid they would do something to your family?
Yes sure, when they visited to prison, they often ..
One time my sister kept her identity from the guards, but after meeting from me, the guards knew my sisters identity, so he dismissed my sister so she was really angry with the guard, she complained they should do something about my situation.

When you are so long in prison, how did you survive it mentally?
It must be really hard, because of injustice you can get really angry or lose control?
Yes.. maybe sometimes I was really angry, but we could meditate or we could make a many things , making a plastic bag or make chess pieces. Writing on a plastic sheet with a stick, also we also tried to write on the concrete.. a song or a poem.

Now you’re here.. Do you still dream about that time? Do you think about it many times?
Yes ..here I have to explain my experience about my situation. So always I remember about that, but not angry , we can learn on how to survive in prison, also we can stop repeating this in our country. We are safe, we are telling the truth to the world about our experience, so that is okay..

But sometimes we have nightmares or..

Now you’re here in Thailand are you safe here?
Yes I am safe so far, but I cannot see my future..

What will your life look like in 10 years?
In 10 years I want to have a peaceful life with a peaceful family…
In Burma..
Yes especially in my motherland.

Background information:
Ming Ko Naing – Student 1988 leader, on 11 November 2008 Min Ko Naing was sentenced to 65 years imprisonment, as 22 others had been for their role in the August 2007 demonstrations.
8888 Uprising – 1988 uprising for democracy. By the end of September, there were around 3,000 estimated deaths (mostly students) and unknown number of injured.
AAPP.org – Assistance Association for Political Prisoners Burma
1990 Burmese General Election – The elections were won convincingly by Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy, who took 392 of the 492 seats. However, the military junta refused to recognize the results.

Story will follow up soon

Mae La is also known as ‘Beh Klaw’ in Karen, which means ‘cotton field’ due to the agricultural activities for which Karen leaders first negotiated permission for refugees to cross into the area in 1984.
History:
The camp was originally established following the fall of the KNU base at the Thai village of Mae La on the border in 1984 with a population of 1,100. Shortly afterwards, due to security concerns, it was moved to the site where Zone C currently lies. After the fall of Manerplaw in January 1995, a number of camps were attacked in cross-border raids and the Thai authorities began to consolidate camps to improve security; Mae La was designated as the main consolidation camp in the area.

Mae La is considered as a centre of studies for refugees, so the current population includes several thousand students who come to study in the camp (some from other camps but mostly from Burma). They are registered only as temporary inhabitants.

The camp was attacked in 1997 by DKBA troops with support from Burma Army units. There have been no incursions since then, but a mortar shell landed in Section A5 in March 1998. Every dry season, this area is quite tense with concerns relating to camp security – threats of armed attack and/or attempts to burn the camp.

The area of Karen State lying opposite Mae La camp is very rural with no large settlements or infrastructure. The Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) maintains its 7th Brigade Headquarters nearby, and there are several Burma Army and Democratic Karen Buddhist Army outposts in the area (the DKBA is a faction of the KNLA which split off and aligned itself with the Burma Army in 1994).

TBBC Feeding Population: 37,315 (August 2008) It is the largest refugee camp in Thailand.

I went to the camp to do some interviews with refugees, trying to get more information on the living situation in the camp.
You can find more information about my experiences and interviews in another post.

[View with PicLens]