- Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Burma has one of the poorest health records and lowest standards of living in the developing world. Health and education are given incredibly low priorities in the national budget, and lip-service to these issues often take the place of substantial reforms or programs. Because of political considerations the root causes of problems in these arenas, such as the affects of landmines and forced labor on health and the effect of school closings and censorship on education, are not dealt with in meaningful ways. Low salaries and lack of transparent and effective supervision has made it easy for corruption to flourish among medical personnel and educators. Patients more often than not have to pay a bribe to be seen by a doctor, get a bed in a hospital, or receive essential medicine. Primary school students can pay to receive better grades or get private tutoring from their teachers. Higher education in Burma is particularly substandard with students, during those times that the universities are actually open, being given rush degrees in order to prevent any political opposition to the military regime to spring up on college campuses.

The political situation in Burma has a direct impact on the poor quality of education and healthcare available to the general public. The level of access a person has to health and education infrastructure depends on economic level, geographical location and individual, family or ethnic group relations with the military regime. For example, a Burmese military officer and his family living in Rangoon has much better access to high quality education and medical treatment than a family that is part of an ethnic and religious minority group living in a conflict area on the border. As yet, the military regime has been unwilling to address these inequalities to ensure that all people living in Burma, regardless of their ethnic group, religion, political affiliation, economic status or geographical location have access adequate health care and education. 

Section 34, Chapter IV of the 1947 Constitution

 Section 36, Chapter IV of the 1947 Constitution -

– US State Department Country Report on Human Rights Practices for 2001

Education in Burma has been severely impacted by more than four decades of military rule. Because the military regime views potentially politically active university and high school students as one of the biggest threats to their grip on power, all-non military education is treated as expendable. All civilian schools and universities throughout Burma suffer from a lack of resources and qualified educators, a problem found in many developing countries, however, unique to Burma is the fact that the ruling government actively tries to thwart universal and advanced higher education.

In order to receive higher education in Burma several conditions must first be in place: the student must not be politically active or have politically active family members; the universities must be open; the student must be from a social and economic group and have an educational background that makes higher education feasible. When these conditions are met, a student then faces a university system where teaching materials and classroom topics are heavily censored, group activities are restricted and freedom of thought is generally hindered. Students are then rushed through courses that focus on memorization rather than critical thinking and upon graduation are ill-equipped to find quality employment.

(See chapter on children for information on primary education)

In 2000, civilian universities, which were closed since 1996, were “re-opened” with one year’s course content packed in to 3 months and 2/3 of courses offered by mail. Before students could enroll they had to take an oath that they would not become involved in political activities, which many refused to do and as such only 1/3 of previously enrolled students were allowed to re-enroll. It is reported that between 25,000 and 60,000 students enrolled, however more than 400,000 students matriculated from high school since the closures in December 1996.

Despite the fact that only 0.5% of GNP is spent on education in Burma, compared to 2.7% in other Southeast Asian countries, the military government went to the extra expense of building university facilities on the outskirts of major cities near military barracks in order to stop students from gathering and protesting. The main campuses of Rangoon University and Rangoon Institute of Technology, which have been centers of student protest in the past, were moved 20 kilometers outside of Rangoon. Students from the provinces were being spread out among the new universities in order to prevent a concentration of students. Several people who attended a forum on education at the NLD headquarters on August 21, 2000 emphasized that the quality of education presently available was lower than in 1988 and that there were few educational opportunities. In addition, the distance of the campuses prevented some students from attending classes regularly because they couldn’t afford transportation.

The erratic nature of civilian higher education in Burma since 1988 has led to a generation that has lost the opportunity to receive a quality education. Many students have been forced to abandon their studies altogether either for economic reasons or because they have fled their homes or been imprisoned for political activities. In order to support their families some student have quit school to take jobs that don’t require a high education level, such as taxi drivers, or have migrated to other countries where there are more employment opportunities. Those students who have attempted to continue, or begin, their studies, have faced numerous school closures and low standards for materials, facilities, and educators. The current backlog of students who had their studies interrupted has meant that the authorities are currently trying to push students quickly through the university system. The school year has been cut down to 3 months and the education students receive is mostly cramming and memorizing answers to exam questions. The result is that the value of a degree has been downgraded and there is danger that the current generation of graduates will be disregarded by employers.

The hallmark of the current education system in Burma is the discrepancy between education received by the military and their families and the civilian population. Following the 1988 pro-democracy movement, the military authorities decided it was vital to strengthen the armed forces and began to set up military institutions for education. As a result the military regime has put most of the resources allocated for education into military institutions of education while neglecting and oppressing civilian education. While the civilian population has to struggle to pay education expenses for their children as a result of the ongoing financial crisis, the children of the military get higher quality education with the financial support of the military regime. Although SPDC manages all basic education schools in the state, it has also founded and operates 15 basic education schools for the children of military elite. During summer holidays, the military runs computer training and English courses and field trips for students from military families. Upon completion of high school these students are usually easily accepted into any military Institute and are eligible for scholarships and scholastic awards. These students are required to be full members of the USDA. (For information on primary level education see chapter on children)

Although civilian universities were only allowed to be open for 40 months from 1988-2000, military institutions did not face the same restrictions. One result has been that military school graduates have been trained to run the civilian education system. One third of graduates of military schools enter civilian universities as lecturers and tutors. Those loyal to the military are rewarded with educational and employment opportunities not open to the rest of the population. The military government provides well for its army students, and gives them stipends, scholarships, and for the very elite, chances to study abroad. Military institutes do not suffer from lack of facilities or materials. The opportunities afforded are miniscule in comparison with world standards, yet many youth in Burma are drawn into the military circle through promises of status and opportunities that are otherwise unattainable in the harsh economic environment of the country.

Civilian students have therefore become interested in some military institutes due to the lack of opportunities in civilian institutions. Civilian students may be accepted into military institutes. However, the government has created a strict system of application, which includes mandatory recommendations from various government officials, including military officials. This system ensures that the applicants, or the applicants’ relatives, have had no history with opposition political parties and no criminal history. The applicants must also promise not to be involved in politics, and pledge to serve in the army for a number of years upon graduating. In some universities, which are affiliated with but not directly under the auspices of the military government, students are screened for such things as USDA membership and political affiliations before they are allowed to take entrance exams. Students who attend these universities are also required to go into military or government service upon graduating. Students who are related to the military elite are favored above civilian applicants and in many cases military students do not have to pay tuition unlike civilian students.

-World Health Organization Constitution (Preamble) –

- US State Department Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2001

The ongoing civil war in Burma has meant that non-military expenditures, including those for health care, are given a low priority in government spending. This results in a health care system with insufficient facilities, too few health care workers, inadequate health education programs and lack of rural services. At the same the health problems of many are exacerbated by the ongoing armed conflict which disproportionately affects ethnic minorities. The populace is affected directly by things such as landmines and military violence, while migration and forced relocations are the cause of malnutrition and other conditions that lead to the spread of disease.

According to the WHO World Health Report 2000, Burma is ranked 139th out of 191 countries in terms of the overall level of health of the population and 190th for fairness in financial contribution. Regardless of gender, people in all groups can expect to live 51.6 years in full health. On average women can expect to live 7.1 years with a disability and men 7.4 years. Life expectancy for men is 58.4 years, for women 59.2 years. In the ASEAN Region only Cambodia and Laos have lower life expectancies. The government is estimated to spend US $9 per person per year on all health care even though US $12 is considered the minimum expenditure for basic health care requirements. Many of the countries ranked lower than Burma are suffering from the ravages of AIDS, a problem which has yet to come to a head in Burma. Burma’s health care system has been found to be the more discriminatory than that of any other country in the ASEAN region in terms of responsiveness. People’s access to healthcare is directly correlated to their ethnic background, income level, and whether they are civilians or military personnel.

Lt. Gen Khin Nyunt condemned the report saying that “The WHO report, based on false information from antigovernment sources aimed at tarnished the image of the country is unjust and unacceptable…The ministry totally rejects the assessment.” Khin Nyunt claimed the military had made progress in the health sector since it came to power — spending 3.09 billion kyats as of March 31 1999, compared to 464 million on the same date in 1988. At the free market exchange rate of about 350 kyats to the dollar, government health expenditure for that year, in a country of 47 million, totaled just $880,000. At the official rate of six to the dollar it was about $51 million. The kyat traded at five to the dollar officially in 1988 and at about 88 on the black market. According to a World Bank report, health spending in 1999 represented just two percent of government spending, while military spending was 32%.

industry; a large, poorly educated, and unpaid army; multiple refugees as well as migrant populations from Thailand, India, and Bangladesh; and large numbers of internally displaced persons — estimated at 1 – 2 million persons last year. The national HIV prevention budget for 1998 was estimated at $ 50,000 for a population of 48 million people. Data suggests that more than 90 percent of drug users in some states in Burma are infected with HIV which is among the highest infection rates ever reported anywhere.” - The Washington Quarterly: “the Regional Impact of HIV and Aids Accelerating and Disseminating across Asia”. 2001 Winter. Vol. 24, No. 1; Pg. 211.

UNAIDS estimates 440,000 cases of HIV in Burma. However, most experts suspect the number is much higher since most parts of the country are closed to outsiders and the military junta controls the flow of information, concealing the real picture. Over the past several years the SPDC has denied that Burma faces any kind of HIV/AIDs problem. This denial of the facts affects not only Burmese citizens, but also neighboring countries. As drugs, migrant workers and prostitutes leave the country, Burma has become an AIDS exporter. In neighboring China, India and Thailand, the provinces with the highest HIV rates are those that border Burma. A report released by Johns Hopkins School of Public Health have connected outbreaks of HIV and injection drug use with overland heroin trafficking routes originating in Laos and Burma and spreading throughout the region.

According to the Director of UNICEF, The SPDC is sending out confusing and conflicting messages about the HIV crisis while not allocating resources to the problem and unnecessarily politicizing the problem. Dr. Peter Piot, UNAIDS’s executive director, has said that Burma has the second worst AIDS epidemic in Asia after Cambodia. Estimates suggest that 60% of teenage drug users are HIV positive. Intravenous drug use in on the rise and Burmese official statistics have rates of injecting drug use among adults from 1.7% to 25%. The government claims that there are 66,463 drug addicts in Burma but the UNDCP and NGOs estimate that the number is more likely to be between 400-500,000. HIV infection rates among Burma’s addicts are among the highest in the world, and as there is a shortage of syringes along with other medical supplies, the spread is facilitated by widespread needle sharing. Internal migration for the purpose of employment is also a cause of the spread of HIV. Hundreds of thousands of people work seasonally in the jade and ruby mines in Shan and Kachin states and it has been found that most young adults who are HIV positive in central Burma have worked in the mines, bringing HIV with them when they return home.

The health infrastructure in Burma is not equipped to deal with HIV; counseling is nonexistent, condoms are too expensive for most people and only made legal in 1993; and HIV tests are rarely free and people cannot afford the $10 it costs to take one. According to two prominent doctors in Burma, once a patient is diagnosed he or she usually dies within 3 months. There are no anti-HIV drugs in the country and a shortage of antibiotics for tuberculosis, which kills most HIV infected people in Burma. The virus is also spreading in prisons where needles are often re-used several times, and in monasteries where young men shunned by their families move to die. One doctor said that he has treated a number of monks, including elderly monks, who have AIDS.

SPDC Ministry of Health Data on HIV

Mental health is an often overlooked aspect of health care in many societies and the situation is exacerbated in Burma by the lack of resources allocated to health care in general. Ongoing civil war and violence is accompanied by an increase in mental health disorders. Studies of refugees on the Thailand-Cambodia border found that 55% suffered from some form of depression and 15% from post-traumatic stress disorder. The literature on the subject indicates that because mental trauma is a concern for a sizeable portion of war-affected populations, it should be addressed as a major public health issue.

The general health situation in prisons is terrible as there is not enough medicine, doctors or timely assistance. After a prisoner enters prison their health situation generally deteriorates as the result of torture, malnutrition, improper sanitation, and inadequate accommodation. If medicine is provided it is usually temporary pain relievers or the like, such as Paracetemol, Sodamit and Burspro. Doctors neither examine patients nor prescribe medicine for them; these tasks are carried out by prisoners jailed for criminal offences who are designated as ‘medics.’ Prisons have also become distributing centers of communicable diseases, such as AIDS, because when the prisoners receive injections the same needle is used for up to 20 people. In some instances a prisoner may request that a family member bring in a clean needle from outside if they need to receive an injection. In addition, prisoners are sometimes bribed with the promise of extra food (such as a single egg) to donate blood, and the equipment used is rarely cleaned or sterilized.

INGOs began re-entering Burma in 1991, with the majority of them working in the health field. This was a controversial move because many people felt that an INGO presence in Burma would provide legitimacy to the military regime. However, the INGOs that decided to work in Burma felt that some issues, such as the spread of HIV, could not wait for a change in the political situation and affected the entire Asian region not only Burma. When the INGOs entered Burma they found that the most immediate needs were in the health sector. The health care system was extensive but not adequate for the size of the population, the budget was small in comparison to needs and propaganda took the place of actual services. From the start SPDC has shown a preference for working with intergovernmental organizations such as the United Nations. U.N. bodies, such as UNICEF, UNDP and WHO, play a larger role in funding than INGOs and have taken a lead in development, especially in the areas of management and assessment and are often the only buttresses against the collapse of government health and education programs. INGOs have been more active in implementing development projects at the community level and have focused their efforts on training rather than providing hard resources or cash. In 1994, the SPDC decided to accept offers of assistance from international agencies and NGO’s in areas covered by the Border Areas Development Program “as long as they do not threaten national security and solidarity.” As a result, some organizations have established their own programs and some have funded projects through local community group but they have not used a common structure, system or method.

In order to work in Burma, INGOs have to agree with a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which state the conditions under which they are allowed to work. To be granted a MOU, INGOs first must approach the relevant ministry, such as the Ministry of Health and then have their case presented by a ministry representative to the Foreign Affairs Committee. After this, if all goes well, final permission to operate is granted by the Cabinet.

Problems faced by INGOs working in Burma include: lack of accurate information; lack of access to all parts of the country; and an inability to address the underlying problems that affect health such as forced labor, forced relocations, and armed conflict. Furthermore INGO’s are also hampered by a shortage of trained personnel in ethnic areas and political restrictions on who they associate with. They are also frequently subject to arbitary whims of local military commanders and SPDC officials regarding their status. 

Alction Contre la Faim

The Association of Medical Doctors of Asia for Better Quality of Life for a Better Future

Medecins du Monde

Medecins Sans Frontiers (Holland)

World Concern

World Vision Myanmar

Association Francois Xavier Bagnoud

Adventist Development and Relief Agency

CARE Myanmar

Marie Stopes International

Populations Services International 

In 1992, The Ministry for Progress of Border Areas and National Races and Development Affairs (MPBANDRA) initiated a number of projects for the development of border areas while giving priority to health and education activities. The National Health Plan for 1996-2001 of the Ministry of Health included the following objectives for border areas:

ท to improve the quality of health care by providing sufficient amounts of essential drugs and health services not only at hospitals and dispensaries but also at homes

ท to promote the heath status of national races of the border areas especially to reduce the mortality and morbidity of diseases among women and children

ท to provide primary health care, especially maternal and child health care.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that these goals have not been met. Despite government statistics that show an increase in the construction of health facilities and number of health staff in border areas, this does not reflect the true situation. The poor state of infrastructure development in conflict areas has meant that physical access to health facilities is limited. Health staff is often poorly trained, cannot speak the local languages, and is concentrated in cities and towns where they may draw government salaries but work in the private sector. Although money may be allocated to build a clinic, in many cases it is siphoned off by various officials and replaced with forced donations from villagers, or not replaced at all. Adequate medicine is rarely found in border area hospitals or clinics and in some cases medics have to buy medicine with their own money and then sell it to the villagers. There are incidents of medical personnel selling medicine, including UNICEF donations, at black market prices. Traditional medicine or Paracetamol may be the only medicine available in rural clinics if there is any at all.

In areas under SPDC control, villagers are not allowed to build their own clinics or create independent organizations that work on issues such as health or education. Their participation in government projects is generally limited to providing labor or financing for the construction of facilities which does not allow them to gain organizational or other experience and limits outreach.

Internally Displaced People, or IDPs, have little access to medicine or health care while at the same time living in conditions of poor sanitation and food scarcity. The large number of people relocated to one site makes proper sanitation difficult and people don’t know which sources of water are good and which ones are contaminated. In some sites wells have been dug in addition to streams and lakes. Yet in some sites, such as the Shadaw relocation site in Karenni State, the lack of drinkable water has resulted in several problems, including sickness and death that was caused when chemicals were added to the water in an attempt to clean it. Elderly people are especially at risk for disease because of food scarcity and malnutrition and those who are relocated from mountain areas have no immunity to tropical diseases.

Health is a predominant problem for people in hiding. Life in the tropics without norms of shelter or food supply leads to high sickness and mortality rates from malnutrition, diarrhea, and malaria. Malnutrition is exacerbated by irregular supply of food as SPDC troops regularly destroy their crops and fields. They are unable to grow vegetables or raise animals and have to rely in large part on plants scavenged from the jungle. With a complete absence of health care facilities, people mainly rely on herbs and traditional medicine. Although there are some healthcare teams, the medicine and care they are able to provide is insufficient for the numbers of IDPs in hiding across many border areas. The mortality rate is rising at an alarming rate for these displaced people, and many villagers are dying from sicknesses easy to treat or prevent, and from minor wounds. In 1999, 20 displaced people in Ha Toh Per died from diarrhea due to lack of basic medicine.

An additional problem for villagers living in conflict areas is their use as forced porters by the military. Porters often sustain injuries while performing their duties, such as through beatings or landmines and have increased susceptibility to diseases because of malnutrition and exhaustion. Porters do not receive medical treatment while under the command of SPDC and what medicine is available is first given to soldiers. In addition, porters that sustain serious injuries often cannot afford to pay for the medical treatment they may require when they return home.

In their October 2001 report, Flight, Hunger and Survival Repression and Displacement in the Villages of Papun and Nyaunglebin Districts, Karen Human Rights Group reported the following:

“Health is the most important thing. I think that if it is possible and we can build a clinic it would be good. Health is a big weakness. For example, if I am seriously sick and I go to ask for medicine from the medic they say there is no medicine. It is difficult. I also think about other things. The way is difficult. The medics have to cross the car road [the Kyauk Kyi Saw Hta car road which is heavily guarded and mined on both sides] among the enemy. It is a problem. If the medicine arrives there are a lot of people and they can’t share it out to everybody, so the medics apologise. Some of the villagers went to get ‘kyaw pi’ [a type of leaf used to make herbal medicine] and some of them are healed. Some of the villagers who believe in animism treat the animist way and people are also healed. Some people can’t be treated and die. Some of them were single, some were old.” - “Po Naw” (M, xx), internally displaced villager from S— village, Lu Thaw township (Interview #61, 3/01); the medics he refers to are from the KNLA and from Karen organisations operating from Thailand.

Medicine and people trained in medicine are almost nonexistent in the Papun hills and eastern Nyaunglebin District. Most villagers rely on traditional medicines made from roots, leaves and tree bark which can be foraged in the forest. People do occasionally come up into the hills and sell medicine to the IDP’s, but it is usually only in small quantities and not very strong. Most of the medicine consists of Burmese patent over the counter drugs which are often of low quality. Injections and other high quality medicines, usually from Thailand, are difficult to obtain and very expensive. It is very risky for the people to come up to sell medicine because any villagers caught carrying medicine in the hills can be executed by the SPDC soldiers after being accused of aiding the resistance.

The KNU and other organisations do maintain small mobile medical teams which move about the area, but these can’t reach everyone and many villagers have never met them. These medical teams are made up of trained medics but usually don’t have much medicine, and what they do have has to be rationed to the point of sometimes turning away all but the most seriously ill people. Villagers don’t dare to take sick or wounded people down to the towns for treatment for fear of being arrested. The hospitals are too expensive anyway, and in Burma the sick are turned out of the hospital as soon as they run out of money.

The result of this is that many people are dying from treatable illnesses. Malaria, fevers and diarrhoea are common and deadly. Small children and the elderly are especially susceptible to illness and many newborn babies don’t live past their first few months. The constant movement, poor diet, stress and general living conditions leave the villagers especially susceptible to many diseases and infections. Villagers wounded by SPDC bullets or shrapnel have to make do with traditional medicines. Those more severely wounded, especially people who have stepped on landmines, usually succumb to their wounds due to lack of treatment. A typical example is Sho Per Ko village, a cool highland village of 70 families high in the hills of northern Lu Thaw township. It was abandoned and then destroyed when SPDC troops set up a base at nearby Ler Mu Plaw in 1997, and one of the village elders told KHRG that since then 28 adults from his village of 70 families have died of treatable illnesses - more than one from every three families, leaving at least 50 orphaned children. (Source: KHRG. Full report can be found at www.khrg.org).

“Mr. Green” Male.

From: Chin State.

Occupation: training officer for an NGO.

Education: BA, Mandalay University.

Ethnicity: Chin.

Religion: Baptist.

Left Burma: December 2000.

Q: Why did you decide to leave Burma?

A: I was afraid I’d be chased by the Burmese military. I was told by my uncle that I was going to be arrested by the Burmese military. [because he helped to get a list of political prisoners to give to the Red Cross].

Q: Had you had problems with the authorities before?

A: Yes, I did. While I gave the training about the NGO. I showed my card from the NGO to the military, but they did not know that card or about the NGO, so they arrested me and detained me for one night. They got all my speeches with a recorder. That was in June 2000.

Q: When did you start working with the NGO?

A: I joined the NGO from 1999. My friend had told me there was a post at the NGO.

Q: What was your work with the NGO?

A: The aim of the NGO is the prevention of HIV infection. So we worked for the prevention of HIV, awareness of HIV and distribution of education about the prevention of HIV.

Q: How aware of HIV/AIDS were the people in the area?

A: In the town, we could teach the people and the people know about HIV. But it is not easy to travel around the remote areas, so the villagers did not know about HIV.

Q: How were people becoming infected by HIV?

A: It is hard to find out the mode of transmission in that area, because the government did not do any research about HIV infection. They want to cover all things up. So it’s hard to find which mode of transmission is the worst thing. The government always denies about HIV, so it’s very hard to find out the actual and the real situation in that region.

Q: What materials did you have in your program, and what language were they in?

A: Posters and flyers in Burmese and Chin. We didn’t have enough for each and every person, but to some extent we can do. Because of the limitations of the facilities we had not enough funds.

Q: Did you have any idea of what percentage of infection was happening in that area?

A: It is hard to find the actual facts in the country, because the government wants to deny HIV infection. According to my own research, in one clinic in Kalemyo, I reviewed the blood tests, and 8 to 9 percent of those blood tests showed positive for HIV. That percent is of people who they think may have the HIV infection, the high risk group. In the Kale Hospital, the percentage was lower than that percentage.

Q: What kind of treatment could people get if they were diagnosed with HIV or if it had progressed to AIDS?

A: In that place, when people know that a person is infected with HIV/AIDS disease, the persons around that patient are afraid of him, of the threat of that disease, and they don’t want to take care of the patient. Even in the hospital and the clinic, they don’t want to take care of that HIV patient. The patients didn’t want to stay anymore in the hospital, because they got depression, because they were outcast by society. So the patients leave the hospital and stay at home and the patients’ parents take care of them.

Q: Do people advertise medicines that will cure HIV/AIDS?

A: No.

Q: Are there people who are not real doctors who give injections in the villages?

A: Yes, a lot of the illegal ones. The villagers told me about it. One person, previously he worked in mining, some other place in Burma, and later on he went to Malaysia and worked, and he came back to that area [Chin State] and he was tested HIV positive. He was tested in Rangoon. And he went back to his native village near to Kale. The people in that village thought that HIV positive is the AIDS disease. He was treated by a person who practices illegally, and he gave some IV [drip] line with some glucose, some vitamins and other things to that patient. The patient is so weak, he cannot bear that IV line, and half of the bottle was left. They don’t want to discard the remaining [IV solution] so the father of that patient went to continue that IV line, because it is good for that person, it has a lot of vitamins. So the person who practices illegally, he made the IV line to the father of that patient. And later on, the patient died. After that, then the father also died, because of the infection.

Q: In the hospital and clinics, is the equipment clean?

A: In some places, they use disposable syringes. But in some places they cannot use the disposable syringes, they just flush the syringes and other needles with hot water for one time. Just one time. The hot water that they use to flush the needles and the syringes, they use that same hot water to do that again.

Q: Did you notice the rate of tuberculosis infection?

A: I was not familiar with that.

Q: Were people using narcotics by injection?

A: Around the Kale area, Tamu border area, I found a lot of narcotic abuse in that area. In that area they used the IV method, they got that habit from the people in mining areas, where they dig for the jade.

Q: What were the conditions for the workers in the mining areas?

A: I went to Maishu in 1994 and 1995 and Mogok in early 2000. And the conditions of the workers are very poor. Most of the time they didn’t find any stones or any valuable things so they have no money. They got depression because they didn’t get anything from that mine, sometimes and to replace their depression they use the narcotics. Some people. The heroin is sold by somebody, and they can buy it easily, they can buy it freely. And the syringe and other things, they can buy it easily. It’s available easily. They can inject it, the shot they can give by themselves or to each other, sharing.

Q: Do you know about mining in the Chin State in an area called Mwe Thaung at all?

A: I have heard the name of Mwe Thaung, before, several times, but I don’t know the work there. It’s near to Kalemyo.

Q: Were you visiting the mining areas for AIDS education?

A: I visited to Maishu mining area because I wanted to know the conditions for my own personal interest, and Mogok is for my NGO job. The trip there was not very successful. The mission of the trip was to distribute the condoms to the workers of the mining and to give the health education for the workers of the mines. But that trip was not very successful because of the people in that area were very busy with their work and they couldn’t take the time to hear that speech on prevention of HIV.

Q: Had the availability and affordability of condoms changed?

A: The NGO sold the condoms to the public at very cheap price. After that service, the condoms were more easily available than before. They can get them easily in the marketplace and anywhere around that area.

Q: How did you get information, news?

A: The main way we heard information is through the broadcasting services of foreign countries like the VOA, BBC and RFA, Radio Free Asia. And other democratic broadcasting services. The newspaper that’s issued by the government in Burma, we’re not interested about, because we couldn’t get any information about politics from that newspaper. We rely on only the foreign broadcasting service.

Q: Did your office have a computer, fax, international telephone?

A: They had one computer for the office work, and one telephone for local use only. They had no [internet access].

Q: Tell about any Chin cultural problems...

A: They want to change our Chin people and other minorities to become Burman, by the government, all the time. Since the Burma Socialist Program Party time, the way they want is “one nation, one race, one religion, one country.” They use this method in this time by the military more than before. Even in our Chin State, our people cannot learn Chin language in the school at this time. The Chin language is not examined in the primary level. Even if they taught it in the school they didn’t cover it in the exams. The Chin language is not included on the schedule for the students. They meet only once a week [for Chin language study], only when they have extra time. In Burma, each and every state and division has the college and university. In the Chin State we have none up ‘til now.

Q: Can you buy publications in the Chin language?

A: Only some books that are released by religious permission, we can get a small number of. Other magazines and books, we cannot get it. Years ago, to teach the ABC alphabet in the Chin language, we used, “A for Aung San” and “B for Bible” but the military doesn’t allow to publish that poem anymore. Because of the restriction of the military, except for the books issued by the church and the mission, there’s no other books [in Chin] available. There’s a lot of restrictions about cultural things, about shows, even in the ceremonies, we have to get the permits before. Because of all the restrictions, the cultural shows are less than before. In the country, there’s a Ministry of Religious Affairs. In the Ministry, there’s a Department of Religion. In that department there’s only a branch for Buddhism. No other religions. The government opened the school for the “Hill Regions” but in that school they teach only the Buddhism. For that school, the teacher, the headmaster, must be a Buddhist. After they implemented that project, before that my friend was principal of the school, but after that policy my friend was shifted because they didn’t want a Christian to be principal of that school. So it is clear that they want our Chin people to change to Buddhism and be made Burman. In the schools in the Chin State, they forced the students to pay homage whenever the elders come in [with a “Buddhist” gesture], and say the Buddhist words. The Burmese soldiers, whenever they went in the Chin villages, they arrest people and they persecute people whenever they want to, anywhere in the Chin State. The military check each and every household in the town, with their full equipment, about the guests. Even in my house, my sister in law was back from Rangoon because of a terminal stage illness. And some relatives and friends came to the house to stay with the patient to comfort her. But the military came to the house with their uniforms and didn’t listen to them, and the military threatened them and treated them rudely.

Whenever they went in the town or the village, the Burmese military opened fire in the air or somewhere, every night to alarm the people or to threaten the people. So the people, the Chins, in their heart, they have in their minds, fear and anxiety about the uniformed people who don’t speak the Chin language. Most of the people have anxiety even when they hear the footstep or song of the soldiers, or bark of the dogs.

In every [government] department, the head of the department is a Burman. Most of the Chin people don’t speak Burmese, so they are scolded. So they are afraid to go to the departments anymore. Even the small number of Chin people who are educated are shifted far away from the Chin State, so we don’t have our Chin people to rely on.

I was in Thantlang and saw when the military government destroyed the crosses that were erected to mark the Centenary of the Christian missions in the Chin State, 1999 January. At that time, the crosses erected on the hill were destroyed by the Burmese military and the pastors in Thantlang town were arrested by the Burmese military. That’s why I and other people gathered to pray in the church for the release of the pastor. Like we were making a demonstration. So the Chairman of the Chin State [military government] Col. Than Maung, came to Thantlang and ordered us to get out from the church. He didn’t step down from his car. We stood out in front of the church. He said, “don’t worship in the church and don’t make any prayer meeting anywhere. But what you need to do is work in the road for the construction.” The Burmese soldiers and police along with him forced us to scatter out. And only the pastor and the elders of the church to follow him. He told them that, “you are making the anti-government [protest]” and he was going to punish them severely. But they said they were praying in the church to make peace in the region. That’s why later on he released them.

One of the female pastors was warned by that colonel that she spoke to the public about anti-government, so he was going to punish her very severely. And he told all of us not to do this kind of things in the future. Otherwise he would give us very serious punishment. Imprisonment or very serious persecution. And so there’s no rights for religion or politics at all in Chin State.

The education system is also very poor, so there’s no way to progress for education in Chin State. There’s not enough facilities, and there’s not enough teachers. Most of the schools were built by the villages on their own. In some cases, the government forces the students to wear a [military type] uniform and forces them to shout the anti Aung San Suu Kyi slogans. The military government uses that trick.

When they formed the USDA, they used some students in that association too. Most of the time the students are taken by the government to be involved in sports and a lot of activities so the students didn’t have time to study in school. For example, the student festival that was held in Haka, the students practiced for the contests in sports for the whole year, so the students didn’t have time to study their subjects in school. But all the students must have examinations that year. Even though they learned nothing in school, they passed the exams.

Q: In the two or three months just before you left, at the end of 2000, was the army asking people to work for it?

A: Yes, they did, for the plantation of tea in the Chin Hills. They forced all the villagers to do the plantation. They forced the villagers to plant only tea. The military got the tea seeds from somewhere else, and the agriculture department raised the seeds, and the [seedlings] they forced them to plant. They forced them to plant it in many areas of Chin State. Most of the places were forest areas. They cleared the forests and forced them to plant the tea. They started in July and August to force them to clear the forests. They were still doing [the planting] in October, November.

I want to tell about the killing of two people during the construction of the road from Thantlang to Hriphi and Vuang Tu. The [government military] built a new camp in Vuang Tu village, that’s situation on the boundary between India and Burma. The built the road from Hriphi to Vuang Tu. They forced the people to work day and night. They collected the people from each and every village around the township. They brought the oil for the lights from India, and the explosives to use for construction from India, with money they collected from the villagers. That evening I was in that village when the one was killed in the road construction. March 5, 1999. The villagers dared not to say anything about that killing. The dead body was brought by the villagers into the village.

In that road construction, the villagers including the men, women and children, worked in that work camp. Right now, the military forces the people to serve as sentries to watch over it at night time, until today. They forced the villages [each] to collect at least ten people ready in position to carry the things of the military whenever they needed.

The alcohol was previously not used in Chin State very much, but at this time, the government opens to sell the alcohol everywhere, and they even force the village headpersons to sell the alcohol to the local people. They [government] get the funds from that alcohol and they destroy the morals of the young men.

Most of the Chins in the town and the students who are Christians are forced to collect funds for the Buddhist festivals, and they are forced to work in the compounds of the pagodas for cleaning and something like that. The government employees are forced to work in the paddy fields to grow rice for the government. In Tiddim town, the public water was cut off by the military, so the water would be used for the government’s tea plantations. So most of Tiddim has a shortage of water, and even in the township education office they got the water only once a week. That was my experience when I held training in Tiddim. In general they are doing all the things to destroy the morals and the character of the Chin young men and all Chin people.

(Source: CHRO RHODODENDRON NEWS VOLUME IV. NO. III )

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