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ILO: FORCED LABOUR IN BURMA-42



[ILO COMMISSION OF INQUIRY ON FORCED LABOUR IN BURMA, SLICE
42]


175

Ethnicity/religion: Karen, Buddhist
Age/sex:            36, female
Family situation:   Married with three children
Occupation:         Farmer

The witness fled to Thailand in early January 1998 with her
family when their village of 36 houses was relocated. The
order had come several times but the villagers had ignored it
and stayed. The first order was given by the authorities to
the head of the village before the harvest, in Tazaungmon
month (around November), and people did not care. Then twice
they came to the village and asked the villagers to move by
force. The villagers left the village, but later came back.
The fourth and last time, the DKBA fired mortar shells into
the village, one house was burnt; fortunately, nobody was
hurt, as many were working in  the fields. They were asked to
go to Htee Nu, where before there had been a monastery, no
village (nor a military camp), two to three hours' walk from
her village. She did not know whether others moved there,
because her family left, fleeing to Thailand with nothing but
2,000 kyat; even the clothes they were wearing at the time of
the interview were given to them by other people. With regard
to forced labour, there were so many kinds: road construction,
portering, or camp building. For instance, she might have to
go to work in a military camp, then, as soon as she arrived
home, be called to serve as a porter. One was never sure.
There were many battalions in the area, some would catch
people for portering, others for other work. Some months, she
did not have a single day for her own work, nor her husband
for his. Both were called up for the whole month, engaged in
different work, portering, road construction, building a
military camp. In the rainy season there was more forced
labour than in dry season (when military operations started 
and they were forced to move from their village). To refuse to
do forced labour, she would have had to hire a substitute
(which she never did). Two years ago, the witness saw the
acting village head, a lady of over 60 years old (name given
to the Commission), being beaten. She was asked to tell the
villagers to go for messenger service and nobody listened or
turned up, so Government soldiers came into the village and
beat her. She suffered a cut on the head from a blow with a
bamboo stick, leaving a big scar. She was tied up the whole
night, then beaten. After her release, the soldiers asked for
a pig. She didn't know the name or rank of the soldiers
involved. The company commander was Bo Hla Phine. Some time
later, the same acting village head, when asked to look for
forced labourers, was too frightened to go to the camp, so
they wrote to her three or four times, and also included a
bullet in the letter. At last she went and was put in a pit
the whole night. The next day she was released, they asked her
for a cow which she could not provide, so she took a pig to
the camp commander. With regard to road construction, the
witness worked for the past three to four years on the road
between Lay Kay and Ta Paw, which was there long ago and never
used before. Now the work was finished and the road, about
four metres wide, was used by military trucks and cars. She
had never seen a bullock cart on the road. The order had come
through the village head that one person from each family had
to go, for one or two days at a time, depending on the work.
They were given no food, nor money, nor tools, which had to be
taken from home. They had to work till sunset and could go
home for the night. Each household had to go three or four
times per month. She had also done portering herself four
times. Two years ago the first time, for two days. She was
rounded up while sleeping at home. Early in the morning the
military woke her up, gave her a basket to carry, about 13 to
14 viss (about 22 kg). The load was too heavy for her and she
cried while carrying it. Her husband was not at home, he was
in the fields. She had to carry the basket to a place near
Shwegun. There were many porters, mainly women. Men were
beaten, when accused of leading the soldiers in the wrong
direction (while portering). They were hit on the head,
suffered a lot. The same year (1996) she had to do portering
four times in all, three times rounded up, once called up
through the village head. The second and third time, she had
to go for three days, the last time two days. Her husband had
portered only once. He was very scared of the Burmese and ran
away whenever soldiers were around. When rounded up for
portering, he managed to escape after four days, because he
could no longer carry his load. He was not tied up, nor
beaten. If someone had money, they could hire a substitute
when called up by the village head. When rounded up, he had no
choice but to go. In any case, no one in the village had
money. When Ta Line Kayin camp (Commander: DKBA officer Bo
Than Tun) was set up two years ago, two hours' walk away from
her village, the military gave orders through the village head
for one person from each household to contribute labour. If
orders were followed, it was one person per household, if not,
everybody was rounded up. They had to go there until the camp
was finished, it took months, beginning at the start of the
rainy season. Other villages also had to contribute labour,
sometimes ten, 20, 30 people would be there. She herself had
to cut and split bamboo, make fences and bamboo booby traps,
cut trees, make roofing, clear bushes, help carry trees to a
place from which soldiers would take the logs away. Her
husband was not well, so she had to go, do everything. She was
not paid, had to bring her own food, but could go home at
night. Her 17-year-old son also had done forced labour,
cutting trees for the military camp last year, not at the same
time as herself. Sometimes people tried to run away. She saw
people being beaten and ill treated. Usually two persons from
the village had to go at the same time for a full day to the
camp, to be on standby for messenger service; other villages,
altogether over five, also had to supply messengers. Her
eldest child had done messenger service (not at the same time
as herself). Moreover, villagers had to perform sentry duty.
The order for this came through the village head. One person 
had to be on the road for five days, sweeping the road, for
example before and after military trucks passed. Last year she
went three times for five days each, always without pay,
having to bring her own food and sleeping on the site, under a
bush, while soldiers guarded the villagers. The soldiers did
not hurt them. She heard about sexual abuse, but was not sure.
Two years ago, her mother (who lived with them) went once for
the family, and her son once. In addition to providing labour,
when soldiers asked for whatever they wanted in the village (a
cow, a pig), the villagers had to supply it, arranging among
themselves. Also, any amount of rice the soldiers asked for
had to be given. Money also had to be paid. In 1977 the
soldiers asked for 3,000 kyat from the whole village. 
                    _________________________

176

Ethnicity:          Karen
Age/sex:            30, female
Family situation:   Married with three children (household of  
                    seven members)
Occupation:         Farmer
                    State

The witness came to Thailand in May 1997 with her family
because she had seen and heard that people were attacked and
killed by soldiers, she had to do forced labour, including
portering, even while pregnant, and they were constantly in
fear. They had no time for their work, since most of the time
they had to work for the military. When they came to Thailand,
they had nothing at home, not even a tin of paddy, and it was
the same thing with her father and mother. In November/
December 1996, while she was six months pregnant, she was
rounded up and had to carry 18 to 20 viss (30 to 32 kg) of
ammunition and food for the military for 28 days. She had been
sleeping at home alone at night. All the other villagers had
run away, but she thought that, since she was pregnant,
nothing would happen to her. She was called out of the house
at gun point by soldiers of LIB 10 and had to go to a place
called Gat Te, a DKBA village where people returning from the
Thai border were placed. She had to cross Dawna mountain
ridge; it took her three days to go home. There were over 100
people portering, carrying big baskets, including two women
and five men from her village. They had been told the journey
would take five days, and the head of the village had been
called and asked to bring food rations for five days, which
they had to carry. After five days, and for the remaining
weeks, they were given a little rice twice a day, sometimes
spoiled rice, boiled with chopped banana stems, served in a
banana leaf. The cooking was done by a porter. One mad person
was carrying rice and eating rice all the time, but she did
not see him being beaten. She saw an old man beaten by
soldiers because he could not carry his load anymore, they
tried to beat him not on the road but somewhere else; when
they came back, she saw him bleeding from nose and mouth, and
he had bruises on his head and back; he had to carry his load
again the next day in the morning. She saw many people beaten
as they went on, from time to time. One man, about 60 years
old, carrying a heavy rucksack with ammunition, was prodded
with a sharp bamboo spike while walking, and he had blisters
all over. She doubted he survived. One man who could no longer
carry his load was put in a bag by the soldiers and thrown
from a mountain cliff. He was not in her group, but she saw
it. The porters were tied in pairs day and night, men and
women all mixed, ten in a group; when going to the toilet, two
had to go, and soldiers followed with a gun. One 13 to 14 year
old girl (name given to the Commission) from a neighbouring
village, who had been taken as a porter, was taken from the
group one evening and raped by a high-placed officer (name and
rank given to the Commission), who threatened her that, if she
told anyone, her village would be burnt. She was crying
throughout the journey after she was raped; she was released
at the same time as the witness. When the witness was single
(over eight years ago), she had to go portering many many
times, sometimes called up through the village head, sometimes
rounded up by soldiers, for five, ten, 15 days; the longest
period then was for 20 days. Before portering, she was quite
fit and well-rounded, afterwards all skin and bones. Since she
married, two of her younger brothers did portering many times.
While portering in 1996, one of her brothers was hit by a
soldier with a rifle butt because he complained he could not
carry his load anymore; afterwards, he suffered a long time
from a chest problem.  With regard to road construction,
starting two years ago, and all year round, her two brothers
did forced labour in rotation the road from Painkyone camp to
Hlaingbwe. The order came to the head of village. One person
per household had to go; if they asked for ten people, one
person each from ten households would go for ten days at a
time (the village had 30 households). Every month one person
from each household went for ten days, working full time from
morning to noon and again after lunch until sunset, unpaid and
bringing their own food rations. In 1996, also, other
villagers had to cut down trees and her younger brother had to
carry logs from the forest to the road for transportation by
truck to the cities. The order had come through the village
head, and a lot of people from her own and other villages went
and had to stay there for ten days without pay and living on
the food rations they had to bring themselves. Since she
married some eight years ago she had to do road sentry duty
once every month for five days, sometimes seven days, at a
time. She took turns with one brother. When on duty, she took
her two children along; they both caught asthma. They had to
sleep beside the road even in the rainy season. She had to
sweep along the road with branches to clear mines. All along
the road people had to do this. In 1996, one of her aunts was
killed when sweeping along the road in the morning. A land
mine exploded and both her legs were blow off; another lady
lost one leg in the same mine blast. She was not present,
she saw it afterwards. Soldiers also asked bullock cart
drivers to pull a log up and down the road so they would be
the first to be killed. While on sentry duty, she once saw a
bullock cart passing on the road blown up by an exploding
mine, the driver and both bullocks were killed. Until she fled
the country, she or her brother had to go twice a month in a
group of five people for five or seven days every morning to
Painkyone military camp, two hours' walk from the village, to
report whether they had seen any military activity. In 1996,
her brothers had to make fences around Painkyone military
camp, dig trenches, do repair work on the camp. The order came
through the head. Her brothers had to go for two full months
until the work was finished; they usually went and came back
every day. If one did not want to go for forced labour, one
could give money, either to hire a person or give it to the
authorities. For portering, one had to give over 1,000 kyat
either way. For other forced labour, most people went
themselves, having no money. She also went herself, as she had
no money. Every year, the soldiers collected from each village
a quota of rice, animals, anything they asked for, plus twice
a month 100 to 200 kyat from each household. In 1995, the
military asked for rice. If, in their view, a farmer could
produce 30 sacks of rice, they would take ten; if he actually
had less, then he still had to make up the quota. 
                    _________________________

177

Ethnicity:          Karen
Age/sex:            45, female
Family situation:   Widow with five children
Occupation:         Farmer
                    State (village had about 40 households)

The witness left Myanmar four years ago. She went back for a
whole year in 1996 and left again in February 1997. She did
forced labour "quite often" in 1996, almost the same as
earlier (although she was excused from several forms of forced
labour imposed on other villagers). She never was paid for any
labour. The villagers had to do portering; the military
informed the village head of their needs, usually indicating
the number of people required. If their requirements were not
fulfilled, they rounded up the people themselves. In 1996,
there was no rounding up, but the villagers had to go. In
1996, the villagers were also asked to do road sentry duty.
She herself did road sentry at Plakyaw, three miles from her
village (near the road from Hlaingbwe to Painkyone); after a
day, they were asked to go to Hpagat for one night. She went
only once for two days, "to keep watch over what happens".
They went in pairs, there were many along the road. In the
morning, she had to sweep the road with branches, for mines.
She never saw a mine explode. In 1996, the villagers also were
ordered through the village head to supply labour for these
purposes. She herself being too old and not well enough, her
household (consisting of herself and her youngest son) was
excused. She had to pay 100 kyat per month to the soldiers. In
1996, people in Htihpokape were ordered through the village
head to carry logs for telephone line poles. From Htihpokape,
a small village (of about 40 households), five people had to
go, from other villages more. She had to do it two or three
times a month for one day. The logs were first carried to a
river, then some were carried out again by two or three
people, others, bigger ones, were pulled out of the river with
a chain by many people. She herself took part in pulling out
the logs. Once, four to five soldiers came into the village,
told the village head one log was crooked, not good for a
pole, and fined the villagers one pig. On another occasion,
the villagers were asked to carry logs and bamboo from their
place to Painkyone camp, about three hours' distance. Finally,
the villagers also had to clear the ground for rubber and teak
plantations for the military. They had to bring their own
provisions. She did not go to the rubber/teak plantations
herself.
                    _________________________

178 and 179

Ethnicity:          Karen
Age/sex:            21 and 17, both male
Family situation:   Both single, parents' families of
                    seven and six respectively
Education:          4th Standard (witness 178); 9th
                    Standard (witness 179)
                    State

The witnesses left Myanmar in July 1997. Witness 178 came to
Thailand a first time in 1992, witness 179 in 1997. In 1997
both went back to Bee T'Ka and, on the way, they were rounded
up on 9 June 1997, in Lubaw (between Bee T'Ka and the Thai
border) for portering. Witness 178 specified that they were
stopped by soldiers from IB 33 on the road their hands were
tied and they were taken for questioning to an officer, who
accused them of being KNU agents or soldiers. They denied this
and were not believed. The next day they were questioned
separately, then tied up more closely, both beaten up (name of
officer who beat them given to the Commission) and even asked
to dig a hole (as for burial). They were blindfolded with
plastic bags, had water poured on their heads so they could
not breathe, were tortured for many hours, sometimes losing
consciousness. One witness coughed blood, had internal
injuries, chest problems. From about 11 June 1997, they were
used as porters. First they had to carry pots (with rice)
weighing together over 40 viss (over 65 kg) on a yoke from
Lubaw for two days to Thay Mo Hpa. At first, they were 11
porters (all men), later a village head of some of the others
came and paid money for the release of some of the porters,
seven stayed. After two days, they returned to Lubaw, and from
there they were taken to Kyawko. Altogether, they did seven
days of portering, over hilly ground. They were fed two meals
of jackfruit mixed with rice, which they had to cook for all
the porters. At night, they were surrounded by soldiers. After
seven days, when they could not get enough food, they were
asked to go to villages and beg for food for all the group of
about 40 people (porters and soldiers). The two of them were
guarded by four or five soldiers. They were asked to beg for
food from house to house, then come back with the supplies.
The soldiers went into the house while the porters waited
outside; whatever they found, they took in the kitchen and
store room, especially rice. The officers had promised them
that they would be released upon reaching Kyawko village, but
upon arrival, they were told witness 178 still had to go to
Ser Gaw village, where one of his relations lived, and bring
back different food stuffs, oil, noodles, ajinomoto
(monosodium glutamate), while witness 179 stayed in Kyawko
camp. After witness 178 got all the rations and went back (two
hours later) to Kyawko camp, he asked to be released, but the
company commander (name given to Commission) again refused,
and they were asked to carry planks from a stream up to the
hill. After witness 178 complained and begged the commander to
release them, the commander called the person keeping their
watches and personal belongings, and they were both released,
went to Ser Gaw and came back to Thailand. With regard to
other forms of forced labour, witness 179 said that from 1995
he studied in Hlaingbwe and did no forced labour, the 1997
portering was the first time. But he was arrested and tortured
in 1996, he doesn't know why, by the military. For about nine
days, he was kept under the sun, at night in a lock-up, his
legs in the stocks. His family had to do forced labour over
the same period (1995 to 1997), messenger service, supplying
firewood and rice rations. There was no road building, no
portering, but they had to pay porters' fees (money to be
excused from serving), he doesn't know the amount. For
messenger service, every day two villagers were asked to go
three miles to a camp to help soldiers with whatever they
wanted, like sending a letter, or whatever the camp commander
needed. Witness 179 wished to add that in Hlaingbwe, if more
than four or five students were in a group, the group would be
broken up. He often heard shouts and screams from the prison,
and saw prisoners wearing white robes breaking rocks. In Bee
T'Ka, in the beginning of 1997, he saw an incident where nine
people were called to be checked; one said he was a Government
servant, and when unable to produce an identity card, he was
killed on the spot. Five ran away to the river and tried to
swim, one was caught. Later people saw a dead body, tied to a
donkey and dragged along the shore. 
                    _________________________


180

Ethnicity/religion: Karen, Christian
Age/sex:            32, male
Family situation:   Married with three children
Education:          6th Standard
Occupation:         Farm labourer
                    Kayin State

The witness and his family came to Thailand in April 1996
because they were accused of having contacts with the KNU, had
to do forced labour, and faced a lot of hardship. He was a
village head for about a year. There were ten sections in the
village, which was divided by a river: on the eastern bank
lived mostly Buddhists, on the western, Christians. The
village head received orders for forced labour from the
commanders of the military camp in the Bee T'Ka monastery
area. Every day, the village head had to supply forced labour;
as soon as he received the orders, he would first go to the
chiefs of the 10 sections to find the number of people
required. Usually, the order came in the morning, to be
complied with within the same day. If forced labour had to be
supplied over a longer or indefinite time span, there would be
only one order at the start of the period. Sometimes, the
order came with a bullet in the envelope, plus a piece of
charcoal. Between rainy season 1995 and April 1996, the
village head received four orders with both a bullet and a
piece of charcoal, usually when he could not find the number
of people required. A letter with a bullet and a piece of
charcoal would set the deadline the evening of the same day.
During his duties, villagers were directly rounded up four
times by the military for forced labour, without the authority
of the village head. Once, an order given in writing to the
village head was brought by the messenger at too short notice,
for 20 porters to be provided within two hours, so the village
head could not comply, and after two hours, the military came
inside the village and rounded up many people; at last, the
village head asked them to release the surplus, which they
did. The 20 had to serve three days. As for the other three
times, the military sometimes came to the village without
warning because they wanted to go to some place and wanted
nobody to know, so they just came to the village and grabbed
the number of people they wanted (as porters). Some of the
villagers could not bear this situation any more and ran away
from the village, so the military would fine the other
villagers. When one family ran away, the remaining villagers
had to pay 40,000 kyat, plus 40 viss (65 kg) of pork. On the
day of taking up his functions, he received an order from the
military camp command to supply 80 people a day for one month
to carry food and supplies from Paw Yebu camp to Taun Zun,
Naungbo and other camps, as well as to Bee T'Ka. People who
did not want to go had to hire someone else as a substitute,
which cost 100 kyat a day. From each of the ten sections in
the village, two people had to be every day at the military
camp (at the monastery) on standby for portering. These 20
people had to stay with the soldiers for one week and could
not come back until they were replaced. To be exempt from this
service for three days, people had to pay the military 600
kyat, and for a week, 1,300 kyat. Most could not pay, so they
went. All work was unpaid, and people had to bring their own
rice. If the army had a confrontation with the KNU, some
people would run away, and the military would fine the village
for every person escaping; the last time this happened, the
village head had to give 4,000 kyat for one person escaping
from a war zone as a porter while fighting was going on. About
two or three times a month, 30 or 40 villagers would be
required in addition as porters by a battalion while
patrolling the area; they would stay with the battalion as
long as it was on the move, three or four days, sometimes one
or two days. The village head also had to supply porters for
longer trips. Once in the dry season, 30 people were required
for a week. Sometimes porters were tied and beaten because
they were accused, without evidence, of being linked to the
KNU army; porters were also beaten for being slow. While he
was a village head, he saw about 13 people seriously injured.
They were put in stocks and still had the marks of iron rods
on their skins. One person was beaten on his back until blood
ran out of his nose and mouth. He fled to Thailand since and
had to take medicine now. Over the same period, nobody from
the village was killed, and no woman molested. In the latter
part of 1995, a new road was built from Bee T'Ka to Paw Yebu.
An order was sent to the village head for one person per
family to come and work on the road every day until the road
was completed. The work lasted two weeks, was unpaid, workers
had to bring their own food and tools and work the whole day,
under the supervision of soldiers. After that, construction of
another road, about four miles long, from Paw Yebu camp to
Taun Zun was undertaken. The road was still under construction
in April 1996. Again, one person from each household had to
work on the site all the time. If there were only women or old
persons in the household, it would depend on the village head,
who might try to make arrangement to help that household. To
be exempted from the work, one had to give 200 kyat per day.
In addition to the 20 villagers on standby for portering, two
people had to go every day from the village to be messengers
for the military for one day. The order came through the
village head, who would usually ask women to be messengers.
Also, in January - February 1996, the military obtained
information that two guns were not far from the village and
asked the village head to lead them there. When he refused,
they arrested six women and five men to guide them; they had
to go in front, followed by the village head, with soldiers
behind, for about two hours. In the hot season, an order was
sent to him of for one person per family to come to the
military camp at the monastery, to bring bamboo with them,
fence the monastery, prepare booby-traps, and dig trenches.
The work went on for about four days until completed.
                    _________________________


181

Ethnicity:          Karen
Age/sex:            15, male
Family situation:   Five (him, parents and two brothers;       
                    sisters have left home)
Occupation:         His father has farm land (palm trees,
                    mangoes, chestnuts)
                    township, Kayin State (village had 100     
                    families)

The witness escaped from his village in early February 1998.
There was a military camp 500 metres from the village, and
another on top of a nearby hill. His brother lost a leg about
a month ago, after stepping on a land mine near his village
while he was cutting bamboo for the military. He was
hospitalized in Myawady hospital. The military said that it
was not one of their land mines. He feared the presence of the
military in his village. He had to do portering for the
military, work related to a military camp, and road
construction work. One person from each household had to
perform the work required by the military. While he was doing
such work himself, other members of his family were not
required to do so. His mother did some work for the military
until he was old enough to take over. His father performed
such work on countless occasions, particularly portering. His
brothers and sisters also had to work for the military. His
sisters did it when their husbands were away. Since his
parents had to provide for the needs of the family, and could
not afford to lose a day's work, they had to send their
children most of the time. It was the village head who
transmitted the orders from the military. It was possible to
pay in order to be exempted from the work which had to be
carried out. Workers were not paid. Most of the time they had
to bring their own food, since no food was provided or, when
it was, the quantities were not sufficient. He shared the work
of portering with his older brother. Because he was so young,
his older brother had to work more often than he did. The last
time they had to do portering for the military was during the
last harvest. That assignment lasted three days and two
nights. He had to walk from his village to Tiwablaw and
Tilawthi (over the Dawna mountains). Portering was done in the
forest and over varied terrain. He was given a portion of
stale rice. He worked with three to five porters for 30 to 40
soldiers. He had to carry food, ammunition and pots for
cooking. When he was unable to carry the load that had been
assigned to him, the soldiers would shout at him and force him
to carry on. He had also been beaten and did not receive any
medical treatment. He had to work for the military camp five
days prior to this departure. He worked at that camp for the
first time when he was only 13 years old. The work consisted
of building fences, digging ditches, carrying water for the
camp, and installing bamboo spikes which he had previously
cut. He also worked on the construction of the camp. He had to
alternate between three days of work and three days of rest.
Previously, it had been his parents who did the work exacted
by the military. Now, he shared this burden with his brother.
All boys over 12 years old in the village had to perform work
for the military. He was not paid but he could not refuse
to work since he feared being beaten. He had been beaten on
two occasions by the military. The military would shout at the
children when they did not perform the work satisfactorily.
Children were not entitled to any rest and had to work from 7
a.m. to 5 p.m. They had to bring their own food, but were
allowed to go home for the night. On countless occasions he
had also worked on the construction of two roads leading to
Kawkareik. He had to do that until the road was finished.
About 40 people worked with him. Girls were not required to
work in the military camp, but had to work on road
construction by cutting bushes in order to make the road
wider. 
                    _________________________


182

Age/sex             13, male
Ethnicity:          Karen
Family situation:   Three (parents and him; no siblings)
Education:          1st Standard
Occupation:         His father farmed mangoes until the        
                    military built a camp on the land
                    township, Kayin State (village had 100     
                    families)

(The witness heard witness 181's statement and agreed with
it.) 

The witness left Myanmar in mid-February 1998. At his parents'
request, he stopped going to school because they needed him
to carry out the work required by the military. As they had to
provide for the family's needs, they could not afford to miss
a day's work and so sent their only son instead to do the
unpaid work. He had to work for the military for the first
time at the age of nine, four years ago. The order was
transmitted by the village head. In particular, he had to
carry water to the camp and cut down the bushes growing along
the roadside. He had to work for two days, rest the same
number of days, then carry on working to the same schedule. He
could not refuse to work. If he was tired, his friends helped
him with the work. He did not have to do portering, but the
military used him twice to detect mines hidden around the
village. His father's brother also worked for the military,
including portering. 
                    _________________________


183 

Ethnicity:          Karen
Age/sex:            13, male
Family situation:   Five (him, parents, older brother and
                    sister)
Education:          None
                    township, Kayin State (village had 100     
                    families)

(The witness heard witness 181's statement and agreed with
it.)

The witness left Myanmar in mid-February 1998. In Myanmar, his
parents did not allow him to go to school because they needed
him to do the work exacted by the military. He therefore
worked for the military camp, carrying water, putting up
fences and digging ditches. He worked for the first time at
the age of nine, four years ago. The orders from the military
on work to be done were transmitted by the village head. He
had to work for one day, rest one day, then work again
following the same schedule. He did not do any portering.
However his father had done it on several occasions, each
assignment lasting about three days. His mother had not done
forced labour. His sister had worked on the building of a
road. She went to the site in the morning and came home in the
evening. None of the work was paid. Finally, on six occasions,
he was requisitioned by the military to find mines hidden
around the village. 
                    _________________________

[END OF SLICE 42]