‘I want peace, I really want it to be true’

I saw them torturing people

Noe Myint comes from Tah U Kee village in Belin Township, KNU Brigade 1 area. He spent much of his childhood in hiding.

My father was a KNU soldier. I couldn’t go to school properly because my father was a soldier and we had to leave the village often. I only went to school for two years.

Sometimes I had to follow my parents to the jungle. We had to stay in the jungle hiding from the Burmese military. Burmese military knew that my father was fighting for the Karen revolution so we were afraid of them and had to go and hide in the jungle. Sometimes we would also stay in our farm outside the village… I was young when I was in the village so I don’t remember much of that time. But I saw Burma Army soldiers come to the village to catch porters. I saw them torturing people who didn’t want to go portering.

 

At the time we didn’t know about Thailand

In 1974 Ne Win started Four Cuts policy. At the time the SPDC asked every ‘rebel’ soldier to surrender and stop fighting the Burma Army.

My father had to go to military camps and couldn’t stay in the house. Burma Army knew about him… Burma Army came to the village and asked my mother to call my father back and to tell them where he was. They

[Burmese soldiers] asked my mother to look for her husband and bring him back… My mother didn’t want to tell them anything.

At the time we didn’t know about Thailand or the border or a place to get away from the Burmese military. But my father knew because he worked on the border with the KNU… We fled to the Thailand-Burma border to Mae Ta Wan Gate… We came the jungle way, walking across the jungle to Thailand.

Noe Myint traveled with their father and some other soldiers and their families. On the way they had to sleep in the jungle, climb over mountains, and also avoid the Burmese military. Noe Myint was 12 years old at the time.

In 1981, when we were already on the border, Burma Army came and fought with the KNU in Mae Ta Wan. That was the first time Burma Army attacked KNU there. There was fighting so we moved to Baw Naw camp for a while to stay away from the fighting. After Burma Army went back we went back to Mae Ta Wan.

In 1983, Burma Army came again and attacked the KNU camp. This time they conquered the place and we had to leave and move to Baw Naw refugee camp.

 

I started working for revolution in 1988

Noe Myint has three brothers and two sisters. They all came to the border together.

When we were on the border we went to school in Mae Ta Wan, which is close to a KNU camp.  The KNU leader General Bo Mya looked after us when we arrived to the border. We couldn’t afford school fees so General Bo Mya supported ten young students from soldier families to go to school for three years, including me… We all became soldiers afterwards as we wanted to help the Karen.

Noe Myint explains that they were under no obligation to join the army after finishing school. They didn’t know another way to help the Karen than to become soldier.

Of the ten friends, now I am the only one left in KNU. Some of my friends died in battle and some became DKBA.

Noe Myint also had a chance to attend EVA school in Baw Naw refugee camp in 1984.

I finished T4 in EVA. After I finished studying I became a soldier. I started working for revolution in 1988. That’s over twenty years ago now.

As I grew up in KNU military camps I heard a lot of stories about the Burmese military abusing the Karen. Growing up in that environment I also wanted to become a soldier and fight for my country… I became a soldier, not because other people forced me, but because I wanted to help my country and my people. Not because I wanted to kill the Burmese. But I have to kill. If the Burmese soldiers start shooting we have to defend ourselves and fight them back.

I became a soldier in 1988. Around the same time I got married… I met my wife in Baw Naw camp. I was already a soldier then.

 

SPDC played religion to separate the Karen

In 1995, KNU split into two groups when DKBA split off from KNU. DKBA are Buddhist and all my family are Buddhists and my family felt like they had to follow DKBA. I am Christian… I became Christian when I studied the bible in EVA school.

When DKBA went back to Burma they called all Buddhists to follow them. My whole family went back with DKBA. Buddhists had to go back… I didn’t join DKBA because I believed that they are not going to do anything for their people. That they’re not fighting for the Karen. I felt that the KNU is my home.

It’s not like the conflict started by itself, the SPDC created this religious conflict. It started from small quarrels between Christians and Buddhists and became bigger. It’s not that the Karen wanted to separate, SPDC created the split and the fighting between KNU and DKBA. In the KNU and DKBA both they have Buddhists and Christians together. SPDC played religion to separate the Karen.

Before the Karen were fighting for the revolution. That was their goal. But SPDC changed their goal to fighting for their religion. They were not fighting for revolution anymore and couldn’t reach that goal now. Instead they were just fighting for their religion and couldn’t even see they were all Karen.

 

Burma Army asked the DKBA to come and attack the refugee camps

Burma Army promised DKBA that if they get Manerplaw for the Burmese then they will get their own country. The Burmese deceived the DKBA, they lied to them. After DKBA helped Burmese get Manerplaw they weren’t given their country. The Burmese broke their promise, they didn’t give DKBA the country they were promised. Later a lot of Karen people also started losing trust on DKBA.

Soon after DKBA split from the KNU, DKBA came to Baw Naw refugee camp and asked all the refugees to go back with them to Burma. The refugees who didn’t want to follow them, the DKBA burnt down their houses. They said if they don’t go back they will burn their houses and they did… Some refugees went back to Burma with DKBA and others fled to other refugee camps.

I was lucky that I wasn’t there at the time, I had been sent to the front lines. DKBA burnt down my house and my wife and family moved to Mae La refugee camp.

At the time there were about 400-500 houses in Baw Naw camp. About 300 houses were burnt down. One girl died when her house was burnt down. A lot of villagers went back because they were afraid. Others went to other refugee camps… Burma Army asked the DKBA to come and attack the refugee camps. DKBA soldiers brought weapons with them but they weren’t shooting, just burning.

 

We want peace and we want democracy

Noe Myint explains about the Karen armed groups.

Afterwards, DKBA also split into two groups, BGF [Border Guard Force] and DKBA. KNU now has a ceasefire with DKBA and also with BGF. BGF is part of the Burmese military. DKBA also has a ceasefire with Burma Army.

In 2010 when DKBA came and fought KNU in this military base camp, KNU didn’t want to kill Karen DKBA soldiers. Burma Army sent DKBA in front and was waiting behind them. So when DKBA came KNU retreated. They didn’t want to kill Karen soldiers… It was the same thing with Manerplaw, DKBA had to go in the front and BA was at the back.

They now start realising that they don’t want to fight each other. They are sick of fighting. When they fight just more and more people die, so now they agreed to have a ceasefire… We want peace and we want democracy. We don’t want fighting anymore.

 

Our leaders are working around the table for the ceasefire

Now DKBA are also against the Burmese military. If Burmese don’t shoot DKBA won’t shoot them either. Now BGF are part of the Burmese military and they get salary from the Burmese government. If Burma Army asks BGF to fight they have to fight. If they fight DKBA, DKBA will also have to fight them back.

In reality the Karen don’t want to fight each other, like BGF doesn’t want to fight DKBA or KNU, and DKBA and KNU don’t want to fight each other either. None of them want to shoot other Karen. They’ve only fought other Karen because Burma Army has asked them to… Now we have ceasefire and KNU soldiers can go to DKBA camps and talk with them, if they don’t bring their weapons. KNU can go visit DKBA if you don’t bring your gun. They can talk to each other.

Even if we see Burmese soldiers now we don’t shoot or fight each other because now our leaders are working around the table for the ceasefire. Now we have ceasefire and we will continue towards peace.

 

I used to fight alongside my son… He died in the battle

I used to be fighting in the battle fields and front lines. In the battle field, Burma Army would start shooting and then we would shoot back. We always want peace, we never shoot first. But we have to defend ourselves. Sometimes Burma Army would come to us, to our place, and we had to shoot to defend the area.

Sometimes we would stay in the battlefield for months, sometimes go to villages and talk to them about the Karen and encourage them. When we go to battlefield, we take food and rice with us, and villagers also help us with everything they can. Villagers always welcome us and want to help us. We always let the village chief know before we come so they know it is KNU soldiers and not DKBA or Burma Army.

I now live in Mae La refugee camp whenever my services are not needed by the KNU. We have three children. One of our sons was a soldier and died in battle and the other has been resettled to Australia. Our daughter lives in Mae La with us… I used to fight alongside my son and we stayed together in the camp. At the time my son was called for the frontline when DKBA attacked. I was left in the camp and my son went to frontline. He died in the battle of a DKBA bomb.

 

We didn’t know that it would be important to register [with UNHCR]

Noe Myint and his wife are not registered with the UNHCR, although their children are.

Our daughter is not yet 18 years old so she can’t be resettled. At the time of UNHCR registration we [Noe Myint and his wife] were away working and our children were staying in Mae La with their grandparents. So the children registered. But we were away and couldn’t register, and we didn’t know that it would be important to register.

Noe Myint explains that UNHCR did not take registrations all the time in 2004 and 2005.

At the time of registration I was working to earn extra money. At the time I was also looking after some orphans who stayed with us and I had to go away sometimes to earn extra money to support them all.

 We didn’t realise we should register so we thought it’s just fine not to go back. We regret it now. When we realised our son could go to a third country because he registered we felt regret. Now our children can go but we cannot go. We cannot reunite.

 

I have been living in Mae La camp for about 20 years but I am still not registered

Noe Myint says that their son has tried to call them to join him in Australia but they can’t because they are not registered with the UNHCR.

My son was 18 when he went to Australia. He went with his grandparents from his mother’s side… We are in contact regularly and he is happy in Australia. He is happy because the country is democratic and you don’t need to fear, you don’t need to hide. You can be free. There is no worry living in Australia. Not like living in Thailand as a refugee. He is now studying and working. He now has rights as a citizen.

We want to go to Australia because our son is there and all my wife’s family members are there. But we cannot because we are not registered… Our son has been in Australia for three years now. He visited Mae La one time. He has a passport and visa and he can come visit.

I have been living in Mae La camp for about 20 years but I am still not registered with the UN. I am still like the other ‘new’ refugees. I was told that I will be registered with the UN later as a ‘return’ refugee. I was told to wait.

 

My uncle wanted to help the orphans and knew he couldn’t help them much in Burma

Noe Myint and his wife have been looking after orphans who have arrived to Mae La camp from Burma.

Altogether I have looked after eight orphans who arrived from Burma. In the beginning it was very difficult because it took about one year to get rations from TBC for the orphans. It always took months, maximum one year.

We had to work very hard to provide for them and to buy them food. Even after they got rations we still had to pay for their school fees… I paid for the orphans to attend EVA school in Mae La. One foreigner from Canada also helped me with the orphans for one year. Now she is not here anymore.

I did any kind of work to get money, usually daily wage for example in a corn field. Sometimes you have to look to find better paid work. Sometimes I go very far away from the camp to work. Because it is illegal it is hard to come back. It takes a lot of time and it’s not easy. That is another reason why we didn’t come back when the UN was registering. If we had known that it would be important for our future, if we had known we could go to a third country, we would have come back. But at the time we didn’t know.

The orphans were sent to Noe Myint by one of his uncles in Burma.

They became orphans because of a big storm or cyclone in Burma. They started arriving in 2003. The orphans came to see if I could look after them, if I could they would stay, if I couldn’t they wouldn’t stay. They all stayed at least for some years. My uncle wanted to help the orphans and knew he couldn’t help them much in Burma… Five have gone back to Burma now and there are three left in the camp… Now they can work and look after themselves.

 

I hope that foreign countries will help us to make sure that the Burma Army will not deceive us

There are no winners in the war. Neither Burma Army or KNU win, both sides lose. We have to work for revolution because we want our people to have good lives. Now the new government wants to change everything. We agreed to ceasefire and later we will ask for peace. We will continue asking for peace.

Now there is no more Four Cuts policy. There is ceasefire. Now they are not shooting each other and the Burma Army is not abusing the villagers as much… The villagers are still scared of the Burma Army but there is not much abuse now, and no portering because there is no fighting so they don’t need porters to carry their arms and equipment.

The Burmese military has deceived KNU many times but now they have this ceasefire and I think that they will not deceive us this time because people all over the world know about this. If the international community and foreign countries help us then Burma Army will not dare to deceive us… Burma Army has told us before that they will give us our own country, but they never have. They lied. We have to do the revolution, not because we want the whole country, we just want our own land and we want our people to live in their own land with their own rule.  They [Burma Army] also deceived DKBA.

International community believes the President and the government. They know about Burma now… If the government is lying to us, we just hope that if the other countries help us then this government will not easily deceive us. I hope that foreign countries will help us to make sure that the Burma Army will not deceive us… It’s hard for them to deceive us because a lot of countries have invested a lot of money in Burma now. Not easy for them to lie again.

 

We are always prepared, never asleep

We want democracy, we want revolution. As soon as possible, very soon. Not only Karen, all ethnics want this. Some Burma Army soldiers also say they don’t want fighting, they want peace.

I want foreign countries to help us. Now there has been fighting for so long. No one has won, there is no victory, not for Burma Army, not for KNU. Only more and more soldiers have died. The leaders haven’t died, only soldiers. We don’t need any fighting because it is not the answer. We cannot solve this problem like this. The soldiers don’t need to die now and also the villagers don’t need to die now. Everybody needs democracy and freedom. We need freedom.

All we have to do is focus on the country and to change the country, to get democracy, to work together for democracy. Fighting only causes more people to die… The leaders are trying to solve the problem ‘on the table’. The army is different, always prepared to fight. But you cannot win the revolution fighting, it must be won on the negotiation table. The army is to defend. The fighting can never end if that’s all there is. More and more people just die. You never get your country, your revolution. It must be solved on the table.

I believe our leaders are doing good things, they know better. But it is hard to believe the government… Now there is ceasefire. But Burma Army has been moving their troops closer and closer to KNU and also bringing in more troops… That’s why we have to be prepared. I believe them maybe 50%. We are always prepared, never asleep… I want peace, I really want it to be true.

Foreign countries don’t need to support us with weapons or something like that. Just to know and be a witness to what is happening. So it will be difficult for the Burmese government to break their promise, to break their agreement.

  

Noe Myint’s story is based on an interview with Burma Link. Written by Burma Link.