Burma Link | June 20, 2017

Saw Say Moo is a 27-year-old ethnic Karen refugee from Mu Traw district, Karen state. Ever since he was born, Say Moo has had a challenging life. With his two siblings and his parents, both farmers, Say Moo had to continually flee from his village to escape the fighting between the Burma Army and the Karen National Union (KNU). Escape for him and his family was by foot several hours into the jungle. Say Moo remembers sleeping in a bamboo hut that his parents built, but it lacked a proper roof. They arranged leaves above them for some shelter, but the rainy season was a difficult time. There was also another 2-room bamboo hut that served as their school in addition to a separate hut for the children to use for their studies. Sometimes, though, Say Moo and other children just studied in the jungle with no shelter.

Whilst armed conflict and displacement was an ongoing challenge, for Say Moo the biggest struggle of all was for education, and villagers made every effort to continue to provide schooling in unimaginable circumstances. As the fighting raged on, Say Moo’s family and other villagers stayed in the jungle for years, too afraid to return to their farm. They built a life for themselves along a river in the jungle, cultivating whatever they could to survive. Finally in 2004, the fighting ceased for a while and the family returned to their farm. Back in the village, the village chief and parents worked hard to find a teacher, though they still had no access to textbooks. While studying grades 3 and 4, Say Moo and his classmates had no books at all for their studies, and although the teacher was later able to secure textbooks, they were usually not at the students’ grade level. In the village, Say Moo was able to study up to grade 6.

When Say Moo was 17, he moved to Mae La Oon refugee camp to continue his studies. After finishing grade 12, he moved to Mae La refugee camp, the biggest of the camps along the Thai border, and a centre for education. There he was able to study at Leadership and Management Training College (LMTC), one of the post-ten schools in the camp. Once there, he studied a Science Major for the first two years and English Major for another two years. In 2011, during his second year at LMTC, Say Moo became a member of KSNG. After completing LMTC, Say Moo taught for two years, at No. (5) high school in Mae La refugee camp and another year at the Kaw Moo Ra School on the border of Karen State and Thailand. After those two years, KSNG held an election and voted for Say Moo to come back and work at the KSNG Center as the Publication Editor for Student Friends’ magazine. He now leads student groups of political and educational activists and shares information with those in the camps and in Burma as well.

Among Say Moo’s most important hopes for refugees is getting their education recognised, which would lead to more opportunities. Even though his education is not yet recognised, he sees how school has helped him become more competent and confident and wants to open more doors for other refugees as well. His work with KSNG is something else he is rightly proud of as it has given him travel opportunities and exposure to make a difference with the next generation.

[/fusion_separator]

The following interview is a compilation of several interview occasions (taking place between October 2016 and January 2017) that were conducted as part of the joint documentary “Unrecognised Leaders, Tomorrow’s Hope: Raising the Voices of Forgotten Youth” by Burma Link, Karen Student Network Group (KSNG) and Karen Youth Organisation (KYO), which was launched in a press conference in Rangoon on February 22, 2017, (Burmese version) and initially screened in Mae Sot on April 6 (English version). The 52-minute documentary amplifies the voices of displaced ethnic youth who live on the Thailand-Burma border, highlighting their calls for inclusion in political processes and recognition of refugee education certificates.

Burma Link started planning this documentary film project in August 2016, consulting numerous refugee-led organisations and other organisations working on refugee issues and producing advocacy films to set the direction for the project. Based on our positive experiences working with refugee youth along the Thailand-Burma border for years, we decided to focus on creating a film that would amplify the voices of the youth, share their stories, and enhance national and international awareness and support for the realisations of social and political aspirations of the youth. The project was planned and conducted in close collaboration with two local youth organisations: the Karen Student Network Group (KSNG) and the Karen Youth Organisation (KYO).  We also partnered with the Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network (APRRN) and Right to Play who support the distribution and advocacy of the film. The central role of education in the film grew organically during the filming and interviewing process, as did the youth’s strong pleas for national and international actors to recognise and support their education.

Burma Link’s team members involved in planning the project all have years of first-hand experience from the Thai refugee camps and working with young refugees. Over the years spent along the border area and in the refugee camps, we have developed a thorough understanding of the security context and how it has changed over time. This context has been given serious consideration ever since the beginning of the planning process, and appreciating its complexity and state of constant flux, we started the planning process by arranging meetings with central actors including various local organisations. Considerable time was spent in considering the security aspects about this project before the filming started. Everyone taking part was clearly explained about the project and that it will be spread to local, national and international audiences as widely as possible. Everyone taking part has been given the option to be anonymous and unidentified.

For more information and screenings, please visit the film’s website and follow the Facebook page.

The following interview is the eight one in a series that we have been publishing during the past weeks. This interview series is meant to give more in depth understanding into the situation of young ethnic refugees from Burma as well as refugee advocacy and Burma’s political situation. This interview is a compilation of several interviews conducted with Say Moo over the course of the filming process. The text has been edited and some parts have been omitted for flow and clarity.

[/fusion_separator]

Growing up amidst conflict: ‘If there was fighting they

[Burma Army] came into our village and burned down the whole village’

I grew up in a small village in Mu Traw district, Karen State. Mostly, we lived next to the farmland because our village mainly depends on farming and less on cultivation. Houses are far away from each other and mostly built beside farmlands. Speaking of Burma’s military, they came to our village and troubled us. There was no freedom and safety for us so we had to flee.

In my village, because of the military’s movement and disturbance, we had to move from place to place. I studied from Kindergarten A to Grade 8 in my village. It was an unstable education. Sometimes we had to study in the jungle. One example, one thing that I remember is when the Burma military and KNU were fighting nearby my village. We all had to flee to another place. At that time, I was around 14 years old.

The KNU and Burma Army started fighting, so we had to flee. At that time, I was young and I felt like it was really difficult for me to flee. During the fighting we stayed in the jungle. They [Burma Army] were shooting their guns and if we got shot by the bullets they would not take responsibility. I felt like they treated us like animals.

It happened on December 26 in the morning. At that time, we were preparing breakfast. Then we heard the sound of shooting guns. My mother was pregnant, and she was also carrying my younger brother when we ran. Mostly the situation was like if there was fighting they [Burma Army] came into our village and burned down the whole village. Fortunately, at that time they came into the village and they just took only our properties.

[/fusion_separator]

Education on the run: ‘Mostly we had to live in the jungle’

When I was in Kindergarten A and Kindergarten B, we didn’t know anything. But when I went up to Grade 3 and Grade 4, I remember that we had no text books to study with. We didn’t have exact curriculum either. We just took some textbooks from other local places. The teacher taught us using whatever Grade text book [they could find]. They [for example] taught Grade 4 text book for Grade 2 students.

We had a school, but it was built of bamboo. We had two bamboo school buildings. Sometimes we studied in the jungle, because the situation was unstable. We had to run all the time from the military. Our parents and the village chief tried to plan for us to continue our education even though the situation was not really good. They gathered the teachers for us to teach us even when we were in the jungle. Sometimes when we were in the jungle, our parents built a hut for us to study. Sometimes we had to study under the big trees.

Mostly, when we were running we didn’t have a chance to study normally. Sometimes we had to close the school for three or four days or for the whole week. We just studied in the jungle and under the big trees. If the situation was better our parents built a more normal sleeping place but it had no roof. They just made a place with some leaves and it was so hard for us in the rainy season.

I cannot remember exactly. But mostly we had to live in the jungle. Before there was no ceasefire signed, our life was rotating in the jungle. We did not dare to come back to our farm. The distance between our village and the jungle [hideout] was 3 hours [on foot]. We survived and lived our lives beside the river and cultivated [rice] in the forest.  In 2004, there were ceasefire talks and we came back to our farm.

I feel like when I was growing up, I had many villages, because we had to run all the time. Since I passed Grade 8, I haven’t frequently stayed with my family until now.

[/fusion_separator]

Refugee education: ‘We learned more about history and about our Karen people and politics’

I lived in my village until [I was] 17 years old and then I moved to Mae la Oon [refugee] camp. At that time, a person from [Karen] Education Department came to our village and explained to us about education in the refugee camps. They made relationships with our parents and then we followed them with one of my relatives to the camp, but it was not easy to go to the camp, because in some of the places the military camps were located between [our village and] the refugee camps. Not only us followed them, [but] they contacted our local leaders and three students followed them. Then we, the three students, stayed in the dormitory.

If we compare the education system between the Karen State and the camp, it is very different because here we have a curriculum. When we lived in the Karen State, we can say that we did not have a real curriculum or real text books for every student. We can say that we were not sure which standard [grade] we were on.

When I lived in the refugee camp, I kept on studying so that I could attend post-ten level. We learned more about history and about our Karen people and politics; these subjects made me move forward to analyze information and learn more. After grade 10, I moved to Mae La camp for further study at LMTC [Leadership and Management Training College] school. It was very different from high school because post-ten is for the youth. At post- ten level, the teacher allowed us to study freely and to create our own thinking. It was like a special opportunity.

When I was attending the second year at LMTC, I started to work with KSNG as a member. KSNG has ten groups including the headquarters. In 2016, KSNG had a new election and they chose me to come back and work at the KSNG headquarters. I took responsibility to share information [as the Magazine Editor] and lead the KSNG members. We took some information from our leaders to encourage youth for political activities and education. The [Karen language] magazine includes poems, songs, cartoons, information, youth issues and comedy etc. It is important because our main focus is the students, but when we share it, we share it with everyone who can read it. That’s why we can see that writing and reading are important. If we can’t read, we won’t know what’s happening. Because if they don’t get a chance to read, they will lack knowledge.

If I compare my life in the past and now I feel like I have contributed to many things for my people and my community. I have traveled to many places, because I work for an organization and I feel like I can help my people more than my friends who stay in my village. I have more knowledge and ideas. It doesn’t mean I look down them, it means they can contribute only around the village. For me, I can help my people in the wider community and I can travel to places that I have never been to before.

[/fusion_separator]

Refugee situation: ‘No one wants to return, because if they return, they know that they will have to run again like in the past’

When we live in refugee camps, when we want to move outside the camps, we need to ask for a permission from the commander. We cannot go freely. When we ask for the permission, we need to pay. Either we pay something or we cannot get out freely, sometimes it’s very difficult for refugees to travel, to go outside of the camps; they are not free.

When we graduate from refugee education, we want to continue our further study but it is not easy. This is why we would like to ask on behalf of the refugee youth to recognise refugee camp [education] and give us opportunities. If you have a recognised education certificate, it will be easy to get a job and people won’t look down on you. If you have a certificate which is not recognised, it’s not easy for you to work anywhere. For example, if we graduate from the refugee camps and we go back to Burma to work for the government or a company, they won’t accept it. We stay in the camp and graduate and want to work in Thailand, or anywhere else, they are not going to accept us since our certificate is not recognised.

I can say that right now it is very difficult for them [refugees], it is not a good situation for the refugees. They discuss about refugee return, repatriation, but right now this is not a time to go back yet, because the political situation is not good at all, we can say. There is fighting and abuse of human rights, things like this happen in many places inside Burma. Yes, we can say that right now they are fighting in the Karen State, Kachin and Shan States, so we cannot believe the government, I mean the Burma government.

If Burma changes someday, if Burma has a democratic system, real democracy and genuine, good situation, then they don’t need to ask or force the refugees to return; refugees would already want to go back to their homeland because here is not our homeland.

No one wants to live in another country, they want to back, but because of the bad situation, no one wants to return, because if they return, they know that they will have to run again like in the past.

We don’t want to live in the refugee camps forever. I feel like living in our original place is better than living in a refugee camp. But the place where we go back to must be safe for us. If it is not safe, it is not possible for us to go back.

[/fusion_separator]

Becoming a refugee rights advocate: ‘It is very important that youth issues in the refugee camps reach the international communities’

If we advocate for young people in the refugee camps, the main issue to advocate for is their rights. For example, right to learn what they want to learn without distress. I mean the education system in the camps is not recognised [by Thai or Burma Government], but our Karen people recognise it. The government doesn’t recognise our education [which is problematic] especially when we want to go and study abroad. I want to raise this issue for young people in the refugee camps.

Some youth don’t want to study. Some youth use drugs and are not obedient. Some youth go out of the camps looking for jobs, and I feel like these things happen to the youth because of the various pressures that come with a life in a refugee camp. They might feel distressed because of the civil war in their country and not being able to live in their country. We have to live in another country and we don’t get rights as other people get. These are some of the issues that I want to raise.

I feel like if there are opportunities for them [young people in the camps], it will be good. I have been living in the camps and I’ve seen that some young people have a lot of abilities and skills, as I have a close relationship with them. For example, some young people are very good at sport, music and education. They have different talents, but they can only use them in the camp. They don’t have a right to continue and use their talents outside of the camp. It will be very good if we can support them to use their skills outside of the refugee camps. The new generation would be able to show their talents and the lives of young people in the refugee camps would change if we support them.

There are so many problem they [young refugees] face now. Even though we say education is free, they still have to pay a small fee. To support this, we need international organizations to help us. One more thing I would like to add is that we should increase support for school teachers, because they are the main group working closely with students and youth. I personally feel that school teachers are very important. If we support them more, they [students] will perform better at school. There are many other issues similar to this happening in the camps, but I cannot explain them all. This is one example that I want to give to the international community.

I have a strong feeling to advocate for refugee rights but I believe that this is not a small issue and we cannot do it by ourselves. We need someone who can support and encourage us.

It won’t be successful if we do it on our own or as a single organisation. It is very important that youth issues in the refugee camps reach the international communities.

[/fusion_separator]

Political situation and change: ‘We need to change the constitution first’

My dream for Burma’s future is that I want Burma to be controlled by a good government, and we don’t want any more wars in Burma. All the ethnic groups should work together and control Burma together. If we do like this, then maybe there will be no more wars in our country. Then our country will improve more and more.

Regarding the current political situation in Burma, I feel like it is very dirty, not clean, because the people who are in politics are lying; they want to get rid of [non-Burman] ethnic groups in Burma. It is very dangerous because we can say that the Burmese military and I mean the government, they play bad political games, like they use abuse human rights […] this is very dangerous for us, for everyone who lives in the country.

[The situation] depends on the government because the government has the power to control the country. If they really want to improve or really want to make the country better, then firstly, those in the government have to keep their promises and they shouldn’t break their promises, because their citizens trust and believe them. Now I can say that I do not trust the government… . But we can see that they have maybe no power to control the whole Burma, because the power is staying with the military; the Burmese military has all the power. And I never believe, I never trust the military.

For me, when the leaders, the government, make a policy or make decisions, they need to call young people to be included. We know that one day, the old people will pass away, so the old people will not be holding onto their power forever. When they go away the new generation will have to pick up their jobs and keep going, so I think young people are very important for the country to pick up the leaders’ work and continue fighting [for positive change].

In my opinion, I think that the ethnic people in Burma, we have to meet again and again and build more trust. We need to build more trust and discuss and talk about how to improve our country, because Burma is our country.

If I was in the government, first I would ask the citizens what they want, what they need. Then I would discuss with my neighbors, other leaders, and then we would need to do what they [the people] want. I think we need to change the constitution first. We have to ask our villagers and people what they want, because the government is nominated by them. If we don’t listen to them, if we only prioritise one or two groups to take power then the country will never be in peace I would say. If we listen to the citizens and what they need, and then if we do what they say, maybe I think the situation gets better and better, and our country will be better very soon.

Eventually, I would like to say that most of the things are related to youth. In the future, whether in Burma or the world, the most important thing is the youth. We have to work together and hold our hands together, then the world will be full of beauty.

[/fusion_separator]

For more information and screenings, please visit the film’s website and follow the Facebook page.

You may also like: