No matter how hard I worked, I couldn’t even save 1 kyat per day

U Soe Myint never got a chance to learn how to read or write. He wasn’t able to go to school because he and his siblings had to work in their parents’ rice farm. They lived in a small rural Karen village in Tharawaddy District, Pegu Region. The village had a small school but many village children couldn’t attend because they were needed in the farms.

Life got a lot harder for U Soe Myint when he was around 10 years old and his father died. The children had to do all the work in the farm in order to support themselves and their mother. The family struggled to make a living.

It wasn’t easy, we were poor. Usually we only ate rice. When I was a teenager I wanted to buy nice clothes to wear. But we couldn’t buy anything. We only had one set of clothing to wear. No matter how hard I worked, I couldn’t even save 1 kyat per day.

We were very afraid of being forced to porter for them [Burma Army]

U Soe Myint and his family also had to constantly worry about the armed conflict between the Karen National Union (KNU) and the Burma Army that was taking place near their village.

Many Karen came down from the mountains to live in our village and the nearby area. They fled the Burmese military and some of them were forced to relocate from their villages. Burmese military had a camp near our village. They forced all local farmers to store their rice in the military base camp. Villagers had to take turns to guard the rice store.

When U Soe Myint was around 26 years old one of his uncles came for a visit from the Karen State. U Soe Myint heard that people were making a lot of money in the area due to illegal cross-border trade to Thailand. He decided to leave and go to Tawarta village, near Hlaing Bwe, with his uncle. U Soe Myint still remembers that the journey cost 70 kyat.

It wasn’t very difficult to get to Hlaing Bwe but it was dangerous. Burmese military had started the Four Cuts policy and we were very afraid of being forced to porter for them.

U Soe Myint and his uncle made it to Tawarta village but found that things were getting worse for the Karen people. Many people around Hlaing Bwe were increasingly worried about the Burma Army’s Four Cuts policy and the abuse of villagers, especially forced portering.

We climbed on trees or hid in the jungle whenever the Burmese soldiers came

In Tawarta village, U Soe Myint met a beautiful Karen woman and fell in love. They married and soon after were expecting their first child.

It wasn’t safe to live in the village.

Burma Army had a military camp very close to our village and the soldiers often came to look for porters. They came and caught anyone they could find to use as porters. They caught men but also women. Villagers were very afraid of becoming porters. We climbed on trees or hid in the jungle whenever the Burmese soldiers came. We waited until it was safe to return.

U Soe Myint and his wife were afraid that U Soe Myint would be forced to become a porter. They also found it hard to survive in the village. They decided that U Soe Myint should go to Thailand where he could work and send money back to his family. U Soe Myint’s wife had to stay in the village and look after her sick father so they knew they would need to separate.

At the same time, it wasn’t easy to come back to the village once you had left.

It wasn’t difficult to leave the village but it was difficult to come back. The Burma Army collected records of who left the village and the village chief was forced to deny villagers entry back into the village.

U Soe Myint knew that he might not be able to see his wife or young daughter for a long time.

I was scared because I knew I could step on a landmine anytime

After one year in Tawarta, U Soe Myint started walking through the jungle to Thailand. He didn’t know which way to go so he followed some other people who knew how to get there. There was a pathway through the jungle. There were also some villages and the villagers helped them to find the way.

It took us two days to walk. For women it usually takes three days. I was scared because I knew I could step on a landmine anytime.

U Soe Myint made it safely across the border and found work building roads in Tak Province. He later worked as a boat driver helping people to cross the river marking the border between Burma and Thailand. For about 30 years, U Soe Myint worked on the border and kept sending money to his family in Tawarta village.

U Soe Myint tried to visit his family in Tawarta as much as possible but it was very difficult. He had to approach the village very carefully and look and see if there were Burmese soldiers in the village. He couldn’t go to the village if there were soldiers. Sometimes he took the journey without even seeing his family.

Sometimes I sneaked into the village but other times I couldn’t go there. I had to sleep in the nearby graveyard.

Over the years, U Soe Myint and his wife had two more children.

Ever since we got married he has worn the same clothes

In 2006, U Soe Myint’s wife’s father passed away and she could leave Tawarta village. The Burmese military were still frequently coming to the village to catch porters and U Soe Myint and his wife were especially worried about their two grown-up sons to be conscripted. Their daughter had already gone to Mae La refugee camp so the family decided to go there.

After 30 years of separation, U Soe Myint was finally reunited with his family in Mae La.

Life in the refugee camp is much better than life in the village. We don’t have to worry about the Burmese military or not having food to eat. Our children could go to school and when we are sick we can go to the hospital.

U Soe Myint and his wife also felt that it was very important to have access to a hospital as his wife is often ill.

She has low blood pressure and needs to go to the hospital every month.

Although U Soe Myint and his wife are poor they are very happy to live in Mae La.

Ever since we got married he has worn the same clothes, says U Soe Myint’s wife.

They earn some extra money by breeding animals next to their house. They also like to breed animals because there is not much to do in the camp. U Soe Myint sometimes works outside the camp for a few days and his wife also collects leaves and makes thatch roofs in order to sell them.

They used to give us much more rice but the ration has gotten smaller and smaller. We usually get enough rice but sometimes we have to buy more.

U Soe Myint and his wife now live in Mae La with their niece who attends one of the post-ten schools in the camp. Two of their sons are now working in a shrimp factory in Bangkok while their daughter has been resettled to Norway where she lives with her husband.

Family reunion is not possible because we are not registered with the UNHCR

U Soe Myint’s daughter first came to Mae La alone at a time when UNHCR was registering refugees. She was living with another family in the camp and was registered as a part of that family. When U Soe Myint and the rest of the family came to Mae La UNHCR had stopped taking registrations. U Soe Myint’s daughter was later resettled to Norway.

We want to go to Norway and live with our daughter. But family reunion is not possible because we are not registered with the UNHCR.

One of U Soe Myint’s sons recently married a Karen girl who has been resettled to Australia. The couple knew each other for a long time before they got married in the camp only a few months ago. She is now two months pregnant but as he is not registered with the UNHCR he doesn’t know how to reunite with his family. He thus keeps working in the shrimp factory in Bangkok while his wife and unborn child stay thousands of miles away in Sydney.

U Soe Myint’s other son is also married and separated from his wife who lives in Mae La. It is too expensive for them to live together in Bangkok, so U Soe Myint’s son works in Bangkok and keeps sending money to his wife in Mae La.

Since I became a human being, I have never seen things get better in Burma

We have heard that we might have to go back and we are not happy. We want our children to be resettled and help us go to third countries. If we cannot stay in the camp or be resettled, we want to stay in Thailand. We don’t want to go back because we have no money and it is so difficult to survive in the village.

After coming to Mae La, U Soe Myint and his family never went back to their village.

We have nothing there and we don’t want to go back. Some people say that things are better in Burma now but others say that things are not better, that there is still conflict. We have seen terrible things happen there. People have been caught and tortured… Since I became a human being I have never seen things get better in Burma. I have also heard that people now have to pay a lot of money if they want to plant rubber trees. I’m not sure if people still have to pay to farm rice.

U Soe Myint rarely thinks about his future. He and his wife hope that they can stay in Mae La. They worry how they will survive if they have to go back.

We are getting older and we hope our children will look after us. We are happy in Mae La and feel happy that our children grew up to be able to read and write. We don’t want to go back.

U Soe Myint’s story is based on an interview with him and his wife in Mae La refugee camp in March 2013. Written by Burma Link.