Burma Link | August 29, 2015

Kataerina, a Kayan (also known as Padaung) woman from Pyin Soung village in southern Shan State, is now 35 years old and has three daughters. Her life seems smooth for now, but it was tough and full of struggles for food, education and freedom. Kataerina’s story echoes so many voices from the people of Burma, who have had to endure child labour and an ongoing struggle for food and basic living standards. From armed conflict to being locked up and nearly killed by Burmese soldiers, Kataerina’s struggles finally led her to the Thailand-Burma border where she now lives in the Ban Mai Nai Soi refugee camp in Mae Hong Son Province. From Katarina’s story, you can learn more about the difficulties faced by the Kayan people in eastern Burma, where Kataerina hopes she will not be forced to return to.

 

According to Khun Anatasio Nay Zar, the founder of Kayan Community Development Services (KCDS), there are over 200,000 Kayan people living in Burma, scattered around southern Shan State, western Karenni State, northern Karen State, eastern Tanintharyi Region, and Mandalay Region. In most of these areas Kayan people suffer from lack of basic resources such as electricity, proper roads, hospitals and schools. They mainly rely on agriculture and some are daily workers. Most people live far away from cities and are very poor. Kayan people are mostly Buddhist, Christian, or animist, and their culture is very similar to other Karenni sub-cultures, although perhaps Kayan are the most well-known group due to the traditional practice of Kayan women extending their necks through the use of brass rings.

Most of the Kayan areas are controlled by the Kayan New Land Party (KNLP). The Kayan New Land Army (KNLA) and Burma Government signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. Now, Kayan people find themselves in a deadlock whereby although there is no fighting anymore, their lands are ruled by both the Burmese military and the KNLP, and ceasefire has brought no development to Kayan areas. According to Khun Anatasio Nay Zar, the only benefit from the ceasefire has been reduced armed conflict and the associated primarily Burma Army-run grave human rights violations.

Kayan people have, however, have at times had to endure oppression from both sides, and in some instances KNLP/KNLA soldiers have even tortures their people especially when under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or wanting to show their power or authority. The ethnic KNLP leadership has been problematic because it is not elected by the Kayan people, but the leaders are simply appointed to their positions by the KNLP. Ever since founding the party in 1986, the leadership has remained largely the same.

Kayan areas are mainly ruled by a shared power between Burmese authorities and a local Kayan government. According to Khun Anatasio Nay Zar, this arrangement is “not really effective for any development of the communities,” but it is better than if there were only Burmese soldiers and police. Under the ruling of the KNLP, Kayan people have to pay 5% to 10% tax to the party on trade, as well as paying tax to the Burmese security forces.

Khun Anatasio Nay Zar wants to tell the world that the Kayan people need help to develop their areas. “We want better education, transportation, electricity, and better jobs. We need a lot of help for the region,” he says. One way to help is through helping to build capacity of local organisations such as the KCDS, Kayan New Generation Youth (KNGY), and Kayan Women’s Organisation (KyWO).

 

We didn’t have enough food but we tried a lot’

When Kataerina lived in her native Pyin Soung village, there were brutal leaders and heavy taxing as well as rampant poverty and a widespread drug problem. Both the Burmese government and ethnic Kayan leaders were controlling the area.

The Burmese government is not good. Our ethnic people

[also] tortured us. Because the government is not good, some of the people or the leaders used authority so much. When I was young, the fighting happened and my house was broken. All the trees were destroyed.

We faced many difficulties and had to struggle a lot. […] My parents did farming but it was not really good. We didn’t get much benefit from that. We didn’t have enough food but we tried a lot. We (children) did selling and just helped our parents. We just depended on our own. Even though we worked, it was not enough. We lived in an old house. Our house was very old and it needed to be rebuilt. However, we couldn’t rebuild it until I was 20 years old. My parents are not educated people. So, they just did farming.

Poppy has been cultivated in southern Shan State and northern Karenni State for more than a decade. Opium production in southern Shan State reached 25,500 hectares in 2014 and it is 44% of total area of opium poppy cultivation in Burma, according to Southeast Asia Opium Survey 2014, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Kataerina said that the villagers used drugs as medicine.

When their abdomen is painful or they get diarrhea, they mix it with garlic and use it as medicine. They also use it when people get diarrhea with blood.

Kayan community_KCDS_web

 

I just know A B C D

Kataerina has five siblings and she had to take care of her little brother. When Kataerina was 11 years old and her little brother had grown up to look after himself, Kataerina was able to go to school where she learnt to read and write. Three years later, however, she had to quit the school and start selling goods with her friends to help her parents make a living.

I just attended primary school until grade two. I just know A B C D. My parents couldn’t support me to go to school and there was no one else who could work. I quit the school and worked for my family. Even though my parents did farming, it was not enough for the whole family. Because I worked, my family could eat daily. I sold things and helped my parents.

Kataerina didn’t have her own shop, so she could only go around and sell things from village to village on foot. She was 14 years old at the time.

I did trading. I did my own business. But some places we couldn’t go and buy things. […] There was one place, where if I would go and sell my goods I would get a higher price, but I was not allowed to go.

The road was slippery and there were many leeches in the rainy season. I had to climb down and up the mountains. Sometimes we had to spend the whole day in one village and sometimes just the morning. If we were going for the whole day, we packed some food to eat on the way.

 

I almost died at that time

One thing I don’t like in the village is Burmese soldiers. Because, they use their power. They don’t want us to sell things. They are always watching our steps. They always want to blame us.

The problem was that if we sold something, we had to pay for tax. When we traded, we couldn’t buy things that we wanted to buy. We couldn’t sell things that we wanted to sell. We had to ask their permission first. They had many rule for traders.

Kataerina was put into jail when she was only 17 years old. She was too afraid and did not dare to tell the soldiers anything.

There was one time when I visited the town Lwen Kaw for one month. At that time, Burmese soldiers checked me and questioned me a lot. They thought that I travelled outside and sold drugs. They came and caught me at 1 am. They caught me and sent me to jail for one month.

They don’t respect people when they (the soldiers) are drunk or use drugs. I had to help them when I was in the jail. I had to go with them when they went and solved problems in the villages. Then, I had to serve the leaders. I had to do cooking.

I almost died at that time because one of the soldiers used drugs and got drunk so he was going to bully me or hurt me. Because of one of the leader’s help I am still alive. That night, they hit a boy on his shoulders. Actually he didn’t do anything wrong. They just accused him of being a spy because he went around.

Kataerina’s mother knew that she was in jail but her father did not.

Because he (father) was deaf and couldn’t hear anything, my mother didn’t tell him anything. The day they put me in jail, I was with my mother, my younger brother, and two others. My youngest brother was 14 years old. They were released at 6 am.

 

When we speak out about something that is wrong, they just know to punish us or even kill us

Kataerina finally left her village and came to the Thailand-Burma border because of the conflict in the area. On the border, she met her husband-to-be. The couple got married in 2007 and soon after Kataerina gave birth to their first child. In 2009, she moved to Nai Soi Camp with her family. The only way to be in contact with her parents for nearly ten years now, has been through asking for news from people who have travelled from her village to Thailand. But she has never heard good news, and she thinks there is no change in her village.

I want them to change the policy in the village because if we go back to our village, when we speak out about something that is wrong, they just know to punish us or even kill us. That’s why the villagers don’t dare to speak out. So I want them change the policy.

 

I don’t want to go back [to Burma] but if they force us I will have to

Nai Soi Camp, also called Ban Mai Nai Soi, is one of the most closed off refugee camps to foreigners. The camp currently has over 11,000 residents, most of whom are ethnic Karenni. The camp is only four kilometers away from the Burma border and has been attacked by Burmese troops and their allies in 1997 and 1998. The surrounding of the camp is a landmine field. Kataerina has stayed in the camp for six years and two of her children were born there. She has only left the camp once, for taking care of elderly people in Mae Hong Son.

Kataerina does housework and feeds pigs in her free time and her husband sometimes works in the fields outside the camp. She attended sewing training and finished the basic level and says the skills are enough to actually sew clothes, and thus she hopes to attend a higher level sewing training. In the future, she wants do make a living by sewing and selling clothes.

Currently, I am alright. But I don’t have much money like other people. They have phones or bikes. Some people can earn money for their children. But for me, I just have to be satisfied with the rations I get.

In the camp, we don’t have money and job. We are not allowed to go outside. I want to work in an organisation in the camp but I am not an educated person.

Kataerina heard a rumor about repatriation and she feels that some things have changed in the camp. For example, the rations in the camp are not enough now and they have to borrow rice from other refugees.

Before we got enough rations but now we don’t have enough food to eat. Before we got 13 and half kilos but now is just 10 kilos.

When asked about what Kataerina wants to change in the camp, she names the age limits for trainings and jobs as the most important issue.

They always limit the age to do some jobs in the camp. In some training they limit the age like people after 30 years old can’t get the interview and won’t be accepted. They focus on young people. So, I want them give us the same rights. In training they give the certificate for young people, which is recognised by the Thai government but people like me it’s just recognised in the camp.

I would like to say that I want organisations to give us training until we get the skills like sewing. We want to be skillful with sewing.

If possible I don’t want to go back but if they force us I will have to. Before I go back I want to get sewing skill and I would be able to make business. If I can’t go to third country, I just want to stay here.

 

This story is based on Burma Link’s interview in Burmese with Kataerina.

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