"...Yan Aung?s childhood ended prematurely. When he was 11 years old he was abducted by two soldiers and forced to join the Tatmadaw, Burma?s armed forces. Although he had no interest in serving in the army, he had to sign a prepared statement af"rming that he had voluntarily enlisted and that he was 18 years old at the time. The year Yan Aung should have completed the fourth grade, he attended basic training at the Pinlaung military training facility. He went on to serve as a private with Light Infantry Battalion No. 135 under the supervision of Captain Aung Aung. At the age of 13 he was sent to Kaingtaung in Southern Shan State to train as a corporal. Shortly after, Yan Aung was sent to Mawchee Township in Karenni State where, under the direction of Major Aung Naing Soe, he took part in an attack against the Karenni Army (KA), the armed faction of the Karenni National Peoples Party (KNPP). During the battle Yan Aung?s friend and fellow child soldier, a 15 yearold boy by the name of Tin Re, was shot and killed right in front of him. After "ve consecutive stints on the frontlines of Burma?s civil war, Yan Aung managed to escape to Thailand. However, along with abandoning military life he also left behind his family and friends. Now he is a refugee, living along the Thai-Burma border. He is 17 years old...."