Exploitation of Women and Children

[brelief@xxxxxxx]

Subject: Exploitation of Women and Children as Forced Labor on Ye-Tavoy  Railway Human Rights Foundation of Monland, May 20, 1996

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Human Rights Foundation of Monland
Human Rights Report #2/96
May 20, 1996

Human Rights Foundation of Monland
P.O. Box 11
Ratchaburana 
Bangkok 10140
Thailand


"Specially protection should be accorded to mothers during a
reasonable period before and after childbirth. During such a period
working mothers should be accorded paid leave or leave with
adequate social security benefits." 
(Article 10.2, International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights)

 ..... Children and young persons should be protected from
economic and social exploitation.
Their employment in work harmful to their morals or health or
dangerous to life or likely to
hamper the normal development should be punishable by law.
 ........
(Article 10. 3.. International Covenant on Economic Social and
Cultural Rights)

THE EXPLOITATION OF WOMAN AND CHILD LABOUR
IN YE-TAVOY RAILWAY CONSTRUCTION

The Reason of Conscription of Woman and Child Labour

Normally, in economically deteriorated Burma, women and children
have never been accorded the protection due them under the
international principles of women and children's rights set forth in
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other human rights
instruments such as International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights. 

In Burma, which has officially been recognized by the United
Nations as having east Developed Country (LDC) status, almost all
the population except the military clique, the SLORC (State Law
and Order Restoration Council), live in poverty, facing hardship in
seeking income and endure very low living standard.  Additionally,
the people have long been suppressed by the SLORC military
regime which flagrantly violates their human rights in both rural and
urban areas. 

The Burmese military regime SLORC is well known in world
community for its conscription of slave-labour, forcing its own
people to implement a number of government projects. Since the
SLORC came into power, in attempting for legitimate role in world
community, the military commanders adopted a policy for
implementation of infrastructure projects in the whole country
without outside assistance.  One of these projects is the
construction of the 110-mile-long (approximately 160 kilometers)
Ye-Tavoy Railway,  which has been underway for nearly three years
using the conscripted unpaid labour of local inhabitants of Mon,
Karen and Tavoy ethnic communities of lower Burma. 

In this prolonged railway construction, the local inhabitants have
been conscripted on a rotation basis. Conscripts have come mainly
from Yebyu Township of Tenasserim Division, the lowest part of
Burma. Literally hundreds of thousands of local inhabitants have
been continuously forced to contribute manual labour in the
construction and of that number, the greatest percentage are
women and children. 

Why do women and children have to work on this construction?
Because of the poor economy, it has been very hard for Burmese
people including ethnic communities to find jobs for income to
ensure the family's survival.  Most men have to work in farmlands
or as day labourers. Whenever the military or the railway authority
or village headman come and order a family to contribute labour in
the construction, the men are already away from home and the
women and children have to be their substitutes. In traditional
cultivation of rice farming, the men have to manage their rice fields
and the women and children have to help. When the authorities
come and force the villagers to do railway construction, it is difficult
for men to abandon their farm work, their plantations and other
labor, so women and children have go instead of men. Otherwise,
in many of the poorest families in the villages, the women and
children  seek  more income for their families and are employed as
manual labourers by the few rich families.

Terrible Situations of Women and Children in Work Sites

Among the women who are conscripted as forced labourers In the
railway construction, some of them are pregnant.  The young ones
are under 16 years while old women over 60 also have to work.
Normally, the working conditions along the railway route are the
worst with severe over-crowding, insufficient shelter and inadequate
sanitation.  The government never provides the necessities for the
labourers, who have to bring everything they need from their
homes. In the period from June to October, the monsoon weather
in the area is very bad, with heavy rains and severe flooding in all
streams.  During this period several parts of the railway
embankment have collapsed. Even in the middle of the rainy
season, the military has forced the villages to repair such collapsed
embankments. In place of their men, who were busy working on
rice cultivation, the women and children had to contribute labour,
such as making new routes or repairing the collapsed parts of the
embankment. 

Not only does the State government not provide protection from
discrimination against women and children, its authorities
themselves never offered appreciation for improving the working
conditions in the work sites. In the construction sites, physically
weak women have been vulnerable to the abuse and discrimination
of the local authorities especially military commanders. According
to the interviews conducted by human rights workers, some young
women were raped by soldiers in Labour camps built by villagers
along the railway route close to the local SLORC military barracks. 

Without ensuring for appropriate services for pregnant women,
there have been many pregnant women worked in the
construction. The railway authorities or military never collected
information from those women for provide possible protection.
Some women also gave birth in construction sites while many
women went to the worksite with their 3 months old babies. They
also hanged hammocks for their babies under the shady trees near
construction sites but the health condition of those babies were
worst as they could not provide proper shelters. No arrangement of
care or protection was offered by authorities to those babies. 

The construction works are mostly burden even for men to dig the
ground, sometime had to dig out hilly area with rock, and had to
carry dirt with brackets to the top of embankment up to 15 feet in
height. Normally the women and children have to work a burden
jobs all the time without taking a rest. According to escapees, after
the villagers completed defined piece of work to each family likely to
dig 10 holes or up to 15 holes of ground, the military still did not
allow them to return home. They had to work continuously up to the
end of period of two weeks in construction sites without mentioning
piece of work. 

Focus of Current Report

This report focuses on the livelihood of women and children in local
areas, their conscription for forced labour, and why they had to
abandon their native places. To know the real situation of women
and children, the HURFOM conducted several interviews of women
who had worked on the construction and found all the facts
collected quite similar and substantiating.  In this report three
interviews are quoted.  Interview #1 and #3 mentioned the
livelihoods and working experiences in railway construction of two
women and interview#2 described about a boy who worked in the
construction. 
To protect the persons who were interviewed, the report does not
use the real names of interviewees; all names are changed. 
However, all the events and stories are true; they really happened
in Burma.  But please feel free to change the English to better
usage.  It is hoped that all information contained here will be useful
in helping the international community to understand what is
happening, stop the SLORC from inflicting human rights abuses
on its people, and promote internationally recognized human rights
in Burma. 

Interviews

Interview #1
Name: Mi Aye
Sex/ Age: Female/ 52 years
Nationality/ Religion: Mon/ Buddhist
Occupation: Farmer
Native Place: Chaung Phar Village, Yebyu Township, Tennasserim
Division.
Interview Date: 10th December, 1995

(Starting at the beginning of December, there are many new
arrivals have taken refuge to Payaw Mon refugee camp, situated in
Thai territory of Sangkhlaburi District, Kanchanaburi Province. The
interviewee explained her terrible experiences how she arranged to
escape and difficulties on the way.)

Q When did you arrive to thee camp and how difficulities you faced
on the way? 

A I arrived to the camp only six days. I came here with my two sons
and one daughter. I fled from my village, because I could not
provide manual labour for the railway any longer and at the same
time, I had no cash to pay them (military, railway authorities,
headmen of village group). I took six days to arrive here from my
village. I came not from railway construction worksite. I decided to
stay here (as a refugee). After I returned back from construction
worksite on November 15, I decided to come here and I sold my
two cows to get cash for food. I already knew about this refugee
camp from Khaw Zar villagers who ever came for trading. (Khaw
Zar village is a big village situated in Ye Township of Mon  
State) . 

Punishment to the Escapees of the Construction 

On the way we needed caution to avoid the Burmese troops and
we slept in day time and traveled in night time. When we were in
Aleskan village, the troops were also there and we had to hide in
one house. We were lucky!  They did not meet us. Surely, if they
met us, they will know we escaped from the railway. We came here
with pots for cooking and rice for eat on the way. If they met such
materials and foods, it would be easy for them to recognize we
were escapees. They would punish us for sure like beating and
detaining.  Two weeks ago, when a family of Thaung Khun village
was planning to escape, the headman of village group came and
arrested head of family (father) and detained him in Kywe-tho-nyima. (Kywe-thonyima village is the biggest village in Kywe-tho-nyima village group and the SLORC's Infantry Battalion No. 273
also is based there). They also threatened that family, if they fled,
the Burmese soldiers will kill the man. 

(Because of conscription of forced labour, payment for railway
construction and other kinds of tax, the local community has been
systematically destructed by the military regime, and the population
displacement has occurred every dry season.) 

Hardship for Survival and Constantly Increased Work Duty 

Q Why did you decide to leave your village and living stocks? How
often did you have to go to the worksite? 

A  As I told you, I could not work longer in the railway construction
and no cash to pay for hiring the substitute labourers in stead of
us. It was too heavy workload for our family members. We had to
go for 15 days every month since September. We have nothing left
at home to eat. And we have nothing left to sell and pay them. We
were afraid the punishment of them. At the same time, I have no
farmland like other villagers. My two sons have worked as day
labourers in other villagers' farms and provided me for survival.
After my sons often worked in the railway construction without any
payment very often, how we can survive. We have no any income. 

Q How much do you have to pay them, if you can't go to worksite?
To whom you have to pay? 

A  After I returned back from the Ye Bone worksite in mid of
November, the village headman told me our family must have to go
to that worksite again in first and second weeks of December, I
tried to explain to him the difficulties of our family to get income for
survival. I also told him that my sons have to find some income
from harvesting rice and only me and my daughter can go to the
worksite and to please reduce the work duty. When we worked
recently, we had the job to dig 7 holes as our work and in
December, according to village headmen, we may have to dig ten
holes. Too hard for me and my daughter. So we asked many times
to reduce work duty. But the village headman told us that 
the workduty for our village is instructed by village group headmen
and military from Kywe-tho-nyima, he was not dare to tell them for
the reduction of work duty. He went to Kywe-tho-nyima again. Two
days later, he returned to the village and explained the villagers, the
authorities did not agree to reduce work duty and they were hurry
to complete the construction (Yebyu-Kalein Aung section) at the
end of December. He also explained that the family who cannot
provide labours in the construction for two weeks needed to pay
3500 Kyat to hire the labourers for replacement. At that time, I had
only 500 Kyat. I was very upset and decided only one of my son to
go for harvesting rice. But it was impossible. I was sure two of us,
me and my younger son could not complete the defined work in the
defined day. I was too weak as an old woman, only my son has to
work for us both.  We left nothing to pay them and for foods, and
then decided to flee. 

Yes, some villagers paid for hiring substitute labourers, they have
no chance to hire by themselves. They paid it to village headman,
and he brought all cashes to the Kywe-tho-nyima. I don't know
whether he paid all cashes to village group headmen or military
commanders. May be, the village group headmen arranged to hire
the labourers. But I never saw any replaced labourers in our
worksite, even some families in our village paid cash recently. 
(After many families left the villages, the military has never cared
such population reduction in the community and they still defined
the work duty to rest villagers. But the villagers have no rights to
speak out or complain.) 

Q  Do you know how the village group headmen or military
arranged to collect labourers and cash? 

A   I don't know for sure. This is the responsibility of the village
headmen. As I know, our village had nearly 100 households last
year (Before April). Because of railway construction, many kinds of
taxation, and maltreatment of Burmese troops, only fifty houses
were left in the village when they started growing rice in June. The
families who have no farmlands around the village already left from
the village except two or three family like us. But in the list of village
group, the military and village group headmen still put 100
households and they divided for 100 family work duty that was
actually worked only 50 families. That is why we had to work very
hard. They sent the defined work to our village in accordance with
their estimate of population. If the villagers could not go to worksite,
they needed to inform village headman and the village headman
collected cash from families who could not pay and sent the list of
actual labourers and cash to hire substitute labourers.  I don't think
the village headman put some cash into his own pocket.  All
families in the village are relatives. And, also very hard for him to
get accurate cash from his villagers, sometime he had to provide
some cash of his own after the villagers could not pay and fled
away. If he could not pay SLORC as they demanded, he must be
punished. 

Q  Beside the payment for railway construction, what other kinds of
taxation did you have to pay every month? 

A   Every month, we have to pay for porter fees about 500 up to
800 Kyat. The village headmen have to take responsibility to collect
porter fees from every family and sent it to military outpost of Kywe-tho-nyima village. According to the military they had to hire the
porters when they launched military operation. I don't know where
the front line was, may be, in Karen areas (KNU No. 4th Bridade
which is based in Tenasserim Division). For our village, we could
not provide the porters as they asked, and so we have agreed to
the military to pay them porter fees every month. Yes, sometime,
even though we paid them, they did arrest villagers for porters,
according to them, it was emergency porters. 
I don't know what is agreement concerning porter between New
Mon State Party and SLORC. After they stopped fighting (After
NMSP/SLORC cease-fire) the Burmese troops has enable to come
to our village any time and no more Mon troops around our village.
One day last two and half month ago, according to village
headman, the Mon leaders came to Kywe-tho-nyima and explained
that the Burmese troops may not collect porter fees. But when Mon
leader returned back, the porter fees were still collected by the
Burmese soldiers by giving order to the respective village
headmen.  After cease-fire, we have to pay more porter fees than
before, but no more beating and killing the villagers. And the
Burmese troops also came to the village very often and they still
took chicken, eggs, rice and fishpaste. They asked the village
headmen and they can get those things easily.  

(The conscription of women and children labourers are widespread 
in all construction worksites. Even though the railway authorities
decided to use labourers ages between 18 to 60, actually the
authorities did not check age range of labourers. They used
everybody who reached to the worksites.)

Q   You say, you and your two sons had to work in construction.
How old are they? 

A   They are 18 and 12 years old. Actually according to labourer list
of our headman, only me and my elder son have to provide manual
labours, but I am not healthy enough and the work was too hard,
and I needed my younger son for help, to complete the defined
work in time. Surely, I and my elder son could not finish the defined
work in time. As I worried the maltreatment of railway authorities
and military, I did not want only two of them to work in construction,
so I accompanied with them. When we  worked, my 14 years old
daughter was at home. Yes, I worried for her also, but it was better,
because our home is close to our relatives and they were looking
after her, when we were away. 

Q   Do you know how many children and women were forced to
work in your worksite? 

A   I don't know the exact number of women and children in our
worksite. But I am sure, there were a lot of women and children
and more than men. In our village, when we worked in October and
November, mostly women worked in the construction. At that time,
the men were busy in farmland preparing to harvest rice. Other
families are like our family, they also took their sons or daughters
under 15 years old to help them to complete the work in time. From
our village, in every 10 villagers of construction labourers, 6 of them
were women and children. (It means 60 % of villager labourers in
the construction are women and children). 

The work is also hard, if you go only a man, maybe the work could
be completed in time. But I am not so sure. The last two times, we
had to dig 7 holes and the ground was very hard, difficult to dig.
Too tired and we were not allowed to take a rest even in the midday
regardless of heat.  And the digging holes were far about 10
meters from the embankment and we had to climb up sometime
10 foot high embankment. Thus, in every family, all family
members including women and children under 15 had to go and
tried to complete the work duty as they were afraid the terrible
treatments of soldiers or village group headmen. 

Q  How did you build your shelter in the worksite? Could you get
enough drinkable water? 

A   Every family who arrived to the worksite had to build their own
shelters. The railway authorities did not provide any material to
build shelters. As soon as we arrived at the worksite, we built a
small shelter for three of us, with bamboo we cut nearby and made
roofing with plastic sheets brought from home. So, it was very hot
in day time and very cold in night time. More than 100 families
depended on the same one stream and used that water. After five
days, the stream water became very dirty. Also the stream is not so
deep. We could get enough water but not so pure. To use as
drinking water, we always boiled it. 


Q   Did the doctor or medic take care or treat you when you was
sick?

A  As I understand, they gave a very small amount of medicine to
sick person and if you would like to take more suitable medicines,
you had to buy it from those military medic or in medicine shop of
Kalein Aung village. Yes, they allowed to treat in Ye or Tavoy
hospital, if the condition of the patient was very serious. No, they
did not provide for transportation or treatment charges. You must
be treated at you own expense. Yes, may be, the hospitals in Ye
and Tavoy are government hospitals, but you could not get needed
medicines in there and have to buy in outside shops with your own
expense and treat in hospital. 

Q   The SLORC government always proclaimed that they has built
this railway for the benefit of local populations; one day, you can get
smooth transportation after the whole project is completed. How do
you think of that? 

A I don't know. 


Interview #2

Name: Mehm Kyaw
Sex/ Age: Female/ 14 years
Nationality/ Religion: Mon/ Buddhist
Occupation: none
Native Place: Kywe-tho-nyima Village, Yebyu Township,
Tennasserim Di vision.
Interview Date: January 10,1995

Burma, a country in deep poverty even it owns rice natural
resource, could not provide and guarantee for proper education
system to children in the whole country. Lack of educational
assistance made several children to leave the school earlier and
the illiteracy rate in Burma has been steadily increasing. 

Q  How old are you and did you attend the school? Had you ever
helped your family at home?

A    I am 14 years old. I have attended school up to the third
standard (grade three) in my village primary school. I left school two
years ago already and then I helped my parent at home.
Sometime, I went  to sea with my father to catch fish. My parents
permanent work is fishing and my mother, sister and me had to
make dry fish for sell (one kind of dried fish is common food for
people in Burma).
 
Q  How are hardships in your family's work? 

A   I think the work is not so hard for our family. I have helped with
such  work  for a long time. But when we left to the sea to catch
fish, it was little hard for me because the sunshine is hot and
sometime too much rain. Actually, my father did not ask me to go
to sea, but myself would like to help him. But I could not help
much. I can help my mother much, in gathering same kind of fish
and carrying them.  


Q You have also worked in the railway construction.  In comparison
with the work at home, which is harder? 

A   The work in the railway construction was too hard for me. I had
to dig a lot of ground and carry the dirt to high embankment. It was
very far to reach the embankment. It was too hard for me the whole
time I worked there. 

(Actually, with aim to help their parents many children were working
in the construction, because the work duty for each family
particularly has been heavy burden. To avoid the payment, anyhow,
those children have to help their parents.) 

Q   How many times did you have to work in the railway
construction? And, why did you work there? Did you parent agreed
for it? 

A   I worked there to help my parents. I have worked there three
times from September up to December of 1995. In July, when my
father returned from sea he had to stay in the bed because of
sickness. He was too weak and his face was in white at that time.
My mother and sister took him  to the hospital in Tavoy. He had to
be treated there for one month. I don't know what kinds of disease
(According to his mother, his father had pneumonia). At that time,
my mother had to borrow money from our neighbours. My mother
and sister took care of father in turns. They also had to buy
medicine from a shop in Tavoy as the hospital could not provide
needed medicines and the prices were too expensive. When he
recovered and returned from hospital, he could not go fishing
anymore like before and my mother had to take responsibility for
the survival of our family. After he could not find income, my mother
sold her necklace to buy rice. The situation came harder and hard
for our family. As the same time we bought rice, we had to buy
medicines for my father. He just lay on the bed and unable to walk
to the monastery on religious days. Before my father got sick like
that, he always went to the railway construction when the village
headmen asked for unpaid labour. 

In August, when the village headmen called for a meeting with
villagers to contribute labour in the construction, my mother
complained about the situation of our family. But they refused her
explanation and asked my mother to pay them 3,5OO Kyat to a
substitute labourer. Then my mother had to pay them the required
amount by selling the boat engine that was used on my father's
fishing boat.  After that, we had no more money to pay them. My
sister and I sought some small income by working as day-labourers
in fishing port of the village. 

In September, the military came and asked again for the
construction. In that time, we decided not to pay and work in the
construction. We left my mother to take care of father and my sister
and I went to the construction site. Since September, after we had
no payment for the military, I worked in the construction three times
(around the Kalein Aung and Yebyu area). Actually, my mother did
not went me to work but we had no choice. 

Q    In the construction, what kinds of work you had to work? Did
other villagers help you to complete your work. 

A   I did everything as a man and our villagers helped to complete
the defined work in time. Even we were two persons, we were
weaker than the others and we worked very slow in comparison
with other villagers. Mostly, I dug the ground and my sister carried
it to embankment, but sometime we changed our jobs. 

(Unlike other countries where the child labour is exploited by
individuals or companies or privates owned industries or factories,
in Burma, the government itself, instead of providing protection by
law, has been exploiting child labour in the whole country.) 

Q   When the military or village headmen informed the villagers, did
they tell the villagers that to not allow the children to work in the
construction? In the construction sites, did the military reduce the
working period especially for children? 

A   I don't know. Every time village meeting to contribute labour in
the construction, my mother or sister went and listened the
instruction of the village headmen or military commanders.
According to the villagers, not only my mother, they said the one
who able to work in their home must go and work in the
construction. When I arrived to work site, nobody asked my age
and I just had to work there. There were many boys and girls the
same age of me. They had to work like me. Before we left the
village, the village headmen told us that he did not need the elder
and disabled persons to work in the construction, and to bring
every things such as tools and foods for 15 days. 

Q   You said, there were many boys and girls worked in the
construction like you. Do you know why they worked in
construction? Did they have the same situation as you? 

A   I think the most of them went to help their parents. They worked
in construction because their father or mother was busy with jobs
for income and otherwise, they could not hire the substitute and the
parents instructed their children. The most children came from the
poor families of the villages and some children were hired as
substitute labourers for rich families, but they were very few in
number. We had the same jobs as men, to dig the ground and to
carry the dirt to the embankment. Sometime, the Burmese soldiers
took the boys or girls for cooking in their barracks and carried water
for them. Also, we have to carry water or cook rice for the group of
villagers when they work our jobs. 

In some families, when the boys or girls stayed with their old
grandfathers or grandmothers to take care of them, the village
headmen also conscripted their labour and forced to work in the
construction.

(Actually, the military ordered the village headmen to take all
villagers who are able to work in the construction and they were
also responsible to complete a burden defined piece of work, and
then they have to force everyone in the village to avoid the
punishment of the local military) 

Q   Why did your family decide to leave your village and property. 

A   (His mother answered this question) We have nothing left in our
home. Because of the sickness of his father (her husband) and no
more income for survival, we decided to leave the village. I already
sold every thing I have to buy rice and medicine. Then I borrowed a
lot of money from neighbours and relatives in village and later we
sold our house and repaid our debts to them. We were left with
only one fishing boat without an engine and I gave that to my
young brother. We could not go to Kaw Thaung (a town in the most
part of Tenassenm Division bordering Thailand) like other families.  

Q   How you bring your husband here?   Did you have to pass
some Burmese soldiers' outposts? 


A   We had to pass two military outposts. One is in Kyaukadin and
another one is in Aleskan village. The soldiers asked us where we
were going and I told them I have to have my husband treated in
Ye. I gave the same answer to the village headmen when we left
there. 

Interview #3
Name: Mi Aye Yin 
Sex/Age: Female/ 41 years 
Nationality/ Religion: Mon/ Buddhist 
Occupation Farmer 
Native Place: Hamaw Gyi village, Yebyu Township. 
Interview Date: January 14,1996. 

Q   When did you arrive to this border camp (Payaw Mon refugee
camp) and why did you abandon you village? 

A   I arrived here just three days ago. The military forced us to work
in the railway construction but we could not provide them payment
so we had to leave our village. We had nothing left for survival and
also no time to work to earn income. We left here with the whole
family including my husband, one son and two daughters. 


Q   Who forced you to work in construction and what military
battalions have come into your village? 

A   Mostly, the village headmen informed us in meetings that we
had to work in the construction. But when village headmen could
not provide the defined labourers from our village, the military came
and warned the villagers to make sure to follow their instruction.
Sometime, they came to village to ask for porters or porter fees,
and other kinds of tax. I don't the exact number of the battalion
which came to village, but I can recognize LIB 409 and LIB 410;
they came regularly, at least two times in one month. Whenever
they came or after they left, the village headmen called for meeting
to villagers and warned us to be sure to contribute labour for
construction and explained how many holes we had to dig or
pieces of work that the military had ordered and when our villagers
had to complete that work. 
In the construction site, many pregnant women and girls work, but
no special attentions and treatments are provided to those
physically weak persons by the authorities. In some cases, the
women also gave birth to their babies there with many difficulties. 

Q   Did the village headmen or the military instruct not to use
women in railway construction? If not, did they tell villagers that
they did not want pregnant women and girl to work in construction? 

A   Never. In the meetings, the village headmen always explained if
the man could not go to the worksites, the wife or son or daughter
should go and work for substitution. The military or village headmen
never suggested that they would not like to use pregnant women or
girls in the worksites. When we left to the worksites, both men and
women including children travelled to the worksite together and we
had to work in the same place. For villagers who came from the
village helped each other. Mostly in heavy works, the men need to
help the women. For example, while the women were digging
ground in a hilly area with big rocks, the women had to carry the
dirt to the embankment. Likewise, some women had to make
meals in temporary shelters, while the men worked. 

Q   Did you meet pregnant women working in the construction and
how many months pregnant were they?  And, what kinds of work
did they have to do? 

A   Yes, I have certainly met pregnant women working in
construction every time I worked there. So far as I know, the
pregnant women had to work because their husbands were away
working for income or working in their own farms and plantations.
In every worksite, Nwe Lein or Ye Bone or Kalein Aung, I have
seen many pregnant women working there. From our village alone,
among 30 villagers who had to work for 2 weeks in every month on
rotation basis, at least two pregnant women also joined with the
villager group. 

I think some women had three month pregnancy while some were
about six months pregnant. Most villagers in the worksites helped
those pregnant women as much as they possibly could, such as
digging holes and carrying dirt for them and sometimes the
villagers also let them taking a rest. Some women also gave birth in
the worksite. 

Q   Did you meet the women who gave birth in the worksites? And
when? Did the railway authorities take care of them? 

A   Yes, I met a woman who gave birth in Kalein Aung worksite in
the third week of October, 1995. She and her 11 year old son
came to worksite together to work on construction. Actually, she
would not like to go to the worksite. After she stayed and worked for
one week, she gave birth like that. The women villagers from her
village assisted her and she had a smooth delivery.  Her baby is
girl. Then, her village headmen took her back to the village. I'm not
sure from which village she came, but I think she came from area
of Chat Taw or Mae Daw villages. Before she delivered, we saw her
also carrying dirt, but only in small amounts, to the embankment.
Maybe her husband was a fisherman or a day-worker and away
from home when she left from village.  They must have had nothing
to pay to military to hire substitute workers. 

No special attention or care provided by railway authorities or
military for giving birth in the construction. They just shouted at the
village headman for bringing such a woman to work and warned
him to find a substitute for that woman. After the village headmen
promised to find a substitute, the military agreed to allow him to
take her back to her home.
 
Additionally, other kinds of inhumane treatment is the military or
railway authorities also force the women with small child to work in
the construction. Those women and their children faced terrible
conditions in the construction sites. 

Q   Did you meet women with small babies working on
construction? How could they take care of their babies while they
were working? 

A   Yes, I saw them. Many of them came with babies. They have no
choice after they could not provide payment to the military or village
headmen and decided to work in construction even though they
have small babies. The railway authorities or the military in the
construction site never told villagers not to bring mothers of small
babies. They ordered at least one member from each family had to
go to work no matter the circumstances.  If not, those families must
hire a substitute or provide payment to authorities. You know, the
most villagers in any village are very poor and could not provide
payment.  So these women had to work even if the mother of small
baby. 

>From our village alone, when we left to the worksite in November to
Kalein Aung, there were three women with babies who also went to
construction site and worked there. At night time, we slept in the
labour camp of Kalein Aung and we left to go the worksite about 1
kilometer away.   The women also brought their babies with them
and walked to worksite everyday and returned back to camp again
in evening. When they reached to worksite, we also helped such
women in finding a good shady tree to hang a hammock. 
Sometime, we arranged it easily but if the trees were far from the
worksite, we had to make temporary shelters with bamboo, leaves
and clothes, and put the baby inside shelter after they were fed
milk. The reason why those women have to come to worksite was
the same with other women. Their husbands had to find income
and no time to work in construction or they were away while the
military or village headmen instructed the villagers. 

Q   Did the women and children become sick during construction
work?  Did the authorities provide medicine and treatment? 

A   It depended on the worksite. When we were working in Kalein
Aung, if someone got sick, we just took him to the military medic
and he was treated free. But sometime, the military medic let you
buy medicines in private shop. At the beginning of dry season in
October and December, many villagers in the worksites, mostly
women and children, became sick because the weather was so
changeable. It was too hot in day time and started to be difficult to
get pure water because there was no more rain. Anyhow, you
should maintain your health condition as far as you completed the
defined work duty. We had to treat by ourselves with traditional
ways by taking medicines brought from home and betel-nut leaves
to reduce our fever. When we worked in Ye Bone worksite in
October, the patients who were getting sick with fever could not go
to Kalein Aung because it was too far from worksite and they had to
treat themselves. 

Q   Can you estimate how many women in number of every ten
villagers (the percentage) who had worked in the construction? Not
exactly, of course, but please provide rough estimation. 

A   The numbers of women in the construction were more than the
man in every worksite I ever worked in.  When we left from our
village, there were also more women than men.  I guess there were
six women in every ten villagers (60%) who worked in the
construction. In the scene of worksite, you could see the most
women were working. They have different age ranges. Some girls
were only 10 years old while some women were sixty years old, but
they worked together. 

q   Why did your husband let you always work in the construction
works and he did not go and work? 

A   He was always busy with work on our farm and he knew better
than me how to cultivate rice. So far I could not work in farming
cultivation and I just have taken care of my home. In extra time, he
also went to sea and fished to seek more income. Most of his jobs
were harder than anything I could do, but anyhow, I can work in the
construction such digging ground and carrying dirt. The
construction works without any income were very hard for me too,
but we have no payment and no extra family member to substitute
for me. That was why I always had to work there. 

Q   How did you know this refugee camp and do you think when
you can return back to your home? 

A   We knew this camp for a long time.  We first heard of it three
years ago.  Recently, we heard of this village as a Mon soldier
village and later, we knew that this village is like a camp to receive
people who fled from their villages and that they provide assistance
especially foods. Then, we decided to come here and we don't
know how to go to Kaw Thaung or Ranong, because we have no
experience to work in Thailand. 

I think, when the military finished the railway construction we will
return back, but we are not sure. Besides the railway project, we
had to pay them another kinds of tax and maybe it must be not so
safe to return back. 


Appended, 
(Location Map of Railway Constructon and the Situation of Local
Community)
(Photos in Construction Site)

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