A Letter from Burma (January 21, 19

[brelief@xxxxxxx]

Burmese from Thailand, Korea and Singapore are arriving back day after day.
Singapore also increased its punishment for over-stayers.  1 stroke of the
cane and 3 months in jail for women and 5 strokes of the cane and 5 months
in jail for men.  My friend KMS was caned 3 strokes and kept in jail for 41
days but he told me he will never give up.  He said he will go back to
Singapore because if he stays in Burma he will starve.

Burma is now the worst; our situation is hopeless under their boots.  I'll
tell you a terrible story.  My first cousin's grandson was portered last
rainy season.  Before he was forced to be a porter, he had been taken to
Taungoo to attend the meeting (their trick) which was for reeducation of
those who could not meet the government paddy quota.  There were 64 people
in his group.  When they stopped at a village in the eastern part of Taungoo
for lunch, one woman from the food shop told them they were really portered
and they should run away or hide somewhere in the house.  My cousin's
grandson didn't believe her and obeyed his father's instruction to go to the
meeting and listen to what he was told. In a few hours they really were
forced to be porters.  That woman had been absolutely right.  

They were forced to carry heavy ammunition through the forest and to plod up
the steep, rough mountains in heavy rain.  They were given a little bit of
rice in a day.  Days passed.  Many of the original 64 became weak and
suffered fever, but no matter what, they were forced to carry on.  Those who
could not walk further were taken to the cliff and hit on the back of the
head with the butt of a gun so they fell to their death at the foot of the
mountain.  Some who only fainted received rare pity from the soldiers ? they
were given a knife to make suicide of themselves.  The rest left them behind
and continued their harsh journey.

On the way, they reached a small Karen village.  The soldiers killed
everyone right away, not even sparing the babes in their cradles.  My
cousin's grandson was ordered to kill the Karen too.  He said that he dared
not do so, and burnt the house instead.  Day after day, porters died, one by
one.  Only two of them were left out of 64.  My young relative was sure he
too was going to die, so he only chanted "I Ti Pi Saw Ba Ga Wa."

He was then lucky.  His father went to his uncle, who knows some higher rank
military personnel to get some help.  They were told where he had been taken
and that they could go and bring him back to safety.  To get him back they
spent over 50,000 kyats and lived in the forest for nearly one month to find
him.  When they finally located the battalion he was with, he seemed to be a
mad man.  He didn't even recognize his father.  They bought him back and had
the wounds on his back treated.  Finally his mind returned too, but he still
has nightmares.

While ordinary people can be forced to be a porter at any time and just
disappear, the poor people in Hlaing Thar Yar New Town are buying bottles of
the water from boiling rice.  In short they are starving.

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