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"
then I never saw her again"
This happened in Ka Pler Hta. It is not a village, it is a place
where my parents prepared a new plantation to grow rice. Before
we fled to Ka Pler Hta, I was from the Hse Mei village, which is
on the bank of the Tenasserim River. In 1997, the Burmese army came
to our village and all the villagers fled. Some fled to Thailand
and others are hiding in the tips of the streams behind our village.
At first, we hid by a stream near our village in the Tenasserim
riverside. Later my father told us that more Burmese soldiers were
patrolling near the riverside and he feared that they would find
us and capture us so he took us to Mei Pya Po at the border.
We had never seen the Burmese soldiers before, so we were very afraid.
People had told us that whenever Burmese soldiers see any people
they always beat them, so my parents and I were very scared. All
the people living in Mei Pya Po were strangers because all of these
people came from other villages to seek refuge from the Burmese
Army. When we arrived in Mei Pya Po, our leaders arranged food for
us.
Mei Pya Po is located in a valley of a stream, and has no flatland.
Some people plant crops on the slopes of the mountain. My parents
prepared a paddy field in Ka Pler Hta with more than ten other families.
We had to walk two hours from Mai Pya Po to get to the field. My
father could walk without a problem, but it was a long walk for
me.
One Sunday, when we finished worshiping at the midday service, I
was with my parents in our house cooking dinner. My little sister
was playing beside my mother. We heard gunshots and people screaming,
" Pa Yaw! Pa Yaw! (Burman! Burman!) I saw villagers fleeing.
Suddenly, I saw many Burmese soldiers running down the road beside
people's houses and shooting their guns. My father jumped up and
ran away and my mother followed him carrying my little sister. I
ran out of the house only a short distance and hid under a big tee.
I looked for my parents but I did not see them. I saw Burmese soldiers
running around and shooting their guns. There were many various
sounds of gunfire, some sounded like avalanches from the mountains.
After a long while, I heard my mother crying out. I saw one of the
Burmese soldiers dragging her. In her hands, she was holding my
little sister. I did not dare go and help my mother even though
I saw her. I was stayed hidden under that big tree. I saw my father
go try to help my mother. The soldier shot him, and he fell down.
I heard my mother cry out about two more times and then I never
saw her again.
The shootings continued for a while and then everything became calm.
Then I saw some Burmese soldiers driving a herd of buffalo. After
this, I did not see any other people. I did not dare to get out
from under the tree. I did not know where the other villagers had
gone. I hid under that big tree until later in the evening. Although
I was hungry, I did not dare to venture out. I stayed there until
dark and went to where my father lay and stayed beside him. I did
know that he was dead and I was afraid to go anywhere else. The
night came and I laid my head on my father's arm and slept next
to him all night. The whole night I did not hear anything, except
a dog that sniffed at us, so I drove it away.
The next morning my father's chest was very could and smelled a
little foul. I still stayed with him until the sun came out and
then I went back to a big tree where I hid the day before. I did
not know where to go because my father had died, my mother was dragged
away by the Burmese soldiers, and I did not know where she had gone.
I stayed under that big tree all day and became very hungry and
thirsty. I hid under the tree and sometimes looked over at my father's
corpse. When the evening came I heard people speaking in Karen and
saw a group of four or five people inspecting my father's corpse.
They spoke to each other for a while and they were, and they buried
my father. I did not know whom they were, and because they also
had guns I dared not go up to them. They searched around the area
and later one of them saw me. By this time I knew that they were
Karen soldiers. They told me to come out from under the tree and
they gave me some rice. They asked me a bout what had happened and
I told them what I had seen. Later they took me to Mai Pya Po.
My father was killed by Burmese soldiers and my mother and my little
sister never returned after they were dragged away by the Burmese
soldiers. Now I live with my aunt. My aunt lives in Mei Pya Pa Doh
and there is no school for me to attend there. Before, I was in
K.G.A class and now I am longing for my schooling.
This
is the true story of a little girl named Naw Paw Aye who is only
8 years old. At a very young age, this child has experienced incredible
brutality. This happened when a column of the Burmese Army's Infantry
Battalion 379 came to her village's hiding site called Ka Pler Hta
in Mergui-Tavoy district on 7.3.99. These troops killed Naw Paw
Aye's father, her grandmother, and three other male villagers. Naw
Paw Aye's mother and her little sister were kidnapped by the army
and never returned. As usual, people believe they were killed.
The civil war in Burma has been raging for nearly a half of a century.
As a result, many children have had experiences similar to those
described above by Naw Paw Aye. This situation will only worsen
is nothing is done.
From
CIDKP newsletter |
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