The Voice of Burmese: “We cannot bear this anymore. We do not have anything to fear.”

Sunday is the day many people call "family day", since many people spend time at home. Some go shopping, or to the movies, or listeni to music according to their interest.

 

However, this Sunday noon I have to commute to the heart of Bangkok since my friend gave me compelling advice about the chance to interview some Burmese friends who have come to work in Thailand about what they feel regarding the recent tensions in Burma.

 

I made an appointment with two Burmese friends. Before we started our conversation, they asked me not to photograph and reveal their real names. They said that this is for their protection. Even though they do not expect the Burmese military to harm them in Thailand, they expect some Thai officials could pick on them even though they have a legal identification card. Burmese workers, as the lowest class of Thai society, are often vulnerable to intimidation by some indisciplined Thai officials.

 

"The Burmese come to work in Thailand for different reasons. Most come because of hardship at home. Now, we are aware of what is happening in Burma, we are very angry. The Burmese government does not care about its citizens. The people came out to protest as a result of the hardship. But the government arrested all the protesters, including the Buddhist monks."

 

Chu Lai May, a Karen woman, left her home in Karen State in 2003 to see development in Thailand. Back then she was 16 year-old, and was preparing to continue her study in the university. Her oldest brother and sister who have been working in Thailand needed someone to help alleviate the monetary pressures on the family, so she left her education behind and came to Thailand in place of her second brother.

"My second brother refused to come to Thailand at the wish of my oldest brother and sister. So I have to come instead."

 

"Back then I was not thinking anything. Since my second brother could not come, so I volunteered to come myself. I did not even know that my family was facing hardship. My mother is the principal of an upper-secondary school, where my father is also teaching. The school is in the capital of the Karen State. The reason that I decide to come to Thailand is that I know that Thailand is much more developed than Burma and I would like to see that with my own eyes. I would say that it is a normal thought of a 16 year-old child. I did not know anything much, but just wanted to come to Thailand, and was thinking that it would not take long to get enough money for the family. I was hoping to go back to school in Burma."

 

Chu Lai May is confident that the reason that she came to Thailand is not the economic hardship that the family is facing, because unlike other Burmese workers coming to Thailand to work, her family is considered well-off in Burma since both of the parents are teachers at an upper-secondary school in the capital of Karen State.

 

But why did her elder brother and sister come to Thailand earlier? What was the pressure forcing her other brother to come to Thailand to help? The question might not be very important since she is already in Thailand.

 

"My trip, compared to others, was very comfortable. My ride took me directly to Bangkok, as my siblings took care of all the arrangements, including the job and other travel expenses."

 

However a comfortable journey does not mean that Chu Lai May can avoid the destiny of the majority of migrant workers in Thailand - human insecurity.

 

"I was given work once I arrived, which was to work in at a Cake Restaurant in the Sukhumvit area. I was paid 3,000 baht a month, but I quit after one month. It was because I had never worked before. I was studying until the twelfth grade and came directly to Thailand. Another problem is that I cannot communicate with anyone in Thai."

 

"After that, I worked as a house maid, getting the same salary which was 3,000 baht per month. The work that I was responsible for ranged from cleaning the house, washing the dishes, babysitting - virtually everything. I was working for about one year and then quit. The work was far from where my relatives were, so I moved to the Srinakarin area working again as a housemaid. The salary was then about 4,000 baht per month, doing the same thing."

 

She was able to save some money and was hoping to bring the savings back to study in the university - but when she went back, she faced with another problem, so she could not stay in Burma very long.

 

"In 2005, I went back to Burma, hoping never to return to Thailand since I had saved about 30,000 baht. I was hoping to enrol in the university, but I stayed in Karen state for just one month and then came back to Thailand. My mother was in debt because of her obsession with gambling. Now I am working at a local convenience store, getting 6,000 baht per month. I still have to work as housemaid, but the work was not as much as in the past. Also on Sunday, I am taking extra classes and getting to know more friends."

 

When asked how she feels in staying in Thailand for a long time, she said:

 

"Three years back, I missed my home very much. I cried very often, wanting to go home. But now I don't feel like that because I am used to living in Thailand. But still I want to go back. If I can save enough money, I will go home."

 

The hope of going home and living peacefully in her hometown might not be so easy due to the current situation where the economy is deteriorating in Burma after a 500% fuel hike, and the crackdown on the demonstrators and monks by the Tatmadaw (Burmese military) and thugs organized by the government.

 

"I have been following the situation closely from friends and the internet. We did not know anything about politics when I was in Burma, as it is prohibited by the Burmese military. I got to know much more living in Thailand. My friends and I have become more interested in politics."

 

"The Burmese come to work in Thailand for different reasons. Most come because of hardship at home. Now, we are aware of what is happening in Burma, we are very angry. The Burmese government does not care about its citizens. The people came out to protest as a result of the hardship. But the government arrested all the protesters, including the Buddhist monks."

 

"When we learn that the protesters have been arrested and that some were killed, we became furious at the government. We do not understand how the SPDC can be so brutal. Now, I want to be more involved in demonstrations and want to go back and struggle in Burma. I want to demonstrate to tell the government that we cannot live like this. The people have become so tormented that they are not fearful of anything. We have faced enough hardship and the government has not helped in improving anything."

 

"I had to quit school to work at home. My family works as farmers, but life has been awful. We cannot produce enough rice. Working in Burma is difficult. Therefore I have to work in Thailand. My family did not force me to come to Thailand or to send money home. I volunteered to come myself because I wanted to see how Thailand is different from home."

 

Nan Way, a small-built man from Shan State, had to quit lower-secondary school to help his family because he is the oldest son in the family.

 

"I hadto quit school to work at home. My family works as farmers, but life has been awful. We cannot produce enough rice. Working in Burma is difficult. Therefore I have to work in Thailand. My family did not force me to come to Thailand or to send money home. I volunteered to come myself because I wanted to see how Thailand is different from home."

 

When he arrived in Thailand, his relative, who has been working in Thailand, had arranged a job for Way, who was then 23 yeas -old. But he arrived later than expected and so had to cancel his first job.

 

"My relative had arranged a job for me. But I arrived late and had to look for another job. I ended up working at a factory producing water bottles."

 

Working at the Water Bottle Factory, Way received a daily wage which of 170 baht. Housing was arranged, but he had to pay an extra 50 baht per month to cover electricity and water. A small room used as rest area was provided for him and five other workers. Another problem that he was facing was limited work at the factory which was directly affecting his income.

 

"There was not much work there. In some weeks, I had to stop working for three to four days. There was no money without work. However, the factory owner gave us some money to pay for meals."

 

Nan Way continued working there for awhile, until he found another job at a chili sauce store. He was invited by his brother to work there. Here Nan Way is able to work every day, even though it is a reasonably tough job.

 

"Here, there is work every day. I get 190 baht per day, but I have to wake up 1 am and work until 3 pm."

 

On the issue of going back to Burma, Nan Way said:

 

"I want to go home very much. I miss home. I have been here for almost four years. If I can go home, I will not come back here. If you have a legal card, it is easier to work. But if the workers do not have cards it is very difficult especially travelling. It is quite okay for me here. I am planning to gather an sum of money and go home. I may open a small shop. My younger brother who is now in school in Burma wants to come to Thailand, but I do not want him to come. Life is difficult here. Travelling is difficult. Working is difficult."

 

On the tension in Burma, Nan Way's thoughts are similar to other migrant Burmese:

 

"I do not have much time to follow the media. But once in a while, my friend would call to let me know what is happening. It is sad that the people have come out peacefully. It is very sad and awful how the government is reacting. In Thailand, when the people came out and protested, the government did not do anything. The Burmese came out to demand a better economy. Currently in Burma, the rich bring money to invest. The rich work very little, but get a lot of money back. In contrast the poor have worked forever and could not get enough money to live on. If I was in Burma, I would be out on the street protesting as well. I know that I might be arrested by the military, but I am not afraid. My friends are also not afraid."

 

... There may be different details in the start and end points of their journeys, but their main goal is that they want normal lives just like other ordinary people.

 

 

Translated by Pokpong Lawansiri

 

Source: 
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