Interview #6

Tavoyan Villager
Tavoy Township, Tenasserim Division, Burma

Starting in November 2000 in Tavoy Township . . . the District Peace Development Council ordered the village to call porters "helpers" and if people still called "helpers" porters, they will punish them.

In February 2001, Burma army's Coastal Military Command (CMC), Military Strategic Command (MSC) No.1, asked for helpers (porters) from four townships. In each township, MSC 1 asked for 400 helpers (porters), so the total number of porters was 1600. Among these porters, 25 porters from my village were included. The people from my village were hired to be helpers (porters) for the military. Each porter was hired for 30,000 kyat, but the money came from the villagers. [Individuals could volunteer to work for payment, which distinguishes this from times when it is someone's obligatory turn to work or a fee is imposed. The money the military pays to the volunteers comes from funds the military has collected from villagers.] Each household had to pay 3,000 kyat as a porter fee. For people who could not pay the porter fee, they had to go porter as punishment and also had to pay 10,000 kyat to the military.

In my village, the villagers had give five porters every month. Whenever they asked for "operation" porters ["operation" porters refers to those working for troops actually involved in battle or fighting], they asked money each household to pay a porter fee of 1500 kyat. . . . For people who cannot pay the operation porter fee, they have to go as an operation porter.