Meet my students...

WRITING EXERCISE

After a three-day workshop with an Australian journalist, Timothy Syrota, students were asked to write a detailed account of a significant experience in their lives. The stories are published here with permission from the students


Nickson
It was around 11 o'clock at night. There was a seriously dangerous sound from outside. One minute later, my mother woke me up and told me to run. The people who live next to our house were crying and in shock. Moreover, the bullets were coming around the camp beside my family and I.
A few minutes later, I heard a big voice from behind me. I looked behind me but nothing happened to me. Although I did see an old man who was around fourty years old who had been shot by the guns in his left leg. He said to his wife and children to run away quickly from the camp area to another. And you shouldn't take care of me, and you hadn't enough time, please run away.
This man's voice sounded like a pig being killed before it dies.
I thought that I was going to get my movies and things at my house. Although my mum said be quick so that my family and I could run away from our camp. Four or five minutes later, all of the houses, schools, hospitals, were burning and lighting.
At that time, some people with us sat on the field outside camp next to the Thai village called Hway Ko Loke. After that, we directly went to my grandmother's house who lives there. In the morning, I came back to our camp. What was burned had been changed. As a result, wood became charcoal and bamboo and thatch changed to ash. Everything was gone.



Cha Mu
Last year, on my summer holiday, I went to visit my parents, who live on the Thai/Myanmar borderline in a town called P'lu. In this place, we have Burmese soldiers, DKBA (Democratic Karen Buddhist Army) and KNU (Karen National Union). We're afraid of them.
After I had arrived and been there for two days, there was a problem in the house that is next to my house. This house was the home of a leader of the DKBA. In the evening around 6pm, my family and I watched karaoke and we laughed a lot. Suddenly we all heard a gunshot and my father switched off the electricity and the CD. Then we all went to the wall and peeked. We saw that there were more than twenty people who covered their faces with hats and surrounded the house. But they didn't care about us. I heard that they asked for jewelry from the wife. When they got it, they destroyed the television, car and drawers in the house.
At that time, my brother, who always visited this house, came back with his motorbike. He rode through the house and as for us, we didn't dare to stop him. We watched this situation nervously. When he arrived in front of the house, he was kicked by the army and his head hit by the edge of the gun. At the same time, one of the people sad, "Kill him now."
But the wife said, "Don’t' kill him. He is my son." So they didn't kill him.
But when they went back, they arrested my brother and the leader of DKBA. Before they left, they fired the house and they threatened us that we were not allowed to go in the house as they had left a bomb in there. But my uncle and my father went there and stopped the fire.


George
Last year, when I was sitting the entrance exam of ICFC (Intensive College Foundation Course), I was interviewed by the ICFC coordinators. They sat on a bench. The one who had a potbelly and was bald, was holding a microphone beside me. The one who had red-golden hair was with a tape-recorder. The other one was a woman. She looked like an Indian.
They all interviewed me but without a microphone and tape-recorder. As a resolute of this, I missed my words. I lost my self-confidence, I forgot how to answer. So, I lost my best chance. I mean that I failed and I didn't pass the entrance exam of ICFC because of the interview. I passed all the other subjects, but I couldn't attend that school because I failed the interview. So I realize myself that interviews are also important for further study. Although you are intelligent in other subjects, if you are not clever in the interview, you can't do anything that concerns the exam. So this is the big experience in my life.


Rose Gay Htoo
On May 29th, 2001, after I finished high school ten standards, I had to leave Laikaw and come to Thailand. It was the first time I was far away from my family. Moreover, I had to continue in my studies in a Karen refugee camp in Umphiem. It made me feel so upset when I arrived at Umpiem's bus stop. I had to take out my bag and arry it up to SEP (Special English Program). At that time, the weather in camp was very awful because it was slippery everywhere. It was cloudy and dark all day. Then I did not dare to take a bath. Furthermore, I was under the weather. I had to stay alone and study at SEP. Before I attended the school, I had to take the SEP exam and I had to stay at SEP dorms. I had no friends to talk to or go around with. People were friendly but I didn't understand what they were talking about in Karen because I couldn't speak their Karen language.
On the fifteenth of June, I told my aunt who took me to Thailand that I wanted to go back but she said, "you have o chance to go back." This sound hurt my heart a lot like and arrow that goes into your heart and draws blood. Everything was hanged in my life. I had never seen a school like SEP and houses like the houses in Umphiem camp. All of the houses are made by bamboo and thatch. There were no parks, no cinemas, no hotels and no restaurants. In my life, I had never heard that we had Karen refugees in Thailand. My parents never talked about Karen people and my aunt didn't tell me that Umphiem is a refugee camp. She told me that education in Umpheim is very good except the living standards are not, but you must try to live like them. I felt embarrassed that I am Karen but I couldn't speak Karen. Moreover, I didn't know about my people who had to be refugees in Thailand. Even if I ha never been in Umphiem, I wouldn't know about the Karen situation in Karen state. Now I know all about it. So I have to be proud of myself that now I become a real Karen. I thank my aunt. Because of her, I can study freely. Also I know my people so I am happy to stay in Umphiem camp.


Zaw Zaw Aung
When I was studying in the sixth standard in the high school of my village, I suffered from a serious pain I my lungs. It took a long time for it to be healed or recovered. I can recall the most specific time it troubled me.
It was a hot day. The crop fields, which are located on the right side of the school, had just been ripped. I could see several cowboys with their cattle from the second top floor of the school. It was lunchtime. Some students were running on the floor and grounds. Some were playing tops and some were playing football. Their white shirts and longies were full of dust and sweat. I was alone sitting at the corner of the second top floor, which was fenced by some intervals of wooden bars. The pain was increasingly more and more - eventually it was so much that I could not breathe. I closed y eyes and twisted and pummeled my belly. I guess I passed out for a while and when I woke up, I felt n o pain.
After the moment had passed, I was thinking, " do cowboys and other students have something of the same disease or pain like me? If yes, what time does it appear to them?" My head was full of those kinds of questions.
At that moment, the bell rang and I attended the rest of my classes that day.


Bway Kho Wah
When I as studying in tenth standard, I was a school group leader. Even though I as the student's group leader, my job was empty.
I heard some o y friends drank alcohol and took bad medicine, which gave them a good feeling. I wanted to taste and I copied my friends. I started skipping school with some of my friends. I did not dare to buy the bad medicine, but I asked some of my friends, who were my best friends, and they bought it for me. After that, I took five bad medicines at the same time and I felt dizzy and I wanted to sleep. But I could not sleep. I went to Zone B with my classmates and I spent the whole day o the road. We walked around Zone B. We didn't go to school the whole day. Even though I didn't go to school, my parents didn't know about me.
The second day, I went to school for one period and I started skipping school again. We went out and bought alcohol. We went to one of my friend's houses and we drank alcohol and smoked cigarettes. We spent the whole day like this. When I came back home, I thought my parents still didn't know about me, but they already knew. They asked me where I had been and I said that I had been at school. I tried to lie but they didn't believe me. My bother beat me and I wanted to cry but my tears didn't fall on my cheeks. I hated myself. To this day I have never skipped school or drunk alcohol again.


Dah Wah
In the year 1990-1991, I came to Thailand with my family. Because the SPDC (State Peace and Development Council) had come to my village, every family had to leave their poverty. They could take only a few things with them. By the time I came to Thailand, I was only six years old. I couldn’t take notice of everything exactly. My parents came to a Karen refugee camp, which was called Mor Ker, with me. When we arrived, many houses were already set up. I started studying. I was enjoying my studying.
In 1997, the DKBA came to the camp and burned the camp. At that time, I was a sixth-stander. I saw the burning. The bullets were shining dangerously. My family and I went down to the house and hid in a hole. The bullets came above my head. They nearly hurt my head. My legs were shaking, also my heart.
In the morning, I saw many people didn't want to eat, not even me. For the next two or three days everything was fine.
In the summer, my family and I went back to my village to visit. At that time, people could travel on the borderline. When I was again at my village, I saw the SPDC and DKBA. One of the DKBA visited my family. I also talked ot him, but I hated him a little bit. We spent only a few weeks there and we came back. For the next three years, all the people of Mor Ker had to move to a new refugee camp called Umphiem.


Poe Kler Htoo
I was born in Karen State in Pa Tu village. But I great up in a refugee camp. When I was living in Mor Ker refugee camp, I had a serious problem for the first time in my life. It put me in a fix. It was when the DKBA came and burnt the refugee camp. As a result, many houses were burned. Moreover, they shot guns. So a lot of people were running and shooting in the dark on the road. Because it was nighttime. That is the reason why I had to leave my house without knowing anything. So I was very depressed living in the refugee camp. It was five years ago, before we had moved to Umphiem Mai camp.
Secondly, on the twentieth of November 2004, it was nighttime when I was talking with my friends at ARC (American Refugee Committee) in Zone B. Suddenly, I heard Thai soldiers and my friends fighting each other on the main road in section one. Immediately, I went down and looked for my friends on the road. At that time, many soldiers were coming and beat my stomach and my head without any reason. Even though I wanted to explain the situation to them, they didn't listen to me and took me to the camp office in Zone A. Then, I had a conversation with the camp leader who works for the security of the refugee camp. However, I had no worries, because I knew myself that I was an innocent person. Also the leader understood me and let me free to go back home. But I have never forgotten being hurt by soldiers. It was the second sojourn in my beautiful life.
Thirdly, even though I am a refugee, I have a dream that one day Karen people will get back their homeland because our Karen people will be emancipated from the Burmese government. Our Karen people will abolish the SPDC in Burma. For this reason, the SPDC will be done and our Karen people will have freedom. Our Karen people will have a good education. Our Karen people will have a good relationship with the other ethnic groups. Also other ethnic groups will be free like the Karen in Burma. But I have never been satisfied being a refugee with less opportunities than other people. I have never been satisfied leaving our homeland and living in another country. I have never been satisfied with the killing of innocent people that is happening in Karen State. However, we are not wallow people in future. Therefore, one day, I have a dream: Karen people will get back their beautiful homeland and develop their lives. Moreover the world will know that the Karen people are one of the ethnic groups of Burma.


Say Say Lah
In 1986, I stayed in jail for six months in Burma. Because my father is a KNU soldier and the SPDC soldiers caught me. At that time, I was five years old. After they had freed me from the jail, I got a disease and nearly died. Even though they had freed me, I have to be afraid all the time because they knew me. I am worried that they will catch me again.
When I studied in tenth standard in 1998, they burned my house in my village. At that time, my mother did not stay in the house. If she had stayed there, they would have killed my mother.
Even though I have a chance to study, I am never happy because I am afraid all the time. On the other hand, I am lucky because my parents send me to school. If I compare my life with the other people, I am very lucky because other people don't have a chance to study.
In 2001, I went to the Thai/Burma border because the SPDC were aroused. They could catch us again, so my sister and I came to the borderline. When I arrived at the borderline, I was very surprised because I hadn't known that a lot of Karen people stayed in the border.
Now I live in a refugee camp and I know more about our Karen situation. I'm happy with them also. On the other hand, I knew why my father became a soldier. When I stayed in Burma, I never knew about our Karen situation. I know that the SPDC soldiers said that the KNU are not good.
In my life, happy and worried go together. All these stories, I will never forget, especially the experience in my life since I was a child, until this day.


Kler Paw
When I was in the eighth standard in 1999, I had an unforgettable picnic in my life. At that time, I was in Mawlamyine and I studied at Number Eleven High School. During December holidays, we decided to go somewhere with our friends together happily. We meant that we would go after we finished our second trimester examinations. As we know, boys and girls like a picnic very much. They always welcome it. Even older people like to have a picnic. As soon as one of my friends invited me to join a picnic party, I accepted it quickly. The picnic I went to was a happy occasion for me.
The picnic site was Kan Daw Kyi, which is located in Mu Don, Mon State. We went there by hired bus. After three hours driving from Mawlamyine, we arrived there. We chose a fine shady spot as our picnic ground. There were a few trees nearby. When we arrived at the picnic ground, we put down the things under some trees. We had pots of rice and curry, packets of some fruits, sweets and chocolates. While some were preparing for our lunch, a few boys and girls walked around the area. After a while, we gathered at the main spot to have a picnic lunch.
Though there were only a few boys and girls at the picnic ground, the place was alive with talking, laughing and clapping hands. When we finished our lunch, we played a parcel game. A parcel game was very popular for picnic parties in Myanmar. No one had to refuse to participate in it. The three boys of the picnic party played on an organ and the two hollow guitars. Some girls were good at singing. Some could dance very well. The occasion made the picnic party more friendly. Then, every partner became my close friend when we came back to our own place. How fine the picnic I went to was!


Naing Lin
The twenty-seventh of November 2004, was a snowing day. All the SEP students were tired, in view of the fact that they had carried rations from the ration store. I looked at my friend, called Rita's, face. She was sweating. I invited her to drink beer with me and she nodded.
We four, two girls and two boys, were sitting around the table. The time was nearly 11:00am. We put beer on the table but had no cups. We looked at each other, waiting for someone to start drinking it. But within five minutes, nobody had started. So I had to start. We only had one beer. It was gone within ten minutes.
After I drunk beer with my friends, I remembered something that my friend Rita had told me. She said that she had no more money to buy a coat. All I wanted was to share some of my money with her. However I did not dare to give her my money because she might think that I had fallen in love with her. I couldn't make a decision if I should give her the money or not. I continued talking to her. The two of my friends left from the table. So I made a decision that I would give her some money.
I went inside to my bed and took out 200 baht from my wallet and put it inside a diary book that I hadn't written anything in and gave it to her. First, she was surprised and refused to take the money. But when I said, "Don’t worry," she took it. I looked at her. She smiled at me. I was really happy.
This was what I have never done I my life. The day was the twenty-seventh of November, 2004, in the SEP dorm in section 6, Zone B. I will never forget this day that I had made someone happy.


Pho Kyaw Kyaw
I have many experiences in my life. But I clearly recognize only one in my high school life in 1999, in Nu Poe high school. It made me very upset at that time and also I found it difficult to solve. But later on I found a good way to pass it.
In June, 1999, when I was in grade 10 in Nu Poe high school, KT Taw, the mistress of high school in Nu Poe, treated me very badly and teased me every tie that she saw me.
One day, the second week of the school year, she taught in a grade nine class and I sat in grade ten class in the back row. She scolded her students and said that you, boys, did not respect the teachers like the students from grade ten. I then thought, it was not just and belonged to our class. So, I stood up and yelled at the mistress.
I said to her, "It is not a good example to the students, and makes the students upset by hurting other people that you don't know." Then she started crying at the time. I took my bag and left the school. I did not want to study any more with her.
When I left the school, I decided that as long as she taught in the school, I would never attend that school. After I had argued with her, she sent a letter to my parents that evening.
But I didn't go back home for two days. I spent time with my friends and drank a lot of alcohol. After two days had passed, I went back home.
My parents asked me, "What happened to you in the school? Here is a letter that came from the head mistress." The teacher and my parents had a meeting. But it was not successful because I didn't want to attend the school in Nu Poe, so they decided to send me to Mae Sot.
They sent me to a mission school, called True Life in God. This, I remember forever. It was the first time I had seen a partial teacher in my life. Also I didn't want to study in a school like that. But later, I heard that the teacher had resigned from her position and she had regretted that she had treated her students like that.


Johnny Htoo
During 1996 and 1997, I was attending the Kawthoolei High School in Karen State, which was located on the KNU Brigade Number (6). The high school was in a village called Kyite Don, where many resistance families were staying. Other business people were also staying there. I was in seventh standard and there were about seven hundred students in the school. Most of the students were from business families. A few people at school were from normal and resistance families.
On March 17th of 1996, there was an arrangement from the brigade general to provide military training to the students. The demand was for one hundred students who would be required to attend the training, including about thirty percent o the schoolgirls. Thus, on March 24th, 1996, I reenrolled my name to attend the training and many friends of mine did also. Then the training started.
The hatred of carrying guns, behaving actively and obeying rules were lost in my mind. There were three trainers at that time. I had to be in the training every day although I didn't want to. Uplift of dynamism of patriot spirit, uplift of fitness and obedience were given to me in my mind. The second step was to be involved in warfare, which the other people joined, not only me. At the military section, we had to follow all the things or orders that our officer asked of us. WE had to obey all the things, which we chose to be before. Combat, shooting, killing and learning about initial discipline were included in the training.
However, my true past experience is not only for the memories of learning these aggressive skills of warriors, but my actual dream is to remember the heart of the capacity to be active and to show our spirit of patriotism.


K'Shaw Paw
When I was in the seventh standard, I liked to ride my bicycle very much. but one day, I played with my friends, then I said that I will ride a bicycle down from the mountain. One of my friends asked me for a to ride a bicycle behind me. So I told her that I would try one time, then, if it is ok, I will bet you to ride behind me. I rode a bicycle down the mountain, then I couldn't control my bicycle. At that time, I was so scare, like I couldn't do anything, then I didn't see anything in front of me.
At the same time, I heard a loud sound calling me, "K'Shaw Paw! … 9 …10…"
My whole body was shaking and my face became red. In my heart I thought where the bicycle would go, never mind, I will let it be like that. I gave up, so my bicycle hit the tree that is in front of my house. Later, I fell down from the bicycle. My bum and my legs were very painful. Moreover, my legs got a wound.
Starting that day, until today, I have never ridden a bicycle, because it got me into a lot of trouble. The most important thing that I am afraid of is that I will lose my body.


Cho Cho Aung
Every year, there is a big festival for the students of Burma. In 1997, the festival was held in K'Chen State and I was chosen to go there as my school's representative. At that time, I was in sixth standard and thirteen years old. I knew that I had to go to K'Chen State and I felt very happy and excited. My aunt and cousin also prepared things for me such as clothes and pocket money for my trip.
Before I went to K'Chen State, I had to stay in P'Ahn for one month. I had to learn about dancing in P'Ahn for one month. From my village to P'Ahn, I had to go on a ship.
Two of the teachers from my school had to go also and went with my to P'Ahn. When I arrived in P'Ahn, my two teachers went and went on a bicycle to the place where I had to stay. We rode the bicycles for thirty minutes and arrived at the big building. I thought that it might be a government service's apartment. We went up to second floor and entered into a room. There was a woman there who was about fifty years old and she smiled at us. We also smiled at her. Then she told us to sit and gave us some water to drink. After that she said, "I'm sorry that I sent to message to you too late. The students who had to go to K'Chen State are too many. We are full. Yesterday I tried to send the message to your school but I couldn't find any messengers. I am really sorry that you and your students had to come here."
As soon as I heard that speech, I felt very sad. Then me and my teachers said goodbye to that teacher, took our bags and went to one of the teacher's friend's houses who lived in P'Ahn.


Bathsheba
On Friday, December 3rd 2004, at night time< I was in bed an going to sleep. Three of us were staying in the dorm and I was sleeping in the middle. AT about 11pm, one of my friends was shocked because she couldn't find her tape recorder when she wanted to listen to it. She called us to help find her. I was also shocked and awoke, wanting to know what had happened to us. We were afraid and I almost cried. WE all knew that the tape recorder was lost. Why our things were lost again and again? Some said that it was outside people who took them. "Is it really?" I asked and was shaken and afraid. Even though we locked the room with a key when we went outside, some kind of person stole our things. It made us afraid and worried that we dared not to sleep in our own dorms anymore. Lately one of my friends old me, "Don't worry, sleep well." We talked about funny things to try and forget the worry then about 12:30, I fell asleep.


Ler Lah Say
The scariest experience that remains with me always happened when I was six years old. I went to watch a football game with my father at the football ground. Before we got to the football ground, we had to cross the main road in order to reach the grounds. After we finished watching the football game, I came back before my father. Then, when I arrived at the main road, I saw a car coming at very fast speed. Before the car crossed in front of me, I tried to cross the road with a quick movement first. When other people beside me on the road saw this, they were very scared for me, because they worried that I would die in that accident. However, luckily, I was saved from that scare. When I got home, my parents scolded me and I cried. Then I went to bed and fell asleep. But I remember this memory all the time.