LNDO Interview

Wa leader, Wei Sai Tang ordered all the people who were under his control to move to the south because their area was so poor. The Wa people were used to having to obey orders from their time under communist rule, so no one dared to protest. We had to leave behind all our belongings, which we had struggled for so many years to collect. Some households had many cows and buffaloes which they had to leave behind. No one wanted to leave them behind. We were told by our leaders that we would be paid back for the possessions we left behind. We had no choice but to obey, whether we believed it or not.

Our native place was very rocky and mountainous. Communications were difficult, and there were no plain areas for cultivation. All ploughing was done by hand. The main crop was opium. The soil was not suitable for rice, only for potatoes and maize. Most households did not have enough rice to eat. They had to eat, maize, potatoes, and other vegetables.

Our fields had been cultivated for generations, so we needed to use fertilizer, mostly animal manure. But that was not enough, so we used people’s excrement too. The plants would die if we were not careful. There was no forest and wood to make fire for cooking. We had to collect sticks. We used to use grass for the roof and the leaves for the sides of buildings.

When our leader Wei Sai Tang talked about the good place where we would move to, everyone was happy and wanted to get there quickly in one night and one day. It was the middle of one winter’s night, when we left our village, because we did not want to look back and be able to see what we were leaving. Even though we had not travelled so far by dawn, we were no longer able to see our village.

There were 278 houses in my village, Yawng Rai. The population was 1,590. The villages in the same township which also moved were Yawng Kha Lawt 1,798, Yawng Kai 3,540, Lai Thi Yar 2,088, Ok Si Yeet 2,034. Altogether there were 11,000 people.

Kun Mar or Tin Mor village tract, which had a population of about 18,700, which was controlled by our leader Paung Ye Chan (or) Ta Pan, also had to move.

I heard that about 24,900 people from China had to move to Panghsang, and Murng Hsat by trucks along the Mong Lan road.

13,000 people from the Ko Kang area were to move from the Lashio, Mong Kerng, Namsan area to Mong Ton. 9,000 people from Pang Yang township had to move to Mong Peng and Mong Hsat by walking. 2,400 from Nar Wi moved to Pang Yang by track then would continue by walking.

We were in the walking group because most of us were poor. All my family’s clothes were in one basket. My wife carried the clothes basket on her back and carried our one-year-old daughter too. I carried 2 viss of opium and 150 rupees at the bottom of the basket and maize and 6 pyi of rice on these. My three-year-old son was on my basket. My older daughter carried some plates and food. Our second daughter was holding her younger brother’s hand who was 5 years old.

Sometimes we would walk along the roads, and sometimes take short cuts. The way was very rough and often we had to walk in zig-zags up and down the mountaine. Most of the journey we walked on the Pang Wai and Pang Sang roads which we had made ourselves.

In the Yawng Parit and Aik Soi areas in Murng Mao district, there was more opium than in ours. This was the part of the Wa area where most opium was produced and where most other crops could be grown. Most of the villagers there were rich. There were also silver deposits in this area. The Wa leaders and Chinese government made10,000 villagers there move out because they wanted to mine for silver. While we were walking, we were passed by villagers from Yawng Parit and Aik Soi villages, who were being moved in trucks.

There were many children in our group, so in some places we rested for two or three nights. It took us 18 days to arrive at Pang Sang. Than we crossed Mong Pauk and Ho Pun Mong Ngen valley and continued to Tong Tar area, crossing the Keng Tung - Taunggyi road. Then we followed the Nam Sim River to Mong Yawn, in Mong Hsat Township, where we are now.

The trip had taken 69 days. Everyone was tired, especially the children. We had to continually encourage them to keep walking. My wife and eldest daughter took it in turns to carry my son, who was crying for much of the journey. The area we reached was better than our native area. The rice was cheap, but when more newcomers arrived, the prices of everything became higher and higher. We could not buy the food we needed. We bought a dog at the price they said because we liked it. We slept 3 nights at Ho Pun Mong Ngen village, which was one of the Wa villages because we bought the buffalo there and ate it. We were happy because the children were enjoying themselves.

When we arrived at Mong Yawn, my family received support from the Wa organisation because we were their members. I earned 20 Yuan (Chinese money), my wife got 15, my son and daughter got 10 Yuan.. And each of us got 6 Pyis of rice per month. So we didn’t have any problem. We got military uniforms including women and children. Men had full time duty but women and children only sometimes. We had a law that Wa nationals have to be soldier.

The bigger families were better because they were supported by the organisation. Therefor, some men could have more than one wife. Especially those in higher posts had more then two wives.

When we were in our former village, they said that we would not be able to grow opium but could grow rice and we can get as many fields as we wanted. When we arrived at the new place, the Wa organisation and SPDC made an agreement that we were able to grow opium for three years because we could not yet grow other crops.

The newcomers became busy on their farms. Wherever they saw good soil and they wanted it, they would clash with the local Lahu and other Wa. The leaders would then make a decision, and everyone had to obey the orders. In my family, except for the duties for the organization, we spent our time working on our farm.