LNDO Interview

  It was in late 1999, around Christmas time, when Wa from the northern Wa area arrived in our village. They came all at once, about 700 soldiers with their families in large trucks. They came and started building their own houses by our village, and planting their crops. They took all the good land from the local villagers. We weren’t allowed to complain. Anyone who complained was arrested and put in “jail” (in an underground pit). They were tied up with chains around their legs and then made to work in the fields for the Wa, with only one meal a day.

The Wa that came to our area were from the UWSA 214 Division. When they arrived, each person was given 1,000 baht (in Thai money), including children. They were also given one large tin of rice each per adult, and half a tin per child. They were given this amount each month. They were told they would be given this amount for three years, after which they would have to rely on themselves.

 They planted rice in the fields that we used to plant. They also planted poppies up in the hills. Their leaders told them not to grow opium nearby, but out of sight. They were told they could grow until 2005, after which it would be forbidden.

 There were also some Chinese with them. They set up shops and sold various food items. They also made whiskey to sell from corn. I also saw some Chinese soldiers and officers with the Wa Army. They wore Wa uniforms, but they were whiter-skinned than the Wa, so it was easy to tell them apart. They spoke no language other than Chinese.

Soon after the Wa arrived, they started to get ill with malaria and dying. They were dying one after another. Sometimes ten people in one day. I’ve never seen anything like it before in my life. There were some Wa medics, but they couldn’t save the people. They ordered large trucks of medicine, both Chinese and Thai medicine, but it didn’t seem to work. They buried the bodies outside the village. No sooner had they buried one person, then another person died. Men, women, children, whole families were dying. Some people tried to run away when their family members started dying, but if they were caught, they were arrested and beaten. Some men were even killed for trying to run away. So anyone running away had to go at night time. The Wa soldiers would search each house to look for people who had run away, asking if anyone knew where they had gone.

Some children were orphaned when their parents died of illness. They were taken away and sent to the army base in Ho Yawd for schooling. There is one school there, which teaches Chinese, Wa and Shan. There are about 300 children there, boys and girls. They will all work for the Wa army after they finish their schooling.

I stayed in the village for about one year after the Wa arrived, and then finally I couldn’t bear it any longer and I left. The Wa took everything they wanted from us. They demanded taxes. Each family member had to give 250 baht (Thai money) to the Wa Army per year. If we couldn’t give this, we had to give one person to the Wa Army instead. They accepted children from the age of 7 years upwards. Luckily I had enough chickens, and other animals which I could sell off to give enough money. We also had to give a tax of 10 tins of rice per field to the Wa Army. This was as well as the rice we had to give to the Burmese Army.

When I left the village, I couldn’t take anything with me, except for a few blankets. I left behind one big mother pig and 7 piglets, and 70 chickens. The Wa wouldn’t let me take anything else. By the time I left there were no Lahu left in our village at all. Everyone else had run away, and the Wa had moved into their old houses. Everyone scattered in different directions. Some went to Ho Yawd, some to Murng Hsat. I don’t know anyone who came to Thailand.