Preparation for the move

There are reports of the Wa authorities informing people up to 6 months beforehand that they would be resettled in the south.

“One day, a (Wa) militia leader called Ngao Kap who’d come back from a meeting at the headquarters at Panghsang told us that soon all the people in our village would have to move to the Thai-Burma borderline. We were told that there would be good soil there, we could plant new fields, and get as much land to work or stay on as we wanted. It was close to Thailand, so we could sell our chickens, pigs, buffalo, cows, and so on for a good price.” (LNDO interview #1)

The villagers were aware that they had no choice about whether or not to go.

“The Wa people are used to having to obey orders from our time under communist rule, so no one dared to protest.” (LNDO interview #3)

“.. We all knew that we had to obey the orders of the Wa leaders, or else we would be killed.” (LNDO interview #1)

Clearly, there were mixed feelings among those who were ordered to move. Many appeared to look forward to the new life in the south:

“Most of my family were happy to be moving, especially two of my older daughters who wanted to escape from their miserable life.” (LNDO interview #1)

However, some expressed unhappiness about leaving their ancestral homes and farmlands:

“I could not feel happy because I did not know anything about the new place. (..) I told my wife I did not want to leave my farm and opium plot, which was how I really felt. But I did not tell anyone else that I did not want to move.” (LNDO interview #1)

Another reason why some were reluctant to move was that they feared the warmer climate in southern Shan State, where they knew malaria was endemic. In the mid-nineties, many Wa soldiers from the north had died of malaria while fighting the Shan forces of the Mong Tai Army on the Shan-Thai border in the south.

“Because of this news (of the move), some villagers were happy and some were sad. The villagers who were sad were the people who had once fought against Khun Sa at Loi Lang, on the Thai-Burma border. Many of their fellow-soldiers had died of malaria at that time.” (LNDO interview #1)

Despite the initial designation of which populations were to move, on the day of the move itself, some people found themselves being forced to move without any warning whatsoever.

“Some were told 6 months in advance that they would be moving. Some had no warning at all. In the case of one village called Yaung Gayor, which had 230 houses, the order had been given that about 100 families should move. But on the day of the move, actually 150 were ordered to move. They simply forced people out from other houses at random. In some families, there were children who ran away secretly from their houses because they didn’t want to go, and so were left behind. Thus, families ended up being split by the move.” (LNDO interview #6)

Even for some who knew they were to move in advance, the day of the move came quite abruptly:

“One night, (..) 20 soldiers from the headquarters came and said: Early tomorrow morning, when you hear the signal of a whistle, everyone must get up and cook and eat quickly. By the second whistle, you must all leave the village. No one is allowed to carry any pots, plates, or other belongings.” (LNDO interview #1)

The order forbidding people to carry their possessions with them caused increased unhappiness among those to be moved:

“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 them or not.” (LNDO interview #2)