The life in the Shan State - By witnesses
Everything told here was either said directly by the leader of the camp or by Phra Sanet
Being Shan, not Burmese, the people of this state is under a constant crackdown. Foreigners are only allowed to go to Tachilek, Chiang Tung and 1-2 other big cities. Because they are cities and, thus, the situation is relatively under control. No fight with the Shan Army, no huge crackdown... The life is a little better for the Shan there, so the government feels it safe to put it as a display.
And yet, even there, life is hard. All the soldiers from the Tatmadaw that I saw, there are not Shan. They are Burmese. Come on, it's not like you could possibly imagine putting a Shan as a soldier in his own state..... The Burmese feel they cannot trust them, I guess.
But you do have a kind of local militia, formed by Tai Yai, Tai Kheun... They are villagers and they have to do it. No real choice in it. The spies are always here, even if you don't know who they are (but that's the very principle of being a spy...) They are not paid, don't receive any food for the service they do as a member of the militia. The only privilege they have is to own a gun, within their village. They have to patrol and watch over, checking everything is calm and under control.
For every shop, every society, a tax is taken by the government. It is usually as high as 40%. So, when paying 500bt for the hotel, you are giving 200bt to the junta.
Problem is, when you are a farmer, you don't give 40% of the crop but 40% of the expected crop according to the size of your land. So if the draught make it a really bad year, or if you are too sick to leave your bed for months, you will still ghave to give the 40% of rice the government expect. And if you don't pay the tax for 2 years in a row, you can say goodbye to your land : it is taken away by the government.
It is a strategy much praised by the junta, especially on the isolated villages along the border. These are the most liable to help the Shan Army, by giving them food and shelter, in the mountains. By throwing out the villagers, the junta makes sure no-one stay to help. I don't know how often it happens but the Tatmadaw goes to some village and tell everyone to go the city. You don't want to try to resist their order, trust me...
Obviously, these villagers owns nothing in the cities. No house, no job, often no relatives. They are homeless and without ressource. And thus they are much easier to put under control.
If a village wants a school, the villagers have to pay the construction with their own money. No financial support from the government. A tax is usually held on the donations too. And if some building material remains after the building is finished, the villagers will usually not be able to keep it to repair a house or build a new home : it is taken away by the soldiers as another part of the tax.
Only then do the junta send teachers. Carefully selected, of course. Burmese, not Shan. You would not take the risk that Shan teacher make the children learn about their culture, their language and have ideas of independence. Would you ?
But these teachers are not well paid, around 900bt per month (20 euro - 29$). So children usually have to bring rice to their teacher in the morning. Another tax for an already poor population...
The crackdown is generally achieved through the almighty Tatmadaw. The soldiers are interested in your motorbike, they take it. They want to use something of your home, they take it away. They don't like you, you're liable to go on an "interview". And if they like your wife ? Well, don't worry, they may give her back to you after a few days...
The hostel we were staying at, in Chiang Tun, was run by a woman. I'm not sure of the relationship (forgot it) but I think it's the sister of her husband who, one day, was taken away by the Tatmadaw for an interview. Some time later, word spread she had done something against the governments. Now, I think it has been years since they saw here being taken away. And she is probably dead, her body forgotten somewhere...
And yet, even there, life is hard. All the soldiers from the Tatmadaw that I saw, there are not Shan. They are Burmese. Come on, it's not like you could possibly imagine putting a Shan as a soldier in his own state..... The Burmese feel they cannot trust them, I guess.
But you do have a kind of local militia, formed by Tai Yai, Tai Kheun... They are villagers and they have to do it. No real choice in it. The spies are always here, even if you don't know who they are (but that's the very principle of being a spy...) They are not paid, don't receive any food for the service they do as a member of the militia. The only privilege they have is to own a gun, within their village. They have to patrol and watch over, checking everything is calm and under control.
For every shop, every society, a tax is taken by the government. It is usually as high as 40%. So, when paying 500bt for the hotel, you are giving 200bt to the junta.
Problem is, when you are a farmer, you don't give 40% of the crop but 40% of the expected crop according to the size of your land. So if the draught make it a really bad year, or if you are too sick to leave your bed for months, you will still ghave to give the 40% of rice the government expect. And if you don't pay the tax for 2 years in a row, you can say goodbye to your land : it is taken away by the government.
It is a strategy much praised by the junta, especially on the isolated villages along the border. These are the most liable to help the Shan Army, by giving them food and shelter, in the mountains. By throwing out the villagers, the junta makes sure no-one stay to help. I don't know how often it happens but the Tatmadaw goes to some village and tell everyone to go the city. You don't want to try to resist their order, trust me...
Obviously, these villagers owns nothing in the cities. No house, no job, often no relatives. They are homeless and without ressource. And thus they are much easier to put under control.
If a village wants a school, the villagers have to pay the construction with their own money. No financial support from the government. A tax is usually held on the donations too. And if some building material remains after the building is finished, the villagers will usually not be able to keep it to repair a house or build a new home : it is taken away by the soldiers as another part of the tax.
Only then do the junta send teachers. Carefully selected, of course. Burmese, not Shan. You would not take the risk that Shan teacher make the children learn about their culture, their language and have ideas of independence. Would you ?
But these teachers are not well paid, around 900bt per month (20 euro - 29$). So children usually have to bring rice to their teacher in the morning. Another tax for an already poor population...
The crackdown is generally achieved through the almighty Tatmadaw. The soldiers are interested in your motorbike, they take it. They want to use something of your home, they take it away. They don't like you, you're liable to go on an "interview". And if they like your wife ? Well, don't worry, they may give her back to you after a few days...
The hostel we were staying at, in Chiang Tun, was run by a woman. I'm not sure of the relationship (forgot it) but I think it's the sister of her husband who, one day, was taken away by the Tatmadaw for an interview. Some time later, word spread she had done something against the governments. Now, I think it has been years since they saw here being taken away. And she is probably dead, her body forgotten somewhere...
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