Children from Myanmar tell their stories

Family members and friends disappear or are killed. A home, a school, or a hospital in the village is reduced to rubble by aerial bombs. Again and again, hiding in makeshift bunkers or in the woods, fleeing and being driven out from impending military attacks.
 

All of this is a harsh reality in Myanmar. For the children growing up there, it has been part of their childhood for the past five years.

Five years have passed since the military violently seized power and plunged the country into civil war. Since then, an entire generation of children has grown up with the madness of a war that knows no clear front lines. Approximately 1.2 million children have been displaced from their homes, living in refugee camps along the country's borders, in the forests, or fleeing from place to place. 

Together with our partner organizations KNWO and KnHRG, who provide care for refugee children in the temporary camps, we asked two of them to tell us about themselves.

Paw*, girl, 10 years old
 

Paw, thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us. How old are you now?
I'm 10 years old.

Would you like to tell us where you live right now?
I live in a camp for displaced people. With my grandparents and my older brother.

What's it like there? Are there things you like – or things you don't like at all?
I don't like the camp; I don't have any friends here. We've been displaced many times and had to move to a new place. I'm often sad and wish we were back home, in our village. There I could ride my bike – here I'm not allowed to, I'm not even allowed to go far from the camp.

Why aren't you allowed to go far?
Because bombs are constantly being dropped near the places where we live. That's why I'm not allowed to go far. We don't have a bunker or a shelter to protect us from the bombs.

If you could have one wish right now, what would it be?
I'd most like to go to school. And just be able to play peacefully and safely. It's not safe here, so there's no regular school and we don't have classes very often. I want to go back to my village; I'd also like to be with my parents again.

And the country? What would you wish for Myanmar and its people?
I pray that one day we can live together peacefully and happily.

Would you like to tell us about it? What is your life like now – and what was it like before?
I remember best going to the mountains and the plantations with my grandfather, grandmother, and mother. We always took our lunch with us to eat in the fields. We had a school built of stones, and I also played a lot with my friends. Our house was big, too; it even had two floors. We had cows and buffalo at home, and my grandfather always fed them. My father was a driver, and my mother sewed clothes.

And today?
We had to flee. But I still like going into the forest with my grandfather. We cut bamboo or look for vegetables that we can then eat.

Are there things you don't like here at all?
Hmm, once I had to go and collect food scraps so we could feed the pigs. The basket was very heavy. And once I had to carry stones for my grandmother. And when we have class and a plane or drone comes, we always have to take cover behind the school. If they come at night, my mother wakes me up and we have to get up and hide in the bamboo grove.

If you could wish for something right now, what would it be?
I would really like a ball so I can play with my friends. And it would be nice if we had more money. So that I could buy myself something to eat between classes when I go to school. My father can't earn as much money as he used to. That's why my mother and father often argue.

And the country? What would you wish for Myanmar and its people?
My mother told me that we can go back to the city when the situation improves. We all want to go back. I want to live somewhere with a big school and a playground. I don't want the military dropping bombs from the sky. I want there to be no more war.

*All personal and place names have been redacted for security reasons. The actual names are known Terre des Hommes .