Burmese Students Become Exiles

Burmese Students Become Exiles
By Antonio Graceffo
May 5, 2008 - 10:53:46 AM

Burmese students studying abroad cannot go home, or they will be arrested.
By Antonio Graceffo
“If I go home, they will detain me” says a Burmese exchange student.
Terrified of state run information and spy networks, the student has asked
not only that his name not be printed, but that even the country where he
is studying remain secret.
“I have heard from other students. They meet you at the airport and detain
you for about five to eight days. During that time, they question you
about where you were, who you were with, what you did, while you were
outside the country” said the student, who we will refer to as Chat. “If
they found out you did something wrong, you may go to prison, or worse.
One of my friends went home for semester break. He was arrested at the
airport, and now, no one knows where he is. Even if they release you back
to your family, they won’t let you out of the country again to finish your
education.”
Freedom of movement is a right which the regime disallows the common citizen.
“Before, if we went home for semester holidays, we had to turn in our
passport. We need special documents to travel within our country, just as
you would need if you were crossing international borders.”
“Some students don’t even get a passport. They get a travel document with
the name of one university and the address of one apartment. They can only
go to their school, and cannot change the apartment. The regime finds out
what day classes finish, and they want you to come back the same day. One
of my friends missed the defense of his dissertation because at the last
minute, the university postponed it till the following Monday. The regime
said he had to come back on the day originally planned, or they would fine
him thousands of dollars per day of overstay.”
“Obviously, we are very poor. If we can’t pay the fine, we have to stay in
jail. So, he went back to Burma, and never received his diploma.”
The military regime which runs Myanmar (formerly called Burma), is one of
the most paranoid in the world, utilizing a wide network of informants to
keep track of the activity of its citizens.
“They have people in every neighborhood who spy. They will listen to your
conversations and if you say anything against the regime, they turn you
in. Later, you will be arrested.”
Even outside of the country, the government keeps its citizens under
surveillance.
“Along side the pro-democracy students studying in (name of country
omitted) there are also several government plants. They never participate
in conversations or discussions in class, for fear of saying the wrong
thing. When the teachers call on them, they just say I don’t know, or I
have no opinion. But then, they report back to Burmese authority what the
other Burmese students said. If we say anything which is anti-regime or
pro-democracy, it could mean trouble for us or our families.”
Beyond the physical spies, according to Chat, the government also uses
satellite photography and other modern technology as tools of repression.
“They clip photos out of foreign newspapers to see which overseas Burmese
participated in protests. They also keep track of exile organizations and
will know if we join or even meet with one of these dissident groups.”
Recently, it was announced that due to the protests, the internet has been
turned off in Burma. But, even in the best of times, the government
paranoia results in a near complete crack down on the flow of information.
“We have internet cafes” explains Chat. “But they are very expensive. Most
people are so poor they can’t afford to use them. Sometimes, when you are
using the internet and you want to download a document, a warning comes
up, and you have to press your thumb against a finger print censor, so the
government will know who was downloading what.”
Email is also censored.
“There is only one server in Burma, and it is owned by the government.
When I receive email from inside of Burma, it takes at least one day.
Every single email has to be read and approved by the government, before
it can be delivered. When I open email from home, there are always pieces
missing. And when I write, I am even afraid to say where I am or who I am
seeing, because then the government will know.”
There is no freedom of the press and the state controls all the media. For
the most part Burma is nearly as airtight as North Korea, but some news
does seep in.
“If you speak English, you can tune in to the Voice of America radio. The
government has no way of blocking the radio transmissions, but you have to
turn down the volume. If your neighbors know that you are listening to VOA
they may turn you in.”
Freedom of speech is another distant dream for the Burmese. In the wake of
the September protests, an outspoken Burmese comedian, Zarganar was
arrested for criticizing the regime. His most famous joke is. “I had to
travel all the way to India to see the dentist because in Burma, it is
illegal to open your mouth.”
Chat said that Zarganar is a hero to the people. “He says so many things
about the government, but he gets away with it, because he is so famous.
Every few years they arrest him and beat him. But they always have to
release him because he is so popular. I really love him.”
For years, Burma’s ethnic minority peoples have been the victims of
genocide, subjected to murder, torture, capture, rape, and slave labor.
These atrocities occurred in remote jungle provinces, far from the
capitol. Obviously, they were not reported on state run TV, but through
the informal information networks, word still reached the pro-democracy
camps in Yangon.
“We knew about the war on the tribal people. Many refugees come to Yangon
seeking work as laborers. I have friends from various tribes. They told us
their story, and we were so sad. But what could we do? It was good that we
knew about there suffering, but how could we help? We could not even help
ourselves.”
Chat believes that the government crackdown, following the September
protests will help to galvanize the two freedom movements.
“Now the tribal people understand that life is not easy for ethnic Burmese
either. And, ethnic Burmese have felt the same fear as the tribal people.
We have a common enemy in the military regime.”
Last month, the world was shocked to see the regime arresting monks who
lead the people in a peaceful pro-democracy protest. Official reports by
the Burmese government were though to have downplayed the number of
arrests and executions. But, through informal information sources,
neighbors whispering to trusted friends, information spread through Burma
and beyond, that the numbers were far higher and the abuse far more brutal
than official reports would have the world believe.
“They beat the monks.” Said Chat, with tears in his eyes. “They hit them
in the head with their rifles. There was blood on the monastery floor.”
In Burma, even young people are extremely devout. The image of a monk
being disrespected, let alone beaten or murdered is a shocking horror,
which goes against thousands of years of Burmese cultural norms.
“I think even inside the army the government lost support when people
found out what happened to the monks.”
According to another anonymous source, a foreign military officer who
gathers intelligence on Burma, one of the Burmese brigade commanders, a
man who had always been loyal to the regime, drew the line at injuring the
monks. When the orders came down, he took his family, and escaped over the
border.
With all of their guns, police, and military, it is interesting that the
military junta fears comedians, students, and monks the most.
“It was students who lead the pro-democracy uprisings in 1988. Most young
kids didn’t even know about that. It has been erased from our history.
Suddenly, after what happened last month, they understood what their
parents had told them. And they believed.”
Part of the fallout from the 1988 uprising was a further tightening of the
regime’s grip on its people. Burmese were denied the right of assembly.
“They even changed the universities” says Chat. “All student
organizations, clubs, and unions were banned.”
In fact, they even tried to prevent students from meeting each other in
school.
“They began distance learning programs. This way students wouldn’t come to
the campus and meet other students.”
Burma, a former British colony, had one of the best educational systems in
Southeast Asia. The curriculum was largely taught in English and mirrored
the British school system. During one of the many government crackdowns,
the English language was more or less stricken from the program and a
government-controlled curriculum was taught. The quality of education
plummeted as a result.
“Foreign trained professors were no longer trusted, so they were forced to
resign. The distance learning programs were a joke. I earned my BA in
thirty days and I didn’t learn anything. Some government officials earned
their doctorate, and they know even less. But they had the money to pay
the tuition fees.”
Approaching the final year of his studies, Chat has no intention of
returning home until he graduates.
“Burmese people are kind, peaceful people. We want what everyone else
wants, to have freedom of choice and democracy. We want information. We
want the freedom to read books.”
Chat said that when he was attending school, as a youngster, the books in
the library were strictly off limits.
“They were locked behind glass. We were never allowed to read them. They
were there to be shown to the generals when they came to inspect our
school.”
According to Chat, everything done by the junta is for show.
“They even had trees they would plant the night before a general came.
After he left, they would dig them up and replant them at the next place
he was visiting.” Chat shook his head, “When will the world help us? They
think this is a new problem, but we have been suffering for decades. Most
people hate the government but we are afraid to do anything. They know who
we are, and they will hurt our family.”
Asked what his greatest dream in life would be, Chat answered without
hesitation.
“I want to vote.”

Antonio Graceffo is an adventure and martial arts author living in Asia.
He is the Host of the web TV show, “Martial Arts Odyssey,” Currently he is
working inside of Shan State, documenting human rights abuses, doing a
film and print project to raise awareness of the Shan people.  To see all
of his videos about martial arts, Burma and other countries:
http://youtube.com/results?search_query=antonio+graceffo&search=Search

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