Lway Sca Nyee has been exerted in Chinese poppy field in the area of Kutkai calls “Thar Meo Nye” for two months but came back at house with nothings. “My friend had been died from neglecting medicinal cure by the possessor in Chinese poppy field,” said 23 years old Palaung women, Lway Sca Nyee.

“People mostly died from fever diseases because the Thar Meo Nye area is very cold. Many workers had been died in Chinese poppy field without any medical treatment when they were working in Thar Meo Nye”, she added. “Even though that person died in their field, they didn’t burry the dead body. They ordered other employees to burry at the other long graveyard but not in their cemetery”.

It was in December 2000 at the most popular opium growing area in Northern Shan State, Kutkai Township. It was very well liked to seek money for the rural natives who have no career during this occasion.

“I went to work in that area to save cash as much as I could because my parents couldn’t afford me to take 10 grade exam in Namhsan Township.”

“I had time for 3 months to seek the money before the examination in April.” She went and worked in scratching the poppies. She arrived back home with nothing left just for candy for the childhoods. She acquired at least ten thousand Kyats for trip. She just earned about eighteen thousand. It was frozen in the trip cost and food.

This is Lway Sca Nyee’s story: “I was one of 10 grade students in NamSan Township in 2000. I had no money to take exam. I decided to go to the Thar Meo Nye because I knew that my friend who had been there told me that there is the best area to seek out the money easily. I went there at the end of December in 2000 with my friends. Before leaving, I had to save 10-thousand Kyat for transportation fee. It took 3 days to reach at That Meo Nye villages, but we still had to walk for one day to the field where we were going to work.

I started at Namhsan by “Man long Car” to Lashio. It meant a comfortable car. It was a big car. I cashed me 1,500 Kyat. At night I rested in a small guess house calls “Cherry”. It outlaid for 350 Kyat but they didn’t offer food. I had to buy it from outside so long as I economized my cash. In the early morning it was very cold. We tripped to Kutkai by a small bus. It was very crowded of different people who going to seek money in the poppy area.

Even though it was a small bus, but it cashed high fee about one thousand and five hundreds for each person. As I economized myself, in Kutkai I slept at my friend’s house. About half pass eight in the morning; we initiated our trip to Thar Meo Nye for one day driving by the same bus from Lashio-Kutkai transportation.

This trip charged lot cash because it is summery road. It isn’t concrete road. The next day, we had to find our own jobs by each self for one day at least. The people who couldn’t find yet they still had to find throughout many mountains. I was lucky at that day. I could find the place where to stay; it wasn’t a job starting yet. It was just for the resting for a while. Its field was my natives who live and owned the field. They have been growing the poppy for long time. I stayed there for one day; they looked a career for me. They found it at beside of their field.

I worked there for 2 months but one month I didn’t be paid any wage because the processor said that we arrived earlier the poppy didn’t grow enough yet. We had to wait for the poppy growing enough. During that time, I cough the worms under the poppy plants the whole day under the sizzling.

I just fed my on figure long stomas everyday for one month without wage. They provided the raw food and the material but I had to discover the wood for cooking. I carried the water from the long distant from the field and the dry wood. The stuffs that we had to discover were not only for us, but also for them.

The carrying water seized time for half hour with a big vat. It was very heavy for me. But I had to do it because they fed me. If I didn’t work this kind of jobs, I would be ousted. So I kept working like this for 2 months. Many people had been pushed out from the careers because they didn’t know how to scratch the poppies. “My friends had been driven out from the working field by the owner because they couldn’t do the careers probably”

“They were out for one week they had on food, no place to sleep and nothings. They scoffed the fruit calls “Zee Phyu Thee” in Burmese.” Believed it or not but it was the true story in that area all the time. I felt I was lucky that I haven’t been experienced in my life.

But I really was in deep dilemma. In my native with my parents, I’ve never been rebuked but when I appeared there I set up to be chided. After one month the poppy had grown enough for scratching. I started to be paid 600 a day and I worked for a month. I didn’t have enough experience in the poppy field, but I had been told how the process was working.

I felt they liked me and I could work doubtless. One day I did erroneous with the young poppy before the owner arrived at the field. When they pulled in the field, they started to check the careering what we do. They found what I did and they rebuked in Chinese. “Nyee Mar La Pyi” It meant very bad “Fucking your parents”. I suffered very sad in my life. I repented myself that I came here for money.

We the workers slumbered in the field very far from the town and the market. There was very cold in the morning but at noon it was very hot. The climate was amazing. If the worker were ill, they could rest but their wage would be scored how long they took. If you took the medicines they put at the hut, you had to pay for it how much you took.

I was sick once but I kept working because I afraid I would not get the same cash with other people. They just gave the “Para” tablet. There were no clinic and nothing for treatment for the employees. We took rest sometimes. But they had a rule that they didn’t allow every body take rest at the same days. We had to rotate the workers. We must just take one person a day. So, we had to rotate like this. We took rest one day, we were cut wage for one day.”

She sauntered back home alone and took the exam in April.

The poppy is still in proceeding in Burma. Photo: File Photo