Country Report: Myanmar (Burma)

Forced labor under a totalitarian military regime is a way of life for the people of Myanmar

A Victim's Story

Nai Tint Win [not his real name] was a farmer in the Ye-Tavoy area of Myanmar. Married with three children, he was forced by his country's government to spend at least half his days each month constructing the Ye-Tavoy railroad. He was paid no money, given no food, and provided no shelter. When at home, Nai tried to grow food so his family could eat while he was away. But a group of soldiers had a camp in his village and often forced Nai to clean the compound, cut bamboo, and make roofs for the camp.

Nai had to walk for five days to reach the railroad worksite. From early morning on, Nai dug embankments for the railway. For about two hours at mid-day, he and the 3000 other laborers were allowed time to eat the food they brought themselves, though at the same time they also had to make baskets for transporting dirt. Anyone who rested would be beaten with bamboo sticks or tree branches. Monsoons frequently washed out the completed work, and the soldiers demanded repairs before anyone rested. Many of Nai's fellow workers became ill, but the soldiers still forced them to work. In October of 1995, Nai and his family fled Myanmar and now live in a Thai refugee camp.

Country Background

Myanmar, located south of India and China, was long considered the jewel of Asia. Its educational system was once first rate, and its striking landscape continues to draw tourists from across the globe. A British colony since the 19th century, Myanmar began to make its way toward democracy after its independence in 1948. But in 1962, a military junta (a military group ruling a country after a revolution) seized control of the government. Since then, all attempts to democratize Myanmar have been crushed. Challenges to the government now exist only in exile or underground.

Today, the country is a totalitarian military state - an army of 400,000 dominates 47 million inhabitants - and an international pariah. State sponsored slavery is endemic; over 8 million citizens have been made slaves to the junta. Evidence of ethnic cleansing has also appeared, targeting the non-Myanmarn 30% of the population. In 1989 the state officially changed its name to Myanmar, roughly translated as "Myanmarn Country."

Causes of Slavery

Isolationist policies, described by the state as the "Burmese Way to Socialism," destroyed Myanmar's economy for decades, but the junta has strived to re-establish the country as a force in the international market. Toward this end, the military exploits the country's cheapest and most abundant resource - the labor of its citizens - to modernize its infrastructure with various 'development projects': roads, railways, military outposts, etc.

Myanmar remains one of the poorest countries in the world, but the natural environment is ripe for exploitation. As Western companies extract oil, lumber, and other natural resources from Myanmar, the junta assists these efforts by supplying the forced labor of its citizens. In particular, the Shan, Karen, and Karenni peoples are targeted, as forced labor is also closely linked to the extensive persecution of Myanmar's ethnic and religious minorities.

The Process of Enslavement

Each military outpost in Myanmar exacts unpaid labor from local villagers. Soldiers use men for the most physically intensive tasks, but women and children are also obliged to work. These people are forced to carry water, repair fences, erect pagodas, destroy Christian churches, and maintain roads. For each project, the soldiers demand a certain number of workers from the village head. Those who refuse to work or pay for a replacement worker, are beaten; others are raped, or even killed.

In recent years, the junta has undertaken large-scale projects - such as the Ye-Tavoy railway and a vast gas pipeline - that require thousands of workers to complete. Soldiers gather villagers and force them to work on these projects for months at a time. Although the laborers cannot tend to their fields while working on the projects, they must supply their own food. Even during severe rain and heat, workers must sleep on the ground. Hunger and unhealthy conditions often lead to malaria or other diseases on the work sites, but no medication is available.

As Burmese forces move through the country battling rebel groups, soldiers abduct local residents to serve as porters. The men are forced to carry nearly 100 pounds of ammunition and supplies on their backs, often across treacherous terrain. Ropes or chains connect the porters by their necks and arms; they remain shackled together even when they sleep. The only nourishment given is leftovers from the soldiers' meals. If a man collapses from exhaustion, soldiers kick him or beat him with weapons until he rises. When too sick to continue, a porter is abandoned along the roadside.

Products

Since before 1992, the Burmese government has enlisted forced labor in the construction and operation of a gas pipeline on behalf of major Western oil companies. The US Department of Labor also acknowledges the use of forced labor in the production of many other goods such as rice, shrimp, bamboo, bricks, and beans. US federal sanctions have prohibited new investments in Myanmar since 1997, but older investments remain. Legislation has recently been introduced to the US Senate to ban all Burmese imports.

Groups on the Ground

When Myanmar held free elections in 1990, the party of Aung San Suu Kyi won a landslide victory. The junta, though, quickly denied the results and placed her under house arrest. In 1991, Suu Kyi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her non-violent efforts for democracy in Myanmar. She remained under house arrest for years, but was released on May 6, 2002.

The actions of the junta have generated outrage from dozens of international groups. In an unprecedented move, the International Labor Organization imposed sanctions on Myanmar in November after their failure to end the use of forced labor; the ILO has called on governments, workers, and employers to review their investments in Myanmar. The Free Myanmar Coalition unites colleges and other organizations in opposition to the junta's regime.

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