Ko Htee at Ye Soe Aung's funeral. Ye Soe Aung was a member of ABSDF 102 camp. He left the camp and applied for a refugee status with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees office in Bangkok. He came back, visited us and shared his refugee monthly stipend with friends at the camp. He stayed at Nat Ein Daung village the night before he went back to Bangkok waiting to board a bus. He and two of his friends had a fist fight with local militia, including a relative of village head. Two of his friends came back the camp after the fight.
Ye Soe Aung never came back. He was arrested by village (Thai) militia and tortured to death. Villagers later told us that they heard the screams from village headman's house that night for hours. Some villagers tried to intervene but they were turned back by locat Thai militias. We were told by the village authorites that they released him and believed Ye Soe Aung boarded the bus to Bangkok. We called our friends in Bankok and confirmed Ye Soe Aung was not there. A few days later, we got annonymous message left at a common shelter, "Go to xxx canyon and you will find him". We went and found Ye Soe Aung's body there.
His body was dumped at a steep mountain slope. A small tree stopped his body a few hundred yards down from the mountain top. His body bare many signs of torture; many broken bones, many knife, axe wounds and bullet wounds.
Life for a Burmese is very cheap on the Thai-Burma border. We gave UNHCR first hand account and photos. An officer from UNHCR came and investiged the case. No responsible culprints were punished. In fact, we heard they were suprised and annoyed by being investigated. Local told us many stories of migrant labors who were murdered by local Thai businessmen. The reason for murder: money. Burmese laborers usually worked for months without pay and usually received a lum-sum pay. If there is a dispute, hiring a hitman is much easier and cheaper. It may cause as low as 500 Baht ($20).
We were heavily armed but we could not take a revenge or took the law into our own hands because we have to reply on Thai to get our basic food supplies. We were sad. We were angry. But there was nothing we could do except reporting to UNHCR.
We miss Ye Soe Aung. He was only in his mid 20s when he was murdered.
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