Ko Tun (35): “How my family was reunited”

 http://burmavoices.com/2010/11/ko-tun-35-how-my-family-was-reunited/#more-658
Ko Tun’s Voice

Ko Tun is 35 years old and is married to 27 year old Aye Thu Khaing. They have two children: their 7 year old son Ye Yint Tun and their 3 year old daughter Ei Kyai Zin Tun, aka Agu.
They currently live at the Relocation Site. It isn’t so long ago that they did not live together at all.
This is Ko Tun’s story.
“We lived in Mandalay.
On 30 August 2009, police came to my home at around 11:00 a.m. They tried to arrest me and took me to their headquarters, near my home.”
Ko Tun was taken for questioning because of his activities for The Best Friend.
“I was a student of U Kovida’s and U King’s. I worked at The Best Friend library in Mandalay. I also helped monks. After Ashin Kovida had to leave Burma in 2006, I assisted Ashin Issariya (King Zero) with political actions. So they were after me.
The policeman who came to my house was a friend of a friend. I knew him. He told me to come to a cafe with him. He came to my house plain clothed. He took me to this cafe on his motorbike. I saw there were two more policemen at the cafe. The police who took me said they were Special Police.
“We want to question you”, they said. I then realised they were after me and they wanted to arrrest me. I said: “Ok, I’ll come with you.”

 The policeman took his mobile phone to call headquarters. I saw a chance to escape and ran away. But he followed me. He grabbed me and we had a fight in the street. Later, I managed to get away again. He ran after me. I screamed: “He’s a thief!”
“No, I’m a policeman”, he said.
He then tried to hit me in my face.
I blocked his blow with my hand and punched him in his stomach. He fell to the ground.
I ran away again and reached a junction. I ran to the left and ran into someone’s house. Two more policemen came after me, but they lost me. Local people directed them in the wrong direction.
I ran through three houses and reached a fishing lake. I jumped in the lake to hide.
And I was hiding in this lake that whole day. It was only at night, that I came out of the water. I went to a friend’s house. He took me to his mother’s place and I spent the night there.
The next day, I was taken to the countryside. My friend dropped me there and gave me some money. I had no shoes and my clothes were very dirty. Relatives hid me in the countryside for one month.
I phoned a cousin using a nickname, so they knew it was me and I could tell them about my whereabouts. My sister visited me there in secret. She then went back to Mandalay. The second time she came, she gave me some money and told me I had to leave the country and go to Thailand.
I went to Mae Hong Son, because it was easier to get into Thailand there than via Mae Sot.
I took short trips to the Thai border: on motorbikes, busses, trains, etc., so as to not raise too much suspicion. I went to the border by boat and went through the jungle to avoid Thai checkpoints. I eventually crossed the border together with Karenni people. It was during this same time that Ko Nyo and Thanda were arrested. This could have been me..
As I arrived in Loikaw, I could use the internet and I sent an email to Ashin Kovida. This is when I found out Thanda and Ko Nyo were arrested. This was a big blow.
I received King Zero’s phone number and contacted him when I was in Thailand.
I lived in Mae Hong Son for one month. I stayed with the IRC, an organisation which helps refugees. I stayed with a laywer who worked for them. At the time, my wife knew I was in Thailand.”
His answer to my question about how he eventually came to Mae Sot, seems somewhat remarkable:
“I came to Mae Sot with the Thai police!
If you have money this is a good option and it is quite common. I paid them 8000 Baht and was taken to Mae Sot in a police car. I left with some Pa-O soldiers and they got off about halfway.
I arrived in Mae sot on 1 December 2009. I stayed at The Best Friend library and taught English. On 22 June of this year, I moved to the Relocation Site, where I teach now.
My family and I had been seperated for one year. My wife and two children left Mandalay, because they were harrassed by the authorities because of me. Both my wife as well as her family and colleagues were regularly questioned and bothered. My wife fled to Rangoon and Kokray, by motorbike. She then crossed the river into Mae Sot by boat.
I knew they were there and went to the border with a car. They had already crossed when I got there. I was so happy to see them! I ran to them and embraced them. I had not seen my family for one year. I had missed them so much.

On 15 August we were reunited. We all stay at the Relocation Site now. Despite everything, I’m very happy to be with my family again.”
How does Ko Tun see his future?
“It’s very difficult: I cannot decide. I want the best for my family. Most of all, I want to go home. I want to be a registered refugee and acquire UNHCR status, but in order to get that, we must go to a refugee camp. It’s very difficult to stay in a camp. You cannot do anything, you cannot work.
I am waiting for what will happen now. If the SPDC will release political prisoners, I can go back home.
Sometimes, I feel like I want to go and re-settle in a third country, but that means I first have to go and stay in a refugee camp. And that would be like staying in prison…”