Tara Min Wai - Memoirs

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About a man who wrote poetry with me (or) Shwephonlu (or)

Tara Min Wai

Aung Din

(1)

About 4 years after my birth, my mother gave birth to another little brother. It was Tuesday, September 13, 1966. When he was born, there was no earthquake, no heavy rain, no lightning, everything was normal. Except for the addition of a baby boy to our family. Myanmar had been under military rule led by General Ne Win for more than 4 years.

My parents listened to my cousin and named me “Chit Ko Ko”, so they easily named him “Chit Nyi Nyi”. My mother called me “Tha Gyi” and he called her “Tha Nyaung”. That’s how his family name became “Nyaung”. He also often refers to himself as “Nyaung” when he speaks.

Two years later, my youngest sister was born, and I was 6 years old and had started reading novels. I had read detective novels by author Moe Wai and was fascinated by the character of freelance detective Tin Maung Swe and his assistant Moe Sandar, so I named my little sister “Khin Sandar Moe.” If we hadn’t gotten the chance, my little sister would have become “Chit Ma Ma.”

It has been said that if there are three children, the eldest and youngest receive more parental love and the middle child receives less parental love. This is not the case in our family. The middle child is the most loved and desired by both parents. The eldest, me and my youngest sister, were the ones who suffered the most and had to share the most family responsibilities.

All three of us, my siblings, studied at Primary School No. (10) in Ward 9, South Okkalapa Township from kindergarten to grade four. I spent the fifth year at Secondary School No. (3) in South Okkalapa Township, and from grade six to grade ten, I attended St. Michael’s High School ( 2) in Yankin. That’s why my brother and I became students at Yankin High School (2).

Shwephon Lu was a brilliant student when he was young. He was at the top of his class and won first, second, and third prizes in every exam. He passed every grade consistently, but failed in the 10th grade. He took the 10th grade exam four or five times.

I passed the 10th grade with honors in Myanmar only in the 1986-87 academic year, a year behind my sister who had to pass the exam twice. When the March 1988 uprising occurred, I was in my final year of mechanical engineering at the Yangon Institute of Technology, my sister was in her second year of chemistry, and Shwephone was in her first year of English, all studying in the Hlaing area of ​​Yangon University.

My father commented on his failure in the 10th grade exam. “I wrote poetry because…”. That may be true. He has been writing poetry since he was a middle school student. He carefully read and studied the great Myanmar poetry collections. He imitated the ancient styles of writing poetry and wrote four-line poems, two-line poems, ai-chin, and yatu. He wrote three-line poems that were popular at that time.

At that time, he was published in journals such as Movie News, Music News, Yuwady, and Music News. He did not receive a manuscript fee. He bought the magazine with his own money. At that time, his pen name was “Mee Kho Phyu”. In 1982, his first magazine poem was published in “Sitthaw” magazine under the name “Moe Kho Phyu”. That poem was also a long quatrain.

Because he was so proficient in Burmese, his essays received the highest marks in the class and were recognized and praised by his teachers. He represented the school in township and regional essay competitions and won awards. His main weakness was that he was not interested in science, physics, chemistry, and mathematics. That is why he rarely passed the 10th grade, which was a combination of arts and science. Later, when the 10th grade was divided into arts and science, he took only the arts and science subjects and passed with honors. He also got almost honors in English, so he was allowed to attend the University of Yangon with an English major. However, the public uprising that began in March 1988 ended his educational path. Although he graduated from the University of Life, he did not graduate from the University of Yangon.

The 1988 uprising changed the lives of millions of people in Burma. Our family was also involved. My father was a former politician and journalist, and all three of our children were university students. Our entire family was involved in the nationwide movement that began with the student movement. My two brothers, along with student leader Maung Maung Kyaw, founded the “Bamar Youth Liberation Front” as an underground organization after the week-long protests at Yangon University in June, and began to connect with the border-based resistance groups. Maung Maung Kyaw secretly left for the Thai-Burmese border at the end of June. Then, in preparation for the August 8 uprising, we traveled all over Burma, secretly organizing among the people and students.

When the BKLF was reorganized in December 1988, I became Vice Chairman (2) and Shwephone Lu became a member of the Central Committee. On March 23, 1989, Chairman Minko Naing was arrested. After my arrest on April 23, Shwephone Lu became famous with his poem “School Opening Hours” and became a member of the Central Executive Committee of the BKLF. He then left for the Indian border and attempted to wage armed rebellion. After facing many difficulties, he returned to Burma and was arrested in February 1990. After being brutally tortured in the military intelligence interrogation center, the military court sentenced him to 5 years in prison with hard labor.

I was detained in Insein Prison for 13 months from April 1989 to May 1990 under Section 10(a). I was released from Insein Prison on May 23, 1990, four days before the election.

He was sentenced to prison by a military court. He had no contact with his family for 13 months. After serving 4 years of his sentence, he was only officially imprisoned, so he was allowed to see his prison report every two weeks. In the first prison report, his father and mother said that a man from Shwephon had been in prison for five years and was in the 5th ward.

When we first met, my mother said to me, “Son… try to keep your little brother close to you.” At that time, the times and days of our prison visits were different, so my father and mother had to come twice a week.

So when the prison authorities were turning around, I asked to put my brother with me, and the prison authorities allowed me. Then, a man from Shwe Pho came to my apartment (building number 5). At that time, I was in building number 5, room number 19. The rooms were Ko Tin Myint (U Ye Htun’s partner), Myint Thaung from the NLD, and Hla Than. When the man from Shwe Pho came, the two of us had to live together in a small room measuring 8 feet 12 feet.

I was worried before he arrived. He and I are biological brothers, but we don't get along very well. I don't know if it's because he's a 4 and I'm an 8. We often argue, get angry, get angry, and fight. If we don't get along in this room together again, not only the two of us will be very unhappy, but also the rest of our roommates.

But there weren't as many problems as I expected. My father and mother were also relatively happy because they were allowed to go out together to see the prison report. It didn't take long. A prison guard, who didn't like the idea of ​​two brothers being in the same cell, moved him from my cell to room number 22, three rooms away.

September 26, 1991, was a historic day in Insein Prison. Political prisoners in Insein Prison unitedly protested against the Nawata military regime’s refusal to hand over power after the election. Starting with the women’s wing of the 2nd wing, all political prisoners joined in the protest, demanding the release of all political prisoners and the transfer of power. They pressed their faces against the iron door of their small apartment and shouted slogans for democracy at the top of their voices.

They were. The authorities responded with brutal violence. Some prisoners were dragged out of the apartments and severely beaten with batons, belts, fists, and large combat boots. Shwe Pho Lu was also among them and was severely beaten. After that, the prison authorities moved Shwe Pho Lu from the building to Ward 5. All political prisoners in all buildings were also locked up for 2 months. They assigned serious criminals who had been imprisoned for murder to prison cells and began to harshly treat political prisoners.

And so, after being separated in prison, Shwephone and I were reunited once again. This time, it wasn't in Insein Prison. It was in Thayet Prison, in Magway Region, more than 200 miles from Yangon.

A political prisoner in prison does not usually stay in one place for long. The authorities move from one place to another for various reasons. I was also moved from block 5 to block 4 in the late 1990s. I think I stayed in that block for about 6 months. One cold winter night, 99 political prisoners from Insein Prison were suddenly moved to Thayet Prison. At 2 a.m., fully armed prison guards surrounded the blocks and ordered all the prisoners to get out of bed and sit in a row. Then

The prison officers called out the names of those on the transfer list and asked them to take their belongings and leave. In fact, they couldn’t take any of their belongings. They couldn’t even roll up their bed. The staff, who were scolding us, drove us like a herd of cattle to the prison cell. At the prison cell cell, we met 99 political prisoners selected from various wards and sections, and Soe Myat, a veteran criminal who was supposed to be transferred with us, who was to guard us. In this transfer group, I was from ward 4 and Shwephone Lu was from ward 5. In the prison, we were all given haircuts and foot and ankle bandages. After that,

We were taken to Insein Station in two big cars. From Insein, we were taken to Pyay by local train and spent the night in Pyay Prison. The next day, we were taken to Thayet by ship from Pyay Port and thrown into the infamous Thayet Mountain, where we political prisoners from Yangon were thrown. I will write about the hellish cells of Thayet Prison another day. In any case, our two brothers were reunited in Thayet Prison, Ward 2.

There were some political prisoners in Thayet Prison even before we arrived.

Lawyer U Zaw Myo Win, and Maka Tha Chairman Min Zeya. On September 26, 1991, after a large protest in the prison was violently suppressed by the prison authorities, they were brutally beaten and transferred to prison. They were all in the barracks. Upon arrival, 10 of our group were sent to the barracks, and the rest were put in two dormitories with criminal prisoners. Thayet is a district town, 250 miles from Yangon.

It is about 100 miles away. To get there from Yangon, you can first travel to Pyay by car or train. Then, from Pyay, you can take a car to Aung Lan, take a boat (or ferry) from Aung Lan port, and cross the Ayeyarwady River to Thayet. When the Ayeyarwady River is in high waves, it is impossible to cross the river, so you have to wait until the water calms down.

Most of us are from Yangon, but there are also some from Mandalay and Bago. There are also some from Ayeyarwady Region and Kayin State. When we were in Insein Prison, our families could come to visit us every two weeks, but since we moved to Thayet Prison, we can’t come regularly. The travel time is long and the cost is very high, which is very difficult for our families. Some can come once every 3 months, some once every 6 months. So, we have to rely on the food and medicine provided by our families to visit us in prison, which has become even more difficult.

When we arrived, the commander of Thayet Prison was Captain Thaung Nyunt. He had fought with the student forces on the front lines and was defeated, but he became the commander of the prison under the patronage of his teacher, Home Minister General Phone Myint. That is why he hated the students, the Karen revolutionaries, and the politicians. And he also hated us at Insein.

I understand that the prison was so bad that he was transferred. So he rules us all with ironclad rules. I don't think I need to explain that if he starts being aggressive, his subordinate officers and staff will also bully us. He also bullies the criminal prisoners who are with us by promising to give us less days, and then he bullies us, makes us find fault,

They are forced to do hard labor such as fetching water, carrying rice, and farming in the hot sun.

That's how we all spend a lot of time in prison, being tried, punished, and beaten. We can't stand this kind of oppression anymore, so we've invented another one. This is how...