Prisoner Thein Win - Reincarnation

Chapter (1)

I was transferred from Insein Prison to Kawthaung Oil Palm Plantation Camp in 1984. At the first parcel camp, I was in charge of the support department, under the command of the prison warden U Yin Maung, and under the command of Corporal U Kala and Private Thein Oo, the support warehouse. The support department had a Hino (TE) truck, a Hino (Ranger) truck, and a large Zwe tractor. Therefore, I also had to manage the vehicles and the oil warehouse.

The cars are only used to carry food, oil palm seeds, and for moving troops. They are not used every day. The daily use is a big tractor. The roads are dirt roads, downhill roads, and uphill roads, so when it rains, cars can no longer be used. The road is slippery. The big tractor can be used in summer, rainy season, and winter. It can withstand three seasons. The big tractor cannot be used in the rainy season because it has a trailer. Therefore, the big tractor can be used with a trailer to accommodate more people and to load goods. The tractor driver is a big man. In the dry season, he also drives a big Hino truck. In other seasons, he only drives a big tractor. This is because the tractor provides him with income regardless of the season.

The name Gambira Tuktgyi is unique in Tuktgyi. He also drinks alcohol. He is a healer. He also does social work. Although the tractor overturned (3) times, Tuktgyi was not injured. Only the passengers who were with him were taken to the hospital. Tuktgyi always boasted that he had a bodyguard.

When I first arrived at the camp, I had to rely on the big tractor to go to Kawthaung for office work and to buy food. I was not the only one. As soon as I got to Kawthaung, the big woman who opened the shop and other employees also came to do their shopping. That's why the tractor was full of people. The big tractor had overturned (3) times, but the big tractor was very brave. He still kept driving the big tractor, holding on tightly.

After about a month in the support unit, I settled down and gained strength. There was a Karen hunter named Tin Maung in the camp. He hunted for the camp officer. He was not allowed to carry weapons, so he used his bow to catch chickens, birds, pigs, and deer. In the food warehouse, there were deer skins, bear skins, and black panther skins that Tin Maung had shot with his bow. He also hunted every day, and if he couldn’t find any prey, he would shoot chickens and birds with his bow. If he couldn’t find anything, he would break the rope and go back to catch fish.

One morning, while I, Warden U Myint Oo, and Warden U Tun Aung Lwin were eating fried rice for breakfast, a hunter named Tin Maung came running up to me. “Sir, I have a big pig in my pen. Please shoot it.”

At that moment, the prison guard, U Yin Maung, came out of the room.

"Where is Tin Maung? Is it a big one?"

"Yes, sir. There are about (80) hours."

“Now... who will go hunting? I used to hunt before, but today I have a meeting at the Mon Command Office, so I will go now. Ko Thein Win is hunting in Bago Yoma, so will you go?”

“I will go, Tin Maung, is it far?”

"It's near Parcel Panyan village, so it's a little bit of a walk."

"I'll go with the big tractor, sir, so I can go faster."

"Go ahead. Pick out your favorite rifle from the armory. The guns are new."

"Yes, sir."

When he said he would take a big tractor to kill the pigs, the prison guards, U Myint Oo and U Tun Aung Lwin, refused.

"Ko Thein Win, we'll also crush the chili peppers."

"I'm not into chili, I bought a bottle of Mekong wine to enjoy with the pork entrails in the evening."

At that moment, the prison guard, U Yin Maung, entered and said.

“Ko Myint Oo doesn’t know about Ko Thein Win yet. He is a famous hunter in Bago Yoma. He would have shot him so he wouldn’t get caught. I don’t believe it.

"Yes, sir. We'll buy some alcohol for dinner. Heh... heh... heh"

"No, it's not in Mae Thuy."

"If you don't get Ko Myint U's pig here, I'll pay for your alcohol."

I changed into my uniform and took the big tractor that I had ordered and set out, along with the hunter Tin Maung. At the end of the parcel of oil palm plantation, we turned right. It was a forest road. When we reached the stream near Dhani Forest, the tractor could not go through it, and there was a small (4) foot wide cut in the forest. A bamboo bridge was built. We walked down the road. As we crossed the Dhani Forest, there were only small trees, rice-mulk bushes, nabu bushes, and pot-plant bushes.

After passing the Intain forest, the grass field and the seashore are close. The grass field and the seashore are also covered with wild boars, which makes the path difficult. The long grass is covered with large, round holes, like tunnels, because the wild boars often walk through it. In front is the Dhani forest, and near the Dhani forest is a large banyan tree.

"Where are you, Tin Maung?"

"Ahead, at the edge of the reed forest, teacher."

I left the hunter Tin Maung and the big one in a safe place and went ahead alone. When I got under the big banyan tree, the big wild boar smelled of people. It was struggling. Only then did I notice. We were falling on the big wild boar's chest. At that moment , I heard a "taw, "wow" sound, and the big wild boar ran towards me. I was alert and shot him. He

"Shield"

But the shot was not good. It seemed to hit the boar's hip. I forced myself to come up and hit it. Luckily, the tree was tangled in the branches and the thatch and it didn't reach me. But it was about (10) feet away. I changed the bullet and shot the boar's head at close range.

"Shield"

“Uh ••• Bon”

Applause could be heard from behind. Hunter Tin Maung and Tractor Driver Tut Gyi were doing BRAVO.

"The monk is there. The other gunmen will run away."

"Hey... I'm lucky, too, because I'm tied to a bamboo pole. If the rope breaks, I won't be able to pull it. I'll have to jump and pull the big bamboo branch that's leaning in front of me."

"Yes, sir, wild boars are not easy. They are very strong animals. It's even worse than pigs and sheep."

“Now... let’s get ready to carry it.” While I was lifting the water bottle that I had brought, Hunter Tin Maung and Tut Gyi were getting ready to carry the big pig. The big pig was about (80) years old, and they were carrying it with their backs and knees, but they couldn’t help it. I followed them with my gun. It was my first time in Kawthaung camp. When they crossed the stream and loaded it onto the tractor, they couldn’t do it alone, so I had to help them.

We returned to the camp victorious. The prison guards, U Myint Oo and U Tun Aung Lwin, kept their promise. They bought a large bottle of Mekong liquor.

"My teacher is a man of his word. We are ready as promised. We have crushed the chili peppers. We have also bought a bottle of alcohol."

U Myint Oo spoke up.

"So, prison authorities, did you go to the meeting?"

"I'm leaving. He trusted you and gave me the money to buy a bottle of alcohol."

"Then let's get off early."

"That's right, as a token of your respect, the prison governor, I'd like to say that when U Thein Win returns, he'll be tired, so I'll welcome him early. Please treat him as you wish."

“And you?”

"Heh...heh...I have to join. This kind of event is rare."

Hunter Tin Maung skillfully gutted and sliced ​​the large carcass of a wild boar.

U Myint Oo: “Tin Maung, we don’t eat that much.”

"It's not for eating, sir. I'm throwing it away. If you don't throw this thing away, it'll smell bad in half an hour and it won't be good to eat."

Thanks to the skill of the hunter Tin Maung and the speed of the cooks in the official kitchen, we sat down at the table and ate at about 10 o'clock in the morning. The meat was fresh and we had killed it ourselves, so it was quite tasty. It was a good meal for autumn, I think. The big wild boar was covered in fat. Wild boars have many enemies and run around, so their fat was not as thick as that of domestic pigs. It was only about the size of a piece of cardboard.

From that day on, I became a hunter again, as I hunted and shot the wild boars and deer that the hunter Tin Maung had caught. I became quite familiar with the surroundings of the oil palm plantations and the foothills of the Tanintharyi Range.

So Tin Maung went into the forest alone at night and in the morning. On days when he didn’t find any big animals, he didn’t call me. He managed to catch wild chickens, shrike, waterfowl, pheasants, pheasants, and pheasants every day. He didn’t stop eating for the officer’s cook. Tin Maung helped us find food, so our group ate well.