Experiences

However within a week or so, Hkawn Shawng’s wound was
beginning to fester. When she finally reached the government
hospital in Ba Maw, a doctor refused to perform surgery on the
wound. Eventually she received effective treatment at the clinic in
an IDP camp.
Her son told us that due to Kachin taboos surrounding sexual
assault, he feels very ashamed about what happened to his
daughter. In his community there are those who say things about
her that are both unkind and untrue.
I feel inspired and
have gained the
strength to survive
my difficulties.
Using information from a shopkeeper who overheard two Burmese
soldiers bragging about raping a woman, Hkawn Shawng’s son was
able to locate the location where the army had buried his daughter
in a makeshift grave in the forest.
We wanted to know for sure whether the body was a woman or a man
so we dug it up. We could only see the bones, some hair. The clothes
that she wore that night. The army tried to tell us they did not touch
her, but the clothes were just thrown on her chest, she was not even
wearing them. They just put a red blanket over her body. The burial
place was also not that deep.
Hkawn Shawng’s son asked for help from a number of people, but
received little assistance. Eventually he was able to borrow some
money to retrieve and rebury the body. They held a ceremony for
his daughter in the village where she died.
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The perpetrators’ military base is known by the community.
However it has been very difficult to establish their precise identity.
Fortunately Hkawn Shawng’s toddler great-granddaughter was
rescued. She remembers her mother being shot in the legs and
crying all night. Later on she was adopted by relatives and no
longer speaks of the incident.
In the IDP camp where she lives, Hkawn Shawng takes care of
her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Her granddaughter’s
sarong is her most treasured possession. She told us:
I just gain strength from thinking that other people also suffer
the same as me. I believe that when my children get older,
everything will be better. I don’t have anything now. I don’t
have any hopes for my property now.
Although Hkawn Shawng is worried about the future, and feels
very isolated in the IDP camp. She gained much from meeting
other survivors to tell her story.
Women’s Experiences of War,
Peace, and Impunity in Myanmar