BORN IN CHAINS by Lemyao Shimray

After long time, I am back on the blogosphere... this time with my naga friend's Lemyao's piece.
Rgds
Shemin

BORN IN CHAINS
Lemyao Shimray

'My name is Thilaw
I am ten years old.
I go to school and I am in class – III.
The name of my school is Somra Government Junior High School.'

Smile

Those are the only common lines he and his school shares with other of the world. For him, the young boy's picture in his Social Studies book, combing hair, with smart school Uniform lives in another world. Thilaw have never seen school uniform in his life nor has he worn shoes to school.

His daily routine starts before the rooster goes for hip-hop atop the tree and ends after the owl hoots. He collects wood or work at fields for his teachers after school. He has to compete with time by kicking the early dust. With his meager lunch and books, a bit- too-tight-pants which clings to his narrow, undernourished body, slimy green snake-like fluid rubbed away from his shirt sleeve, Thilaw gets ready to face another 15 kilometer of journey by foot through the forest to attend school.

Gone is the buffoonery line- 'Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and strong'.


Unlike other good boys, Thilaw hates vacation because during vacation he was not allowed to play. He has to work for his teachers as a mode of payment in spite of the fees paid by his parents to the teachers. No one questions the forced labour because people like Thilaw are not supposed to ask such thing; they are destine to do it as a volunteer work. Yes! Ten years old boy performing manual labour for his teacher after school is a volunteer work inspite of the urge to play 'warlord' like in his English-I book.

No one questioned the force labour. Like Thilaw's parents, many other Burmese had accepted the law since 1962. Gen Ne Win's draconian era, where the wicked General believes in Force labour and military regime.

His says his books were brought by his parents from far-far away place and that they are very precious.

Another Irony of truth.

His parents like many parents who reside in Eastern Nagaland in a village known as Phungtiere. They have to make two days journey to a place known as Layshi (North of Burma) to collect books for their children. It's a constant struggle. The thirst to educate their children makes them seek schools in the bordering villages of neighbouring country. It was not easy task as it's a constant struggle from getting books to trying to hire teachers for an abandoned school. Children monthly mid day meals were cut off to feed the teachers, Village development schemes are deducted to pay teachers salary and above that they sacrifice their sons and daughters for THE forced labour.

In the end when their children gain education they were frisk away by junta army to get enroll in Army schools and college, where they have to work under Military regime.

Some how it's hard to sing – We don't need no EDUCATION.

This child seems to have forgotten what its like to be free. They seem to have no fear of the prowling earthlings in the forest. Thirst and quest for knowledge were implanted on them so strongly, without them knowing. Sleep and darkness, play and day...all were robbed gently without them noticing.

Come children, angels from earth!
Let me cradle you to sleep.
place you
on the lap of the thunder.
Hear its roar and be afraid for once
'cos'
i saw in you
the lost of horrors.


As the schoool bell rang, Thilaw closes his books. He walks silently with a beaming smile to greet the terrace field of the Somra forest. Down below he saw what he had been seeing always - Chains and human beings, bending down, working hard, forced to please their masters.

June, 2007
Somra Village
Eastern Nagaland.

Lemyao Shimray