Sitting together on the boat with some Burmese teenagers crossing illegally into Thailand, I overheard many of them talking quietly about amphetamines. They said to the driver, “If we had amphetamines here we wouldn’t be so bored having to sit on this boat all day.”
The driver responded that it would be easy to find amphetamines in Three Pagodas Pass in Quarter four, but that the teenagers should have asked him before they set off on their journey in Kyaninn Seik Gyi Township. The driver stated that he could have easily purchased amphetamines for them in the town, adding, “Don’t worry, just ask any motorbike taxi driver in Three Pagodas Pass where to buy amphetamines, they’ll tell you.”
I had been visiting my family in Burma, staying for two weeks before embarking on the boat journey that lasted three days and two nights. When there, many people expressed their feelings on how they were dealing with the hardships of everyday life, coupled with a crumbling economy. With money at they forefront of everyone’s minds, some people stated their belief in working abroad for a better life, sending money home to loved ones who remain in Burma. However others stated that the best ‘get rich quick’ idea was to smuggle amphetamines on the black market into Thailand.
Recalling the Burma of a decade ago, Burma society today is markedly different. Drugs are threatening our society, from the older addicts who take pills to enhance their ability to work long hours down to the youth in our villages who take pills out of boredom and curiosity but soon find themselves addicted. This reminded me of Thailand, where I have seen youth in the community openly using drugs. Some youth made trouble in the family and asked for money from their parents, who were unaware of their children’s addictions. The problems with our decaying society do not stop with drugs, although drugs are linked with the other big problems in our villages; some villages today run under martial law, with villagers unable to walk at night for fear of being attacked. In many villages there has been a gradual but definite increase in the number of motorbikes stolen, with many villagers certain the robberies were linked with drug use.
On July 25th this year a member of the Myanmar Women's Affairs Federation in Three Pagodas Pass, Daw Zin Myo Htun and three associates were arrested at the Thai Army checkpoint, approximately three miles from Three Pagodas Pass in Thailand. She was allegedly carrying approximately 10,000 pills at the time of her arrest, according to a source from Three Pagodas Pass. In accordance with Thai law, sentencing increases in length when the offender is in possession of a high number of pills.
Daw Zin Myo Htun was also an information informer for the Burmese Army in Three Pagodas Pass. She tried to investigate amphetamines for the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) and it was here she became connected with drug smuggling. Following her arrest by the Thai Army, the Burmese Army stated she had become greedy and aimed to become rich quickly.
The Thai Army recognizes Three Pagodas Pass as a drug zone, with local sources estimating approximately 100,000 pills cross the Three Pagodas border into Thailand every day. As a result, the Thai Army has employed many locals as spies along the Thai-Burma border, and every month both Thai and Burmese people are arrested on suspicion of drug smuggling across the border. Many believe that the Thai Army policies and ensuing efforts at drug eradication have not been successful, as they have not been able to enlist the assistance of the Burmese Army. “The Burmese army often fails to arrest drug smugglers if they know them,” said a source from the New Mon State Party (NMSP). He went on, “There are two main reasons for this. Firstly, if they arrest drug smugglers the result hits them in the rice pot, as they indirectly benefit from drug smuggling, and may find they can no longer afford food. The second reason is that there is not a Burmese prison at Three Pagodas Pass so they are faced with the problem, and cost, of prisoner transportation of suspected smugglers to Moulmein prison.”
Even so, they are not completely indifferent to the problem and with prominent arrests in recent weeks have been forced to accept it is a serious problem with major potential consequences. Most recently, in Rangoon several Burmese Generals’ family members have been detained for abusing their power and trafficking drugs. The Chief of the Bureau of Special Operations Number One, Lieutenant-General Ye Myint resigned following the arrest of his son, Aung Zaw Ye Myint, on suspicion of drug trafficking and possession. With some movie stars and music celebrities also involved in Burma’s drug trade, some analysts have stated that the burgeoning business of amphetamine trade is heavily based with those in power and therefore places a great threat on the well-being of Burma.