Curator
— Jason A.Carbine, Associate Professor of Religious Studies, Whittier College
Dams, Drugs and Democracy
Tells the story of a plan to dam the Irrawaddy River at its source: Myitsone, in Kachin State, northern Myanmar.

Curator
This film was selected by Jason A. Carbine C. Milo Connick Chair of Religious Studies Associate Professor Department of Religious Studies, Whittier College.
Why I chose this film
I selected this film because it shows the interrelations between religion and many other facets of global development: hydropower projects, resource extraction, population displacement, drug addiction, war, venture capital efforts, military rule, and democracy, as well as Myanmar’s foreign relations, especially with China. I am struck by how well the documentary integrates all these themes.
Teacher's guide
Please see the teacher's guide for maps, background information and suggested subjects, questions and activities.
Synopsis
This compelling documentary places Myanmar's Myitsone Dam in the context of the Kachin insurgency which has ravaged the country for more than five decades in the struggle for control the region’s rich resources. Over the course of four years, a team of local journalists lived with villagers displaced by the dam project. They followed dam protesters and interviewed key players: local politicians, insurgent leaders, independent observers, and those behind the delayed Myitsone Dam project. All this comes at a time of significant political and societal change in Myanma.
Environmental Justice Focus
Different environmental, social, and political impacts, on ethnic Kachin people and others, are woven together to show how, as a result of a large-scale hydro-electric project, people are relocated, led into financial dispossession, and fall into drug addiction.
Download the teacher's guide for Dams, Drugs and Democracy (PDF)
TRANSCRIPT WITH TIME CODE FOR Dams Drugs and Democracy: The Struggle for Resources in Kachin State.
TIME |
VISUALS |
AUDIO
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TITLE |
DAMS, DRUGS AND DEMOCRACY The Struggle for Resources in Kachin State, Myanmar
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Hilary Clinton
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One country of particular concern is Burma
It is important for us and for others to try to understand better what is unfolding in Burma today
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Obama
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You live at the crossroads of East and South Asia
You border the most populated nations on the planet
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TITLE
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U Thein Sein President of Myanmar
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Thein Sein |
For democracy to flourish in our country, we will have to move forward and undertake political and economic reforms in the years ahead
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TITLE |
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi Nobel Peace Prize Laureate
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Aung San Suu Kyi
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We propose to resolve all these problems of violence between communities, between different ethnic groups
People who feel threatened are not going to sit down and sort out their problems
We have got to start with rule of law
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Obama
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Within these borders, we’ve seen some of the world’s longest running insurgencies, which have cost countless lives
You now have a moment to transform ceasefires into lasting settlements, and to pursue peace where conflicts still linger, including Kachin State
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Narration |
In 2013, several journalists from Myanmar set out to film Kachin State, in the far north of the country
They went to tell the story of the people who live there, and the river that runs through their land
The team spent many months living in the local community
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TITLE |
“When the water buffalo fight, the myeza grass gets trampled underfoot” Burmese Proverb
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TITLE |
Myitsone, Kachin State
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Narration |
Myitsone is the birthplace of the Irrawaddy River, where the Mayhka and the Malihka Rivers meet
A village called Tang Hpre stands at the confluence of the two rivers
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TITLE
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Tang Hpre Village Northern Kachin State Population: 1,000
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Narration |
A village called Tang Hpre stands at the confluence of the two rivers
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TITLE
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Seng Hkawng (33)
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Seng Hkawng |
My name is Daw Seng Hkawng
In our family there are five people: three children, me, and my husband
I run a restaurant, my husband drives a ferry
Me and most of my brothers and sisters have become food vendors, following in the footsteps of our parents
From our earnings, we have enough money to live, and to pay for our childrens’ education
When I was young, I couldn't speak Burmese, only our local Kachin language, and so faced difficulties at school
In order to avoid the same problems, I teach Burmese to our children at home
That way, they will be fine at school
At that time, we couldn't speak Burmese, so we really faced difficulties at school.
That's because we didn't learn Burmese to begin with, we only spoke when we grew up
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Share Gum Ja |
I am more of a jungle-person
I usually just carry my knife and basket and gointo the jungle to find things to eat
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TITLE
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Share Gum Ja (65)
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Share Gum Ja |
I had five children
I move to Tang Hpre village in 2002
My mother passed away in 2003
My wife passed away in 2004
So I'm on my own, with nobody left to cook for me
Living as a human being in Myanmar is difficult
In other countries, most people of my age just stay at home and live a comfortable life
Whenever anyone gets to a high position in this country, they only think about their own lives and their own families
They don't bother with us unless they have something to take from us, or if they want to force us to work for them
That is their characteristic
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Share Gum Ja & Gum An Tu |
Why don’t you play a song, the song that you like the best?
No, I don’t feel like it
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Gum An Tu |
How long have you been digging the mine?
Two weeks
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Gum An Tu |
I was born and raised here in Tang Hpre village
When I was a boy, life was difficult for my parents who were not educated
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TITLE |
Gum An Tu (48)
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They farmed, knowing no other way to make a living
I have known how to search for gold since I was a teenager
But I’ve only been mining gold to make a living for five or six years
The rock won’t move
Yes it will!
Recently, we got arrested and were sent to #1 Police Station
Then, they charged us for mining gold illegally
We were sentenced to one month in jail with a fine of 50,000 Kyat (~US $50) each
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Nicholas Farrelly
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My name is Dr Nicholas Farrelly and I am a fellow here in the Australia National University’s college of Asia and the Pacific
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TITLE |
Dr Nicholas Farrelly Australia National University Director, Pan Asia Institute
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Nicholas Farrelly
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Much of my work focuses on politics and culture in northern Myanmar, where I have for many years dealt with the challenging situations that have faced the Kachin people
The fact is, northernmost Myanmar, Kachin State in particular, is a really rich place
There’s jade, there’s gold, there are water resources that you can tap for hydroelectricity
The sorts of profits that can be made in Kachin State are simply astounding
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TITLE |
Promotional Video Courtesy of China Power Investment
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Voiceover
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Founded on December 29th 2002, with registered capital of 12 billion Yuan, China Power Investment Corporation, or CPI, is one of the five generating companies in China and a comprehensive energy group, integrating power, coal, aluminum, railway, port, coal chemistry, environmental protection, and other related industries
Possessing assets in hydropower, thermal power, nuclear power and new energy, it is one of the three companies that can build and operate nuclear power in China
CPI is also actively launching projects overseas, including hydropower projects in Myanmar
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Nicholas Farrelly
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China has very significant commercial interests in that part of Myanmar
One of their largest projects has been the effort to build a very large capacity hydroelectricity facility on the main stream of the Irrawaddy River, which of course is the river that runs straight down the middle of Myanmar, often described as the lifeline of the country
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TITLE
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Professor U Maung Maung Aye Chief Advisor, Myanmar Environment Institute
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Maung Maung Aye
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The drainage area of our mighty River Irrawaddy covers 58% to 60% of the total land area of our country
About 24 million people reside in this Irrawaddy drainage basin
The livelihoods of our Myanmar people have to depend on the gift of the Irrawaddy
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Narration |
In 2006, China Power Investment Cooperation came to an agreement with Myanmar government to build the 15th largest dam in the world on the Irrawaddy River at Myitsone
The Myitsone Dam project is a joint venture with China Power Investment (or CPI), the Myanmar government, and the Asia World company (Myanmar’s largest conglomerate)
CPI is the largest shareholder in joint venture, owning 80%
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TITLE
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China Power Investment Office Compound, Yangon
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Narration |
We invited all the partners in the Myitsone Dam project to be interviewed for this film, but only CPI agreed
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SECTION |
CPI INTERVIEW
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TITLE
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Li Guanghua President of the Upstream Ayewardy Confluence Basin Hydropower Project (a subsidiary of CPI)
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Li Guanghua |
现在我負責的是伊江的这个水电的開發 I am responsible for the development of hydroelectricity power generation projects on the Irrawaddy River
我們從2006 年就進入缅甸 We went into Myanmar in 2006
開始這個水電的前期勘测和前期的研究工做 And started the initial hydroelectricity surveys and research work
Myitsone是第一个項目,但是我們同時其它的七個項目都在做 Myitsone was the first project, but in total there are seven projects that we are doing at the same time
那么Myitsone 是6000MW的裝機總量 The total installed capacity of the Myitsone project will be 6,000MW
發電量呢,是300億 The annual generating capacity will be 30b kWh
这个300 亿度電相當於缅甸现在全国今年发电量的三倍 This 30b kWh of electricity generation capacity is equivalent to three times the total electricity output for the nation of Myanmar
我們談的是给缅甸百分之三十 ,其中百分之十是免费的電量 We are talking about giving Myanmar 30% of this electricity, 10% of which would be free of charge
在這個過程中,中國實際上打開了自己的市場來接受緬甸的電 In doing this, China is actually opening up its domestic power market to accept electricity from Myanmar
但是中國呢,為了幫助緬甸呢,實際上可以接受緬甸的電 China, in order to help Myanmar, is in fact willing to accept electricity from Myanmar
現在我們做的工作呢,就是告訴老百姓這個真實的Myitsone The work we are doing now is to tell the general population the truth about Myitsone
Myitsone到底,Myitsone的合同是怎麼樣的,環保 Tell them what the contract for Myitsone is like, tell them about environmental protection…
EIA,SIA是怎麼樣的 …the Environmental Impact Assessment and the Social Impact Assessment…
然後以及這個項目緬甸可以得到的一些利益吧 And also tell them about the benefits that Myanmar can get from this project
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TITLE
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Professor U Maung Maung Aye Chief Advisor, Myanmar Environment Institute
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Maung Maung Aye |
What is going to happen if the Myitsone Dam is constructed?
Let’s start from upstream
So first of all, we are going to have a new reservoir or man-made lake, not a natural one
There are some areas of historical heritage or cultural heritage, some religious monuments or buildings
They are going to be flooded
There is a very significant correlation between a mega-dam and severe earthquakes
The Myitsone Dam site is not far away from the Great Sagaing Fault; a very, very active fault
So, there are a lot of examples all over the world… Once you construct or build a dam on a river, the problem is sediment
Sediment is trapped in the reservoir
Less sediment means less nutrients
You are going have a depletion or degradation of fish species, shrimp species and other aquatic life
So, you are going to have less fertile soil and less productivity
Crop yield, crop production will become less and less, year after year
The fluvial processes of our Irrawaddy River will become weak
That means the intrusion of marine water or saltwater into the deltic area
And it will ruin or damage the paddy fields of our Irrawaddy Delta
Very dangerous
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SECTION
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Aung Myin Thar (New Village)
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Li Guanghua
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我們現在在移民村,就是做了兩個移民村 We have made two resettlement villages
在Myitsone右岸有一個叫作Aung Myin Thar移民村, 在左岸有一個叫Maliyang移民村 On the right bank (downstream from) Myitsone there is a village called Aung Myin Thar
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TITLE |
Aung Myin Thar Resettlement Village
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Li Guanghua
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那麼現在移民村這幾年他們取得大米 For the past few years, the inhabitants of the resettlement villages have been receiving rice
然後也用的電 And also getting electricity (for free)
一直都是我們在提供 This is what we (CPI) have been providing all along
移民村的房子呢,都是跟原來的住房的大小 The houses in the resettlement villages are all the same size as the houses in the old village
那麼我們都給他做大一點 In fact we even made them a little bit bigger
我們建了5個教堂 We have constructed five churches
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Choir
Priest |
Make peace with life, this struggle of sadness
Lord, please rule over our land
My lord, your blessings on us are uncountable
Please protect our people
Children, you have been studying so hard for your examinations
You will be able to complete the exam without forgetting anything
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TITLE |
Seng Hkawng’s New House Aung Myin Thar Resettlement Village
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Seng Hkawng
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After we moved, they gave us food for the first week
They gave us enough rice for one year
Then they also gave us 100,000 Kyat (~US $100) in cash
Then a TV and a chair
That’s all
In our old village, we know how and where to find food
It is easy to find vegetables in the forest
We can't grow anything here in the new village
We planted some vegetables, but it turned out badly
---
The windows are broken
This house looks fancy from the outside
But I had to build the foundations with concrete myself, because the pillars of the house were leaning
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TITLE |
Footage of a neighbouring house in the rainy season
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Seng Hkawng
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It won’t last longer than three years
When there is a strong wind, look how it falls apart
In Aung Myin Thar, there’s no place to find firewood
Every piece of land has an owner
The builders really had no sense of responsibility
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Narration |
In 2011, in an unexpected development, the new president of Myanmar halted construction on the Myitsone dam for the duration of his presidential term
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Nicholas Farrelly |
The Myitsone dam project was a project that was approved under Myanmar’s former military dictatorship
That was a time when there was almost no transparency when it came to large-scale investments by Chinese companies
The postponement of the construction was ordered by President Thein Sein, the president of Myanmar
He was getting advice that this is a dam that was causing a great deal of disquiet, not just in Kachin State, but in other parts of the country
We understand that the Chinese government was taken aback by that turn of events
It didn't have any forewarning
That perhaps goes to show just how important the president and some of his advisors judged this issue was, in terms of securing their own political legitimacy, at a vulnerable moment in the country’s recent evolution
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TITLE |
Myitkyina Capital of Kachin State
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TITLE |
‘Blast’ Band Anti-dam Activists and Musicians
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TITLE |
Maran Seng Li (30) Awng Lum (33)
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Awng Lum
Maran Seng Li
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We weren’t going to run away
We decided to work on revealing the truth – this is how everyone feels
We didn’t want to run away… If we are arrested, we will go to prison – we decided it that way
He works in his way, and I work in mine
Our song does not mean to attack or to condemn those who are involved in the dam project
All we say is that the Irrawaddy River is the life artery of our country
And that is about to be destroyed
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Song |
Malihka River, Oh Malihka!
I don't want to see you die...
Mother River Malihka, the lifeblood of our people…
…You are to be used for the benefit of a foreign nation
Oh look!
At Myitsone, where the Mayhka and Malihka Rivers meet, the huge dam is being built…
…I don’t want to see that happen
Oh, the lifeblood of our people, Malihka...
…Will be in the hands of selfish people
Oh, look!
Don't destroy our Malihka!
Don't torture our Malihka!
Protect our Malihka, patriotic brothers!
We should protect what belongs to us!
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Awng Lum
Maran Seng Li |
We are emotional, and at the same time we are very happy...
…We are happy that we could be a cornerstone in stopping this Myitsone Dam project
For the moment, at least!
We are happy that work on the dam has been suspended, but we don't know what will happen next
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TITLE
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Aung Myin Thar Resettlement Village
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Seng Hkawng
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After moving to the new village, we couldn't find any way to do business…
…So we end up doing nothing
If we were allowed to work in the old village, then my family could stay here…
…and our children could continue their education here in Aung Myin Thar
We really hope to get permission to go back to Tang Hpre
If we get a chance to live in the old village, life would be better
I don't care if I am arrested
I will go back to the old village, and let them arrest me if they must
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Narration |
After the dam project was suspended in 2011, many of those who had been resettled started to drift back to the old village
It was illegal to return, but many felt that they had no choice, as they had to make a living for themselves and their families
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TITLE |
Gum An Tu (48) |
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Gum An Tu |
Some families are moving back here to Tang Hpre
One family asked me to rebuild this house if I had time
So now I am building their house, though not a big one
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Share Gum Ja |
I am taking cane to make baskets
I will make ten or twenty…
…and sell them where there is no cane available
All the pillars of this house were carried away by the Asia World Company to Aung Myin Thar village
I didn't want to move
Those wooden houses that the Chinese have built in the new village, they are not very safe
When it is windy, you have to wear trousers, otherwise your longyi would get blown off
Anyway I took the pillar of my wooden house back to this village on a truck, and then I paid 35,000 Kyat (~US $35) to rebuild my house here in the old village
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U Tu Awng
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Hey, how did you two meet?
Don’t tell lies!
I told her that we should go to see a movie together, and then we decided to get married
So you didn’t make it to the cinema, right?
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Seng Hkwang
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After we were ordered to move away from the old village…
…local companies came into the old village and started to mine out the gold
Our old village was being destroyed
Some villagers lost hope
They sold their land to the local gold-mining company
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Narration |
Local villagers have also started to pan for gold more often, to supplement their incomes and provide for their families
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Local woman panning for gold
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Is it legal to pan for gold?
No, it has already been banned here at Myitsone, last year
This is mercury that I am using
Where did you buy it?
Someone left it on the street, so I picked it up
What will happen after you do that?
After I rub it in, the gold combines with the mercury
The gold becomes white in colour…
…but when you heat it up, then it becomes yellow
We used to drink this river water
But now it is polluted so we don’t use it anymore
I bring my own drinking water from home
Where is the gold?
It’s right here
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TITLE |
Baptist Church Tang Hpre Village
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Teacher and students |
Nationalism…
…in order to be active…
…was campaigned for…
…on that day
National Day…
…should not be forgotten
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Priest |
Believers in Jesus Christ, gathered here in this church to worship…
At the last supper, Jesus Christ broke bread with his twelve disciples
In the name of Jesus we pray… Amen
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TITLE |
Brang Nu (44) Baptist Pastor
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Pastor Brang Nu |
When the dam project started, the gold miners came
Workers from other areas came here to work in the gold mines
They brought drugs with them
Before that, we didn’t really know anything about drugs
We only used to drink our traditional alcohol
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TITLE
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Wasteland near Myitkyina |
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TITLE |
Manual Labourer (19)
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Manual Labourer
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I normally drink alcohol
But I wanted to try heroin because my friends were using it
Then I got addicted
When was that?
In 2007
The first time I tried it, I got a shock
My friend injected me with more than I could stand
I overdosed and nearly died
Some people even slice open their blood vessels and rub in the drugs
I want to stop using but I don’t know how
Even when I stop using drugs, then as soon as I see them I want to start using again
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Seng Hkawng
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When our village was demolished, my husband had to get a job away from home as he could not find a job here
So he worked in a gold-mining company…
…and then he started using heroin
After my husband started using drugs...
…he wasn’t able to support our family as before
I now take all responsibility for my children’s education and for making a living for the family
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Narration
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Myanmar ranks as the world’s second largest heroin producer behind Afghanistan
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Nicholas Farrelly
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Kachin State in northernmost Myanmar is a spectacular place: high mountains, deep valleys, big rivers
It’s wedged right between China and India
They loom large over Kachin State
The Chinese government has in mind that it needs to secure its energy supplies for what may prove to be a very turbulent 21st century
They have built pipelines across northern Myanmar to secure their oil and gas appetites
The reason is to ensure that they don’t, in some future security contingency, find themselves starved of resources, because the Strait of Malacca – which runs down here between Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore – gets cut off
And so Kachin State plays a particularly important role
It’s the lynchpin, in a sense
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TITLE |
Sedona Hotel, Yangon December 2013
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Narration
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CPI wants the Myitsone Dam project to be restarted following the next presidential election at the end of 2015
As that time approaches, CPI has been trying to emphasise the potential benefits of the dam
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TITLE |
Li Guanghua President of the Upstream Ayewardy Confluence Basin Hydropower Company (A subsidiary of CPI)
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Li Guanghua
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We actively pushed forward the Upstream Irrawaddy Hydropower Project in a highly responsible manner…
…especially following the ten principles of the UN Global Compact
We have earnestly fulfilled our social responsibility, participated in public welfare…
…striving to make positive contributions to the economic and social development of Myanmar
We require that the projects have been conducted to benefit the local people
We hope to continue the frank exchanges and mutual trust with all sectors of society…
…so that the general public can learn about the truth of the project, to understand and support the project’s implementation
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Li Guanghua
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我們希望呢,就是通過媒體,通過跟他們的交流能把這個事情的真相告訴他們 We hope to go through the media, and through such interactions, get to tell them the actual truth of the situation
然後我相信很多人會轉變自己的想法 And then I trust that a lot of people will change their minds
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TITLE
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Shwedagon Pagoda Yangon
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Narration
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Despite CPI’s public relations efforts, many people in Myanmar are still strongly opposed to the Myitsone Dam, and are worried that the work on the dam will start again soon
In March 2014, people from all over the country gathered in front of the Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon, Myanmar’s holiest site
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Protesters |
Irrawaddy Myitsone Dam Project
Stop it completely!
Irrawaddy Myitsone Dam Project
Stop it completely!
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Ye Htut Kaung
Police
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This is not a protest against the country
This is a chance for us to make a suggestion to the president and parliament
I want to see the letter of permission for this protest
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Narration
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Over the following three months, they marched all the way from Yangon to the site of the Myitsone Dam, a distance of more than 1,200 kilometers
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Protesters (singing)
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Now is an important time, brothers
Our blood should be united
We have written a new history with our blood
We made a blood oath
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TITLE
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Entrance to CPI Work Area Near Myitsone
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Protesters
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Irrawaddy Myitsone Dam Project
Stop it immediately! Stop it completely!
We don't want... CPI!
Asia World... Bastards!
To protect the Irrawaddy... Is our duty
Irrawaddy Myitsone Dam Project
Stop it immediately! Stop it completely!
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TITLE
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Ye Htut Kaung (33)
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Ye Htut Kaung |
I’m not afraid to go to jail
Even if I am arrested under Article 18 [illegal assembly], I dare to go to jail
I don't want to be seen as a criminal in the eyes of history
The people who want to put us in prison are the ones who will be seen as criminals in the eyes of history
Even if I die in prison, that is but one life
But if the Myitsone dam project is not stopped completely, if the project is implemented, then the lives of 65 million people will be lost
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Narration
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The leader of the protest march, Ye Htut Kaung, was later arrested and charged with taking part in an illegal protest
He was sentenced to 12 months in jail
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TITLE
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Aung Myin Thar Resettlement Village
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Monk with novices |
Alms for monks
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TITLE
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Buddhist Temple Aung Myin Thar Village
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TITLE
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U Tay Seinna Abbot of Buddhist Temple, Aung Myin Thar |
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U Tay Seinna
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We don’t protest against the dam project
As a monk, I don’t protest against the government
Not at all!
We are building a pagoda in Aung Myin Thar called the ‘Kachin Peace-making World Pagoda’…
…to wish for peace in Kachin State in the future
The main reason for the pagoda is to make Kachin State peaceful
We don't have a pagoda dedicated to peace in Kachin State, so we are building one to get peace here
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Narration
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Kachin State has been at war for much of the last century
In the Second World War, the Kachin people fought with the British and Americans against the Japanese
After the war, and as Burma moved towards independence from Britain in 1948, the Kachin people expected that they would be free to run their own affairs, in accordance with the Panglong Agreement
But General Aung San, Myanmar’s independence leader and architect of the Panglong Agreement, was assassinated in 1947, just before independence
For much of the 1950s, Myanmar was ravaged by insurgencies
The Kachin Independence Organisation, the KIO, was founded in 1961
They wanted self-determination for Kachin State and control over its rich resources
The following year, General Ne Win, the former head of the country's armed forces, seized power in Myanmar in a military coup
Then, for much of the next three decades, the Kachin Independence Army, the KIA, fought battle after battle against the military junta
Only in 1994, did the Myanmar government and the KIA sign a ceasefire, which led to 15 years of relative peace and prosperity in Kachin State
Kachin State is still divided between the central government-controlled areas and KIO territory
It requires special permission to travel between the government and the KIO areas
Laiza, located on the China-Myanmar border in Kachin State, is the headquarters of the KIO
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TITLE
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Laiza, KIO Headquarters on the China-Myanmar Border |
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TITLE
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General Gun Maw Vice-Chief of Staff of the Kachin Independence Army
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Gun Maw |
We want to have the autonomy to decide our own destiny…
…which would come about if we have a real, equal Federal Union
Myitsone is where the Mayhka and the Malihka converge to form the Irrawaddy River
It is crucial to the history of the Kachin people
The Myitsone dam project is not just the concern of the Kachin people, it is the concern of the whole nation
The Kachin Independence Organisation believes that it is an enormous problem for all
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Narration
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The Myitsone dam project contributed to a breakdown of trust between the KIO and the Myanmar government
In 2010, several bombs exploded near the dam site, reportedly killing four workers
The Myanmar government blamed the KIA, who denied responsibility
Myanmar began to open up, and held a general election in November 2010
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Nicholas Farrelly
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After the elections that were held across Myanmar in November 2010, it became very clear that the Kachin ceasefire was in a fragile state
It was difficult for the Kachin leadership
There were those, like Dr Tu Ja, who were trying to come up with a mechanism whereby Kachin independence interests could be represented in the new semi-democratic political system
But they didn't get a chance
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TITLE
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Myitkyina Capital of Kachin State
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TITLE
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Dr Manam Tu Ja (65) Politician |
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Manam Tu Ja
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My name is Dr Tu Ja, I am a Kachin, and I live in Myitkyina, Kachin State
In 2009, I resigned officially from the KIO
Then I formed a political party with my friends in 2010
The government indefinitely postponed the by-election (in 2012) for the seats in Kachin, for security reasons
So I didn’t get a chance to run in the by-election
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Nicholas Farrelly
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In the early months of 2011, the ceasefire really did begin to unravel
By June of 2011, both sides were once again committed to war
On the 9th June 2011, a new war sparked up
It wasn't a surprise
It led to a new phase of torrid conflict between the Kachin and Myanmar central authorities
And it’s now the aftershocks of that war that the Kachin people are having to get to grips with
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Soldier
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Lots of soldiers are moving forward towards us
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TITLE
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Myanmar military forces attack Kachin Independence Army positions at Hkaya Mountain near Laiza, January 2013 |
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Soldier |
They are coming
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Narration
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In the past, there had often been fighting in the resource-rich areas of Kachin, such as the jade mines of Hpakant
However, the assaults by the Myanmar military in early 2013 drove deep into KIO territory
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Soldiers
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They are Burmese soldiers
Really?
Nobody is ready yet
Go! Go! We must all go!
Morphine?
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Narration
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During the course of this long war, there have been widespread allegations of human rights abuses and the use of child soldiers on both sides
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Injured Soldier
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It was a mortar, it hit here
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TITLE
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KIA Military Hospital behind the frontlines
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Injured Soldier
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It hurts! It hurts so much!
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TITLE |
Dr Manam Tu Ja (65) Politician
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I am sad
This is why the KIO has been desperately willing to start political discussions again
I think that a good future lies ahead
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TITLE
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Peace-talk Creation Group (PCG) Myitkyina
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TITLE
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Hkapara Khun Awng PCG Representative
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Hkapara Khun Awng
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I am U Hkapara Khun Awng
I am a member of the Peace-talk Creation Group (PCG)
Now there are more than 100,000 Internally Displaced Peoples (IDPs) in Kachin
How they have struggled - houses were burnt, animals were killed…
…some people were arrested, and others were killed in battle
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TITLE
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IDP Camp near Myitkyina
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TITLE
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Lamai Gum Mai (57) Kachin IDP
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Lamai Gum Mai |
In the past we have run away from the fighting many times
One time, we ran into the jungle
We didn't have any help, and nobody knew about our struggle
Near our village, there was an explosion and some bridges were destroyed...
…so we had to run away quickly
Now, we have been in the camp for years
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Nicholas Farrelly
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Part of the struggle that many people within the Kachin community are locked in, is a struggle to work out precisely who it is who has the right to extract the wealth from this part of the country
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TITLE
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Laiza, KIO Headquarters on the China-Myanmar border
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Nicholas Farrelly
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And what we saw in late 2012, was the Myanmar army push right up to gates of Laiza
They put themselves in some of the most tactically-significant positions looking over that headquarters for the Kachin Independence Organisation
They did so, to ensure the Kachin were under no illusions about what would happen in a final phase of this confrontation
There was always going to be an element of restraint, even though for those in Laiza on those tragic afternoons, it didn’t feel like restraint at all - it felt like all-out war
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TITLE
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The Shelling of Laiza by the Myanmar military January 2013
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Narration
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After the tragic violence of early 2013, both sides began to explore the possibility of a ceasefire
A KIO delegation travelled to Myitkyina, capital of Kachin State, for talks with the Myanmar government in May 2013
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Singing
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Learn from each other
Empower your race
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TITLE
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Peace-talks between KIO and Myanmar Government, May 2013
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TITLE
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General Gun Maw Vice-Chief of Staff of the Kachin Independence Army
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Gun Maw
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First, I would like to wish everyone a good day
As everyone knows, we have been through this sort of discussion many times
Today is an important day for the KIO
The KIO Executive Committee members have high hopes for this meeting
Throughout the history of the conflict, both sides may have misunderstood each other and made mistakes
However, the KIO looks forward to learning from its mistakes, and hopes for a good result in the future
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Nicholas Farrelly
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When the Myanmar government is forced to account for all of its diverse peoples, it comes up with 135 different national race categories
Perhaps it’s a paradise for anthropologists, but Myanmar frankly is a statesman’s nightmare
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Dr. Tu Ja
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I am optimistic...The Kachin people also like peace, they want peace
They want to stop the civil war and they want to achieve peace
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Nicholas Farelly
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It is pretty clear, that any final settlement to this kind of conflict needs the local people to get a fair share of the resources that are in their own lands
And the Myanmar government will need to come up with a set of practices that will work for the Kachin, but for so many other groups, all across the country
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Narration
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Despite sporadic outbreaks of violence in Kachin State, the government signed a national ceasefire with all ethnic armed groups, including the KIA, in March 2015
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TITLE
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Peace Pagoda Aung Myin Thar
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Narration
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There are hopes that this draft accord will lead to a more permanent peace settlement and bring an end to Myanmar’s six decades of civil war
The status of Myitsone Dam project, however, remains uncertain
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Li Guanghua
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我們接触到的是,基本上,大多數的人是支持這個項目的 We think that basically, most people support this dam project
那麼也有一些反對的聲音 Now there are a few voices which are in opposition…
談到的一些問題,我覺得還是不太了解這個項目的一些實際情況 But from the questions they raise, I feel that they don’t really understand the actual situation
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Maung Maung Aye
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The ground truth is we are going to lose so many things…
Physical resources, natural resources, cultural resources, economic resources
Every resource is going to be lost, or damaged, or degraded
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Seng Hkawng
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I don't think the dam will benefit us
We have been suffering even before it has been completed…
…and it will be worse when it is finished
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Gum An Tu |
With all my heart, I tell you…
…this is the village where we grew up and the village that we love
But they won’t allow us to live here anymore because of the dam project
I can’t stand it… I will always be against the dam project
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Share Gum Ja
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I will carry on living here
Even though the villagers who were working in the gold mines have already moved away
I don't care if I start to drown, drown, drown when the floods from the dam come
If it looks as if I'm gonna drown, there are so many bamboo trees around here - I can just put a bamboo raft under my house
If necessary, I can cut the legs off my house and float away…
I could live that way
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TITLE
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It is still uncertain whether work on the Myitsone Dam will recommence after the general election of November 2015
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TITLE
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Tang Hpre Village Site of the Myitsone Dam
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Song |
Passing the dark night, to get to a beautiful day Only strong believers can triumph
Life is tough so everyone has to carry out their responsibilities
Don’t give up little Mi Nge [Irrawaddy River]
Only the brave can overcome
In taking responsibility for others, you will have to make sacrifices
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Credits |
With thanks to…
All of the people of Myitsone Khun Sam Yuyu Wai Seng Mai Ye Htut Kaung and his wife Ei Phyu Zin Wint Marcus Allender Free Burma Rangers Open Society Foundation
Translation
Seng Myaw Khin Pyone Lay Aung Zin Pyae Esther Htusan Hkangda Eaint Thiri Thu Andrew Limond
Camera and Audio
Cherry Htike Jack Aung Andrew Limond
Additional Footage
La Ram Mung Ra Ye Htut Kaung The White House US Department of State Chris Symes & Tony Neil Democratic Voice of Burma © 2015 Free Burma Rangers Video provided by the Free Burma Rangers, which offers media free of charge to help the people of Burma
Music
The people of Myitsone Blast Band Path of Flowers Panyelann Prodigal Son - Brightside Studio
Editors
Jack Aung Theo Yeung Andrew Limond
Directors
Jack Aung Andrew Limond
Narrator & Assistant Producer
Tadmur Smith
Producer
Andrew Limond
This documentary was produced on a not-for-profit basis
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TITLE |
Dams, Drugs & Democracy The Struggle for Resources in Kachin State, Myanmar
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Gum An Tu (final song)
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Oh… In the shadow of the banyan tree
To meet my love again Please wait for me there, love
Oh… Such a lovely girl
That’s all
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Four years later, Myitsone Dam back in spotlight
As President U Thein Sein’s tenure nears an end, a timely documentary has re-focused attention on his pledge to suspend work on the Myitsone Dam.
A new documentary has focussed attention on the plight of villagers living near the site of the interrupted Myitsone Dam project on which President U Thein Sein suspended work more than four years ago.
Drugs, Dams and Democracy, on which work began soon after the President’s dramatic September 30, 2011 decision to halt work on the project, features a rich cast of characters.
As well as villagers resettled to make way for the multi-million dollar dam, the documentary includes interviews with gold miners, musicians, heroin addicts, church leaders and a representative of the state-owned Chinese company with a big stake in the project.
The recent screening of the documentary in Yangon has re-focussed attention on U Thein Sein’s decision, in the face of an escalating national protest movement, to suspend work on the project for the tenure of his government. As his term in office nears an end, there have been reports that the project will be revived after the new government is formed early next year. However, U Thein Sein has not ruled out seeking a second term in office, and should he serve again as president, the implications of his pledge on the dam are not clear.
Planning began in 2001 for the Myitsone Dam, where the confluence of the Malikha and N’Mai Kha rivers creates the Ayeyarwady River about 26 miles (42 kilometres) upstream from the Kachin State capital, Myitkyina. The dam was due to be completed in 2017 and to generate 6,000 megawatts, most of which was to be exported to China. State-owned China Power Investment Corporation holds an 80-percent stake in the project, in which the other partners are the Myanmar government and one of the country’s biggest conglomerates, Asia World.
“This issue is particularly important with the election coming, and one thing we want to do is start a discussion about the project,” Andrew Limond, the producer of the hour-long documentary, said at a screening in Yangon on October 14.
Among the main characters in the documentary are Ma Sek Hkawng and her young family. When the documentary begins they are living in riverside Tang Hpe village, but are resettled by CPI to a community known as Aung Myin Thar village where, they say, they have limited opportunities to improve their lives.
“She [Ma Sek Hkawng] wants to raise her children as well as possible, but they do not really have much hope for themselves,” said Ma Cherry Htike, who worked on the documentary and spent more than six months living with villagers affected by the project.
Mr Limond said CPI had arranged for an environmental impact assessment of the project but it had failed to take into account the dam’s impact on the entire Ayeyarwady River basin, which is home to an estimated 24 million people. “People downstream are increasingly aware of this project and the downsteam impact has to be taken seriously because it is immensely important,” he said.
The documentary also explores drug abuse in Kachin and the conflict there between the Kachin Independence Army, the armed wing of the Kachin Independence Organisation, and the Tatmadaw, which resumed in June 2011 after a 17-year ceasefire. The dam, which would flood a vast swathe of territory controlled by the KIO, had been cited as a source of tension between the two sides.
The KIA, one of the most powerful ethnic armies in Myanmar, was notable by its absence from the ceremony in Nay Pyi Taw on October 15 at which the government signed a national ceasefire agreement with eight ethnic armed groups.
During a recent election campaign visit to Kachin State, National League for Democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was asked what would happen to the Myitsone Dam if the NLD formed the next government. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said she could not promise that the project would be cancelled, but would ensure that all details of the contract between the government and CPI would be made transparent-- Frontier Myanmar 27 October 2015
Myitsone Dam, Kachin Conflict under Spotlight in New Film
RANGOON — A new documentary film premiering in Rangoon this weekend offers a view into the social upheaval and dislocation caused by the Myitsone Dam project in Kachin State.
Produced over four years, including months embedded in the now largely abandoned Tang Hpre village in the dam’s catchment area, Dams, Drugs and Democracy charts community opposition to the dam before and after President Thein Sein announced the controversial megaproject’s suspension in 2011.
Filmmakers follow a group of Tang Hpre residents as they are moved to the Aung Myint Thar resettlement village, constructed by Myitsone project partner Asia World. Villagers say that the homes built by the company, which remains listed on the US Treasury sanctions list as a result of its links to the narcotics trade, are poorly constructed and will not last more than a few years.
“I had to build our concrete foundations,” said Seng Hkawng, 33, who was one of hundreds to be relocated from Tang Hpre after being given a 100,000 kyat (US$78) ex gratia payment. “The roof blew off during the last rainy season. There’s nowhere to find firewood. The builders had no sense of responsibility.”
Elsewhere, the documentary chronicles the introduction of heroin into the local community, as land near Tang Hpre is leased to local gold mining firms and an influx of workers leads to the spread of drug use.
As the majority stakeholder in the dam, a subsidiary of China Power Investment Corp., lobbies for the resumption of construction, the film follows the 2014 protest led by Ye Htut Kaung, which marched from Rangoon to Kachin State in opposition to the project.
“The people who put us in prison are the ones that will be seen as criminals in the eyes of history,” the activist told filmmakers.
Shortly after the march, Ye Htut Kaung was arrested and imprisoned for 12 months under the Peaceful Assembly Act.
Set against the renewed conflict between the Burmese government and the Kachin Independence Organization, which has been ongoing for four years, villagers interviewed in the film said their lives had been turned upside down by the Myitsone project.
“Whenever someone gets into a high position in this country, they only care about their own lives and their own family,” Share Gum Ja, who moved to Tang Hpre in 2002, told filmmakers. The 65-year-old is now living on his own in the village after the death of his wife and mother and in defiance of a ban on former residents returning to their homes.
“They don’t bother with us, unless they have something to take from us, or if they want to force us to work for them.”
When construction on the Myitsone Dam was suspended in 2011, President Thein Sein deferred an ultimate decision on the project until after the 2015 general election. The ultimate fate of the dam remains unclear.-- Sean Gleeson The Irrawaddy 16 October 2015
Awards
Winner, Award of Merit – Impact Docs Awards Angkor Wat International Film Festival -- Official Selection, 2016 Myanmar Film Festival – Official Selection, 2016
Citation
Main credits
Limond, Andrew (film director)
Limond, Andrew (film producer)
Limond, Andrew (director of photography)
Limond, Andrew (editor of moving image work)
Aung, Jack (film director)
Aung, Jack (director of photography)
Aung, Jack (editor of moving image work)
Smith, Tadmur (narrator)
Other credits
Camera and audio, Cherry Htike, Jack Aung, Andrew Limond; editors, Jack Aung, Theo Yeung, Andrew Limond.
Distributor credits
Andy Limond
Andy Limond and Jack Aung
Docuseek2 subjects
Asian Studies
History
War and Peace
Ethnography
Water
Rivers and Lakes
Asia
Energy
Government Policy
Journalism and the Press
Citizenship, Social Movements and Activism
Human Rights
Global / International Studies
Indigenous Studies
Hydroelectric
Geography
South Asia
Distributor subjects
Anthropology
Asia
Asian Studies
Buddhism
China
Christianity
Dams
Democracy
Development
Displaced populations
East Asia
Energy
Environmental Studies
Ethnography
Geography
Global
Studies
International Studies
Government
Government Policy
History
Human Rights
Hydroelectric Power
Insurgency
Mining
Myanmar
Political Science
Refugees
Religion
Rivers
Southeast Asia
United States
War and Peace
Water Management
Keywords
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