Village Ohn Pin Kwin

Our previous blog post was dedicated to our first case study site called Hein Ze village. Our second case study area is the village Ohn Pin Kwin (= coconut palm trees field), about which we would like to share some impressions with you. 

The Myanmar research team (f.l.t.r.): Win Myint (senior researcher and country responsibility), Lara (PhD), Thu Zar (PhD), Nwe Nwe (assistant and translator), Flurina (postdoc), Thida (PhD)

Ohn Pin Kwin has also experienced some armed conflicts and kidnapping during the fights between the army and the minorities, but was luckily more spared compared to Hein Ze. However, Ohn Pin Kwin was exposed to several land occupation incidents. These land occupations were initiated on the one hand by the Myanmar Navy and on the other hand by national and international companies (assumedly with support of the Myanmar military) in order to extract and process natural resources.

There are three major oil & gas companies settled in Ohn Pin Kwin, extracting gas from the sea, processing the gas on large compounds in Ohn Pin Kwin, and transferring the gas through pipelines to Thailand. But apparently, in return, the gas companies also invested a lot of money in the village by building a good road (which they of course also need for their trucks), building one or two schools, clinic etc.

At the fence of a company's compound - the security guy and the villager know each other and have a short chat

Additionally, this area is very mineral rich, therefore two mining companies settled in Ohn Pin Kwin (many other companies settled in neighbouring villages), extracting lead from the surface (no underground mining, but ablating the surface and destroying fertile soils).

Despite the presence of the many companies, only very few villagers still have a job with these firms. During the construction times, most villagers seem to have benefitted (through compensation or construction job). But over the last few years, most villagers lost their jobs in the companies, which still makes them having bad resentments towards the firms. Most interviewees indicated being jobless, which also leads to a higher flow of work-related emigration to Thailand.

The Navy occupied 87’265 acres of land in 2001 along the coastal zone. The reasons for this large-scale occupation of land can only be guessed: Villagers assume that the Navy on the one hand wants to protect the gas extraction in the sea and the upcoming SEZ, and on the other hand moved their main base from Mawlamyaing to this specific area. As a consequence, many farmers lost the access to their land and did not dare to complain. Also fishermen were affected, as the fishing area got limited and the pollution of the ships reduces the fish quantity and quality.

 

A short drive through the very large Navy compound. Here we see a freshly burnt area. We don't know what they will use it for.

In the succession of the land acquisitions initiated by the companies but in close collaboration with the government starting from 1995 and lasting until today, numerous farmers also had to give up the land they previously used for cultivations or extensive use. In return, most or some of them received compensations. Nevertheless, there are still farmers complaining about uncompensated side-effects of the land occupations, e.g. that a paddy rice field is now cut off from the previous water flow, because the underground gas pipelines changed the ground level and made the stream flowing through another field. Many villagers had similar stories to tell. And they all criticised, that the regional government would not answer their letters of complaints. But the situation is very complex and difficult to fully understand. There are also rumours (also confirmed by some villagers) that the companies only acquired unused land and the villagers only pretended to be affected in order to receive compensations. Who to believe? We don’t know. Probably both sides.

Every villager can tell a story about land occupations and decreases in production... 

 

This paddy rice field is apparently affected by the gas pipelines. Because of the higher ground level, the water doesn't flow through this field anymore. Hence, the plot is too dry and the harvest too little.

The villagers of Ohn Pin Kwin were (like in Hein Ze) very curious about our research project and happy to have us here. We again met many very kind persons, showing us their fields, houses, happy to give us interviews and serving incredibly tasty fruits. Nevertheless, we always had a little bit the impression that they perceived us as justice-fighters. We felt like they expected from us that we would help them and start negotiating with the companies in order to fight for more compensations and jobs for the villagers, which we will unfortunately not be able to do. But apparently, our sole presence in the village already led to some changes. We’ve heard that one day after we had left, the regional government showed up in the village in order to answer to the letters of complaints. :-) We never told the regional government that we’ll be in this village. But somehow they found out and maybe “remembered all of a sudden” that there were dozens or even hundreds of letters of complaints. Again; who knows…?! We most definitely don’t. :-) 

In Ohn Pin Kwin, we again conducted many interviews (around 30) and one workshop. For the workshop, we invited only 6 people, but 22 came :-) It was a very lively and good workshop! And we also did some transect walks, walking through the forests, plantations and other interesting places, taking GPS-points (for making maps later) and pictures. We also visited the fences of the large companies and drove through the Navy area to get an impression (as unflashy as possible of course… but somehow difficult because we were the only white people in this village…).

Impressions from the workshop

Our transect walk to one of the hills. First picture: take notes about the vegetation, slope etc. Second picture: take notes about further informations provided by the villagers.

In both villages, one can feel the enthusiasm about the new government. All villagers hope and expect that land governance will become more transparent, self-determined, and free of corruption with the legislation of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Additionally, both villages warmly welcomed our international research team, since they experienced for the first time that somebody is interested in their stories and opinions. 

  In nearly every house, you can see at least one picture of the new leader Daw Aung San Su Kyi