MUHAMMAD AFIQ TAJUDIN & PRABHU A/L RAGAWAN

Escape From Burma

Memories Of Her Mother
Moo Nay Paw has only fleeting memories of her mother. She remembers her
long, dark hair and the faint outline of her beauty, unblemished by the labor of raising three
children in the rugged jungles of Burma. She remembers the sweet treats her mother prepared
from yellow pumpkins and roots, steamed and sugared to become a young girl's treasure. nd
Moo Nay Paw remembers the night when she was se!en and her fingers felt the bullet hole in her
mother's back.
"f the years before and since, she has other memories. She remembers brutality#
at the hands of Burmese soldiers during their periodic sweeps of the mountain !illages along the
country's border with $hailand. nd death ## of her brother and others from fe!er. nd still more
murders ## of her father, her family's friends, and countless others by the junta's soldiers. But
amid all this, as clear as yesterday, is the memory of the night ten years ago that set in motion the
destruction of her family.
%t began with a journey. Moo Nay Paw belongs to the &aren, a tribe whose desire
for an autonomous homeland has triggered relentless and brutal attacks by the go!ernment's
military 'which changed the country's name to Myanmar in ()*)+. To escape the danger, her
parents gathered their children and belongings and forded the Moei ,i!er to $hailand, settling
with other refugees in a small fishing !illage where they thought they'd be safe. But an
international boundary pro!ed as inconse-uential to the Burmese army as it had to the fleeing
&aren. from a hilltop across the ri!er, troops shelled the !illage. Moo Nay Paw's family and two
friends set out again, this time back across the ri!er to her father's childhood !illage, /ta "ak, in
Burma's misty mountains.
$he trek took the family through dangerous territory, but her father and his friends
were careful. $hey stuck to well#worn paths cleared of land mines, and when they came to one of
the handful of roads the regime had built for troop deployment, the men strained to detect signs
of soldiers nearby. ,esting high against the side of a hill, they were sure they were safe. 0But the
Burmese army was on the other side of the hill,0 recalls Moo Nay Paw. 0$hey heard all, they
were so close.0 s the group came upon a telltale boot print on the trail, the soldiers opened
fire.
MUHAMMAD AFIQ TAJUDIN & PRABHU A/L RAGAWAN
Moo Nay Paw's family was caught in the world's longest#running ci!il war. 1or
almost 23 years, the Karen ## one of Burma's largest ethnic minorities, totaling some 4 percent
of the population ## and a handful of other tribes ha!e struggled for freedom from the Burmese
majority. $hat freedom once seemed within their grasp. $he &aren helped the British administer
their colonies starting in the late ()th century and fought with the llies in 5orld 5ar %% against
the 6apanese, with whom the Burmese sided. %n return for their loyalty, the &aren were led to
belie!e the British would grant them autonomy. But when Burmese independence came in ()7*,
Britain forgot its promise. $he commander of the Burmese army, Ne 5in, launched an offensi!e
to bring the tribes under central rule, an effort that only intensified when, in ()28, he staged a
military coup and became the country's dictator. /e died in 8338, but dictatorial rule continues
today.
$he &aren National 9iberation rmy insists its soldiers are holding their ground.
But with just 7,333 fighters and weapons from the :ietnam 5ar era and earlier, the guerrillas are
outgunned and outmanned. $he junta's strategy, meanwhile, is simple; to force submission by
attacking !illages and cutting off the food and supply lines that feed the resistance. %ts tactics;
ensla!ement, torture, rape, e<ecution.
MUHAMMAD AFIQ TAJUDIN & PRABHU A/L RAGAWAN
Questions
1. Ho do the riter e!plain about her mother"s physical appearance #
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%.&ho are the people death because of the 'unta"s soldier #
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(. &here does the Moo )ay *a"s family as caught by the Brumese soldier #
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+. &hat does the phrase , To escape the danger , paragraph ( refer to #
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-.&ho is )e &in and hen does he died #
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MUHAMMAD AFIQ TAJUDIN & PRABHU A/L RAGAWAN
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.
..Ho does the Karen fall to Brumese soldier # E!plain in on ords not more then (/
ords.
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0. &hat is the meaning of brutality in paragraph % #
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1.&hat are the 2unta"s strategy #
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MUHAMMAD AFIQ TAJUDIN & PRABHU A/L RAGAWAN
3.&hy Moo )ay *a"s brother died #
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1/. &hat is the meaning of soldier opened fire in paragraph + #
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4nsers
1.5ong6 dar7 hair and the faint outline of her beauty.
%.Her father6 her family8s friends6 and countless others.
(.9n the orld8s longest:running ci;il ar.
+.Because of the relentless and brutal attac7s by the go;ernment8s.
=.The commander of the Burmese army. He died in %//%.
..The Karen helped the British administer their colonies starting in the late 13th
century and fought ith the 4llies in &orld &ar 99 against the 'apanese6 ith hom
the Burmese sided. 9n return for their loyalty6 the Karen ere led to belie;e the
British ould grant them autonomy. But hen Burmese independence came in 13+16
Britain forgot its promise.
0.<efer to dictionary.
1. To force submission by attac7ing ;illages and cutting off the food and supply lines
that feed the resistance. 9ts tactics= ensla;ement6 torture6 rape6 e!ecution.
MUHAMMAD AFIQ TAJUDIN & PRABHU A/L RAGAWAN
3. Because of fe;er.
1/. >tart to shoot from their gun.