Burmese Kiwi soldier Than Htike, partner Say Wah and family and friends at Waiouru. Photo: PMC/Violet Cho

Pacific.Scoop
By Violet Cho

The spring wind had a bracing chill from the nearby mountains but the march out parade by a group of newly trained New Zealand soldiers filled Waiouru military camp with warmth and excitement.

Neatly dressed in uniform with arms, the soldiers looked remarkably similar and it was hard to spot Private Than Htike, a young Burmese recruit in the parade.

“I can’t find my husband, he has dark skin and he is short,” murmured Say Wah, partner of Than Htike.

As soon as Say Wah finally sighted her husband, she pointed him out: “Yes, there he is. Oh, he looks as fit and healthy than ever.”

Although having seen Private Than Htike – the 23-year-old son of Burmese refugees – for the first time, I agreed he looked smart and strong. Above all he seemed confident as a young soldier.

“I am proud to be a New Zealand soldier – this is my dream of becoming a soldier one day,” he said.

“I have had this dream since I was a kid. It is quite challenging and difficult to train as a soldier here. I don’t get bored but feel happy because I can do what I want to do.”

Burmese recruit in the New Zealand army Private Than Htike. Photo: PMC/Violet Cho

Having been born in Burma from Burman and Karen parents, Than Htike spent his childhood in Myaing Gyi Ngu village in Karen State, eastern Burma.

Like many Burmese citizens, Than Htike’s family was directly effected by Burma’s ongoing civil war which started after Burma’s independence in 1948.

Lost father
Than Htike lost his father when he was young. He and his family are not sure what had happened to him.

He said his father was forced to be a porter for Burmese soldiers fighting in the front line and since then his father never came back again.

Because of the continuous fighting and poverty, Than Htike and his family left Burma and came to New Zealand as refugees in 2000.

Than Htike finished high school in 2005 and then he studied hospitality for two years. He quit school and entered the New Zealand army.

“My mother and grandmother don’t like the idea of me becoming a soldier. When I was young I told my grandmother that I want to become a soldier when I grow up.

“She strongly opposed that because she had seen Burmese soldiers killing people so she did not want me to be a soldier and kill people.”

Three Burmese youth have joined the New Zealand army and there are more inspiration among many Burmese youth who want become soldiers in the future.

I have also been told by a couple of young Burmese – both university and high school students – about their ambition of becoming New Zealand soldiers.

“I will join the army as soon as I finish high school because I want to be a soldier,” said a Burmese teenager who does not want to be named.

Refugee camp
This teenager used to live in a Burmese refugee camp on the Thai-Burma border. He experienced fighting and warfare between Burmese military and insurgent groups which forced so many Burmese ethnic minority groups out of their village to take refuge on the Thai-Burma border.

Many reasons contribute to why young people want to join the army.

Tin Zaw Moe, a Burmese community leader who lives in Auckland, points to three possible reasons why young Burmese are eager to be soldiers and work in the army.

First, most young people who join the military at the moment are from ethnic minorities who have come from conflict areas where they have firsthand experience with war and fighting. They have grown up on the Thai-Burma border where the hail of fighting surrounding them so this motivates them to become soldiers.

Second, the inspiration of becoming soldier when they see a military officer or general with uniform and army equipment. The pride of being a military officer is special because people show respect and express their dependency on national security.

Lastly, many young people who have had a disrupted education feel that it is a more prestigious job, compared to other options available in New Zealand such as factory or service work.

Tin Zaw Moe said he strongly supported young Burmese joining the New Zealand army.

“I fully agree and support young people entering the army here because being a soldier here is completely different from being a soldier in our country [Burma],” he said.

‘Well-trained’
“Soldiers here are well trained with different professional skills. It is also a good opportunity to choose and study other professional areas like engineering, marine work and aeromechanics.”

He added: “The future of young people who join the army is secure because they have a job and they are paid.”

He said he was aware young people who join the army become stable with their career and are aware of their future and what they want to be doing in their life.

As this is a positive thing for the Burmese community here, he also suggested “this must be taken as consideration for many young Burmese who do not have jobs and those who are unclear with their future. Some also struggle with depression and drug use”.

Unlike in Burma, young people are not being forced to join the army. And most young Burmese who join the army said they signed up because of their ambition. And they also shared a common dream of helping people by being soldiers.

“I am not going to kill people but I will defend people’s life,” said private Than Htike confidently.

He also wished to serve in East Timor or other countries like other New Zealand soldiers.

“If I have a chance in the future, I want to help Karen people which are still fighting against the Burmese military regime along the border.”

Listening to Private Than Htike made me think of the 30 young Burmese nationalists who secretly went to Japan to be trained as soldiers to fight against British colonial rule in Burma.

They came back to form Burma’s first army and are still celebrated today by nationalists and activists.

Violet Cho, an exiled indigenous Karen journalist from Burma and living in Thailand, is the 2009 Asian Journalism Fellow at AUT’s Pacific Media Centre.