Thoe Reh / Kantarawaddy Times
For over two years now, every October has felt like an endless night for Ko Boe Du. Inside the small tent of the displacement camp where his family lived, he now spends his days alone. On the small bamboo porch, he sleeps and wakes up day by day by spending his days in silence, lost in thought and memory.
Ko Boe Du, who became disabled, is now forced to survive in darkness after stepping on a land mine. “At that time,” he recalls, “Since I planted the peanut, and the plants were growing well, I thought there couldn’t possibly be any mines in the peanut field. So I went.”
“I had only been harvesting peanuts for a while, alone in the field. By doing so, I felt something wasn’t right, how to say like it didn’t feel safe. But the peanuts were yielding so much, so I was greedy,” he admitted.
Ko Boe Du recounted in detail how he stepped on the mine. The explosion cost him one leg and both of his eyes. He is only 34 years old and a father of two young children.
Before the incident, Ko Boe Du was a farmer from a village in Hpruso Township. He made a living from his family’s farmland, living peacefully with his family. But now, he can no longer work. Even his daily needs depend on the care and help of his family members.
In 2022, junta forces launched an offensive into Daw Nyay Khu village, Hpruso Township, and set up camp there. After they withdrew, in October 2023, local villagers and displaced residents began returning to check their homes and harvest their paddy and peanuts. Among them was also Ko Boe Du, who went alone to his peanut field near the village, where he stepped on the landmine.
He said that when he stepped on the mine, there was no one nearby, and he couldn’t get help, so he had to shout to his surroundings.
“When I stepped on the mine, I even tried to check whether my leg was still there. I realized one side was gone. Luckily, there were some farmers threshing rice nearby, and when I called for help, they came and carried me out to a clinic. I had to receive medical treatment for over a month,” he said.
“The current situation is not easy. Since my eyes are also gone, I can’t see anymore. I just sit here, alone at home. I can’t go anywhere. I sit on the porch all day, staring here and there, and thinking about something. By doing so, I feel sad. I need help. Even for something simple I want to do, like going to the toilet, it’s very difficult,” he explained the current situation.
Every day, Ko Boe Du’s life is filled with anxieties, worrying about his family’s livelihood and about the future of his two children. He said it’s even more sorrowful when he feels that this life of hardship is his own fault. He feels sad thinking that he can no longer fulfill his responsibility as a husband and father.
“I worry a lot because my wife is a woman. As the head of the family, I was supposed to provide everything for the family. My wife also cannot take the role of a man of the house. Now, with children, life has become very hard. Thinking about my children hurts the most,” Ko Boe Du shared his feelings.
Even though he suffers deeply, he said he often keeps his pain to himself because he doesn’t want to burden others. Ko Boe Du also confided to this writer that sometimes, when he did share his struggles, he also faced criticism from those around him.
Despite losing part of his body and his sight, Ko Boe Du draws strength from his love and hope for his children. His son and daughter give him the courage to face this painful world.
Now, as a man who lost one leg and his vision to a landmine, Ko Boe Du’s greatest wish in life is simple: to see his wife and children again.
“My deepest wish in life is to see again. If I could see, I’d feel peace. I could do anything again. But now, without sight, I can’t do anything. I just want to see my children. My eldest is a girl, and the younger is a boy. She’s eight, and he’s just over two. I want to see them so much.”
