Aung Aung
Aung Aung is 13 years old and lives in Bee Lin, Burma. His mother first noticed a problem with his health when he was 3 years old and he suddenly lost consciousness. His mother took him to hospital in Burma. The doctor told her that they could not treat Aung Aung and that they would need to go to Rangoon. The family could not take Aung Aung to Rangoon as they did not have the money. Aung Aung’s father was taken away 8 years ago for forced labour by the Burmese military regime. He hasn’t been seen or heard of since. Every month the villagers in Aung Aung’s village have to pay 1,500 Kyat to the Burmese military. This exacerbates the financial hardship of everyone in his village.Aung Aung’s family work together to make ends meet. His oldest sister is 26 and is married with a family of her own to support. His 20 year-old sister helps out financially by doing daily odd jobs and earns 1,000 Kyat a day (US$1). Aung Aung’s mother also does daily odd jobs when she can get the work (she earns 1,200 Kyat a day – US$1.20). He also has an 18 year-old sister who helps around the house.
After Aung Aung became ill and they couldn’t afford to take him to Rangoon, Aung Aung continued to suffer from exhaustion. He had a puffy face and body and became dizzy often. When his body was also unable to make urine, his symptoms were severe. When he was urinating as normal, his symptoms were relatively mild. He also suffered from heart palpitations. He had very severe symptoms three times since his initial loss of consciousness and his mother took him to hospital where they gave him medicine. He needs to take diuretics so that he passes urine or else he will be troubled by fluid retention and his symptoms will become severe. This makes him sad.
However, Aung Aung’s aunt moved to the district of Mae Tao, in Thailand with her husband and children one year ago to find work. She found out about the clinic when Mae Tao Clinic’s Volunteer Counselling and Testing service visited her migrant-worker factory. As soon as she heard about the Clinic, she rang her sister in Burma and told her to bring Aung Aung here.
It took Aung Aung and his mother two days to get to the Clinic from their village in Burma and cost them 20,000 Kyat (US$20). His older siblings are looking after his 10 year-old brother.
When asked how he is feeling, Aung Aung responded that he felt very tired. He gets tired just walking from different departments at the Mae Tao Clinic and even has difficulty opening the lids on soft drink bottles. As he gets tired just from walking, he cannot run and jump and play like his friends do. He wants to get better so he can play too. He also wants to get better so he can go back to school and continue his education (and play with his friends).
Aung Aung’s aunt says that if he gets treatment and gets better then she would like him to live with her and attend a migrant school in Mae Sot (as he will get a much better education in Thailand than if he continued his education in Burma).
Aung Aung’s mother puts her two hands together and compels us to help her son. She wants to see him go to school so he can become a teacher and help his mother out. Her concern for her sons’ wellbeing is evident as she tells of his medical history and her hopes for his future.
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