Saw Thi Ha
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Saw Thi Ha is 16 and is from Karen State, Burma. In April, 2008 he was traveling from his village in a tractor to another village to get supplies for his family. His village is quite remote and he needed to travel a long way to get to the next village. The tractor driver was going his way and he caught a ride with him and his young baby who was 10 months old. There were three other people on the tractor, another young boy, 10, and two teenage girls who had been to a clinic in his village to help with the de-worming program there.
As the tractor was driving down a track road between two fields, the driver crashed into a tree. A farmer in the fields had been burning his crops and the tractor caught fire. The tractor was engulfed in flames. The driver and his young daughter died (after the accident the grief was too much for his wife and she committed suicide leaving behind a 10 year old son who now stays with his grandmother). The young boy and one of the teenage girls managed to get away from the flames with minor injuries. However, Saw Thi Ha and the other teenage girl, Eh Moo, were severely burnt. They tried to run away from the flames, but had caught fire. Saw Thi Ha says he remembers running away and then he remembers two men coming on a motorbike. One of the men took him back to his village. When he returned to his village he stayed there for one night. Villagers tried to sooth his pain by putting raw egg on his burns. Saw Thi Ha was conscious the whole time and was in severe pain.
The day after the accident he was taken to Mae Than Hospital in Thailand. He was then referred to Mae Sot Hospital (MSH), in Mae Sot on the Thai-Burma border. Mae Sot Hospital kept him in for 4 days and sent him back to Mae Than Hospital, where they kept him in for one month. He had a follow up after one month at MSH. At MSH they treated him with some burns cream and sent him back to Mae Than Hospital. At Mae Than Hospital his treatment consisted of a combination of cream and honey. He stayed in Mae Than Hospital for a further 20 days and was discharged. His father had stayed with him throughout his hospitalisation and they returned home together to Karen State.
Saw Thi Ha says that initially his scars were severe but were not very thick. However, he says they gradually became thicker and thicker. They developed over 5 months and in September, 2008 they stopped thickening.
Saw Thi Ha says that now his scars are itchy, especially at night. It is very difficult for him to move parts of his body where the scars are have thickest and largest. He has difficulty hearing as the scars have covered his ears and his right arm is particularly difficult to move.
Two years before the accident, Saw Thi Ha stopped going to school to help his parents in the field. His parents grow enough food for the family to live on (Saw Thi Ha has two younger brothers – 13 and 10 – and a younger sister – 3). Since his accident, he has gone back to work with his parents but says because of his injuries it is very difficult for him to work. Saw Thi Ha says that he is very sad and worries a lot. He says he is very self conscious that he is not like other people. When we ask him what he would like to do in the future, he says he does not know but hopes he can get better and continue to help his family in the fields.
As the tractor was driving down a track road between two fields, the driver crashed into a tree. A farmer in the fields had been burning his crops and the tractor caught fire. The tractor was engulfed in flames. The driver and his young daughter died (after the accident the grief was too much for his wife and she committed suicide leaving behind a 10 year old son who now stays with his grandmother). The young boy and one of the teenage girls managed to get away from the flames with minor injuries. However, Saw Thi Ha and the other teenage girl, Eh Moo, were severely burnt. They tried to run away from the flames, but had caught fire. Saw Thi Ha says he remembers running away and then he remembers two men coming on a motorbike. One of the men took him back to his village. When he returned to his village he stayed there for one night. Villagers tried to sooth his pain by putting raw egg on his burns. Saw Thi Ha was conscious the whole time and was in severe pain.
The day after the accident he was taken to Mae Than Hospital in Thailand. He was then referred to Mae Sot Hospital (MSH), in Mae Sot on the Thai-Burma border. Mae Sot Hospital kept him in for 4 days and sent him back to Mae Than Hospital, where they kept him in for one month. He had a follow up after one month at MSH. At MSH they treated him with some burns cream and sent him back to Mae Than Hospital. At Mae Than Hospital his treatment consisted of a combination of cream and honey. He stayed in Mae Than Hospital for a further 20 days and was discharged. His father had stayed with him throughout his hospitalisation and they returned home together to Karen State.
Saw Thi Ha says that initially his scars were severe but were not very thick. However, he says they gradually became thicker and thicker. They developed over 5 months and in September, 2008 they stopped thickening.
Saw Thi Ha says that now his scars are itchy, especially at night. It is very difficult for him to move parts of his body where the scars are have thickest and largest. He has difficulty hearing as the scars have covered his ears and his right arm is particularly difficult to move.
Two years before the accident, Saw Thi Ha stopped going to school to help his parents in the field. His parents grow enough food for the family to live on (Saw Thi Ha has two younger brothers – 13 and 10 – and a younger sister – 3). Since his accident, he has gone back to work with his parents but says because of his injuries it is very difficult for him to work. Saw Thi Ha says that he is very sad and worries a lot. He says he is very self conscious that he is not like other people. When we ask him what he would like to do in the future, he says he does not know but hopes he can get better and continue to help his family in the fields.
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