Type of Incident

UXO explosion resulting in multiple injuries

Date of Incident(s)

July 21st 2020

Incident Location

(Village, Township and District)

Thee Wah Poo village, Thee Wah Poo village tract, T’Nay Hsah Township

Victim Information

Name

Saw H---

Saw K---

Saw P---

Saw M---

Age

12

10

10

12

Sex

Male

Male

Male

Male

Ethnicity

Karen

Karen

Karen

Karen

Family   

Children  

Children

Children

Children

Position

Schoolchild

Villager

Villager

Villager

Village

Thee Wah Poo village

Thee Wah Poo village

Thee Wah Poo village

Thee Wah Poo village

1. Explain in detail how you collected this information.

KHRG staff interviewed P’Doh[3] Saw Hser Htee Nay Thaw, the Karen Education and Culture Department (KECD),[4] Education Administrator for T’Nay Hsah Township, as well as a teacher from Thee Wah Poo and the mother of one of the victims.

A KHRG researcher also followed up on the case with the Thee Wah Poo village tract administrator.

2. Explain how the source verified this information.

The sources found the injured children and took them to the hospital.

Describe the Incident(s) in complete detail.  

On July 20th 2020, two local children saw a piece of UXO in an agricultural area beside the Meh Pleh River, Thee Wah Poo village, Thee Wah Poo village tract, T’Nay Hsah Township, Hpa-an District. One of them picked it up, but the other took it and threw it away. On the next day, during the school lunch break, a local schoolchild named Saw H--- joined three other children [Saw K---, Saw P--- and Saw M---] who were guiding cows and playing close to where the UXO was thrown. One of them, Saw P---, picked it up because he saw his friends throw it away the day before. He gave it to Saw H---.

The four children formed a circle around the UXO. Saw H--- then hit it with a stone, causing it to explode. All of them sustained injuries, mostly to their heads, legs, hands and chests. Saw H--- was the most seriously injured. His right hand was blown off by the blast.

Villagers nearby heard the explosion. However, they thought that people were conducting blast fishing activities in the river, so they did not go to the incident place until one of the injured children ran back to the village for help. According to Saw Bleh Ku, a local teacher: “At the time of the incident, it was the mid-day class break. I went back to my house and had lunch. I heard the explosion […] I thought someone was fishing with bombs [some people in their community used to do this].”

After villagers learned about the incident, they rushed to the scene. Saw H---’s mother reported: “I was calling my son: ‘My child!! My child!!’ My son could not respond anymore because he was unconscious. […] When we found them [injured children], they were lying on the ground beside the river and none of them could talk to us anymore.”

After the incident, the village tract administrator and the children’s parents took the injured children to the Thee Wah Poo clinic. The local health workers could not treat such serious injuries, so they sent the four children to Ra M’Tee (Myawaddy) Town hospital. Saw H--- was ultimately transferred to the Mae Sot general hospital due to the gravity of his injuries. Part of his forearm had to be amputated.

Saw H---’s transfer to the Mae Sot general hospital was arranged by the KECD and a cross-border healthcare organisation. According to the interviews conducted by KHRG, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) covered the cost of the medical expenses for all four victims.

Saw H---’s mother and teacher are now concerned about his reintegration into the community, and wonder whether he will face isolation or discrimination because of his missing hand. Saw H---’s also expressed worries about his ability to write and continue his studies, but his teacher reassured him: “Of course you will be able to write. Look at me, my hand is not good [one of his hands is missing] but I can still write, so there is no need to feel depressed.”  

According to Saw H---’s widowed mother, a good education is paramount to overcome all the barriers her son might face as a person with a physical disability. However, she does not have money to support his education: “Even though my son is disabled, I want my son to access education so if anyone can help him for his education, he will have a better future.”  

Adult villagers from Thee Wah Poo have attended Mine Risk Education (MRE) trainings in the past, and there are awareness posters on the school’s walls. However, the injured children told local villagers that they had never seen a similar UXO [on posters or in the hands of soldiers] before. They added that it just looked like the handle of an umbrella, which made them curious.

Nobody could confirm which type of UXO caused this incident. Given the description made by the victims, who were also showed pictures of different types of UXOs, the KECD Education Administrator for T’Nay Hsah Township thinks it was a grenade.

Did the victim(s) provide permission to use this information? Explain how that permission was provided.

The mother of one of the victims and the two other interviewees gave KHRG permission to use this information.