A BOY FROM “SITAPUR” Part (2) Original Story by Henry Aung

Teenage

When I became teenager the situation started to change in our family. Two of my sisters were at high school and at the same time I and my younger sister also ready to join in. Monthly tuition fees for four students and the household expenses were rally a huge burden for both of my poor parents. My father started to work part time after office hours and my mother opened a grocery shop at nearby fresh market. Every early in the morning I assisted my mother to open the shop and went to school. My father always mentioned to us that the inheritance for our family was only education. No matter how poor, he wanted to see our graduation.

With great leading of my father, two of my sister finished the high school. My elder sister Angela was ready to join university and my second sister Julie achieved the scholarship to Philippine offered by diocese. During those days, the war broke out between Kachin Independent Army (KIA) and Myanmar military. Whenever the war broke out Myanmar military was collecting porters for war zone and each family in the village had to provide one porter. If unable to provide would charge heavy fine. Every time my father had to pay the fine for porter. Not only civil war but also the drugs were harming our future during those days. So, my father started to plan to leave the small village.

Finally, he decided to move to Yangon, the capital city of Myanmar which 1200 kilometer far from the small village. He had been planning for our further education without our knowledge. He wrote transfer letter to government that he prefer to work in Yangon University. A year later he promoted to a newly built university in Yangon by the name of Dagon University.

It was really uneasy to move the whole family to Yangon city. The whole journey took 2 night and 3 day to reach Yangon city by train from “Sitapur” village. So, my father decided to move to Yangon only with my elder sister Angela first, because she was ready to join in with Dagon University for further study. An apartment was provided by university council in university compound, which two stories house and barely enough space for the whole family. My father and Angela moved to Yangon and settled down everything and a year later the whole family moved to Dagon University. A new life was starting.

At first, it was really not easy to adopt city life those who came from jungle. The congested apartment was too small for the family and travel one place to another with crowded buses. But for the city people it was a normal. But there had good things in city life, cooking with rice cooker, hotplate and studied with electric light. I and my sister continued high school in Yangon. My second sister Julie was preparing to go Philippine for her further studies. The most difficult years of our life time were coming soon.
In Yangon, It was really impossible for a family to depend on monthly salary. Before I finished high school the debt of our family became uncontrollable. It was a new place for us and we were helpless. Every day we have to worry about how to survive for the next day.
To be continue

Photo Credit: Google Image

Henry Aung ( Kachin )