Developing the Forgotten Land – Eastern Nagaland in Northwest Burma

[in India] they have become highly educated people now. In Eastern part of Nagaland [in Burma], there is no education, no development.

In Eastern Nagaland education started only after 1950 by the missionaries. But after General Ne Win declared martial law in Burma in 1962, all these missionary schools and primary schools closed down. After that we had no schools in Naga areas except for a few primary schools set up at Burmese Army camps. But only after 1980 the Burmese Government started to open primary schools in the villages.

Many of our people have to walk a long way to study. To Myitkyina or somewhere. It is very difficult for our Naga people to go a long way, so we have become lagging far behind from other ethnic people. But Western part of Nagaland, they have their own schools, their own college. In Eastern Nagaland there is no college. After 1980 some young Naga people could go to Western Nagaland because many Naga national workers took them to Western side for schooling.

There is no electricity at all in Eastern Nagaland. No electricity. But in a couple of villages they have now started purchasing hydroelectric motors, and brought the motor in the river or in the stream. And they can produce electricity by themselves. Just in few villages. Diseases like TB or malaria, skin disease, dysentery, all these things are common in our area. We have no medicine, no hospitals.

Most people in our area are farmers. In the past, we stayed in one village but now we cannot have a permanent village because of the fighting. My whole life there has been fighting. It’s become like a normal thing. Because of this situation, we cannot stay in one village. In some places, they have stable villages. In Somra track they have terrace fields, developed from their ancestors. So it is good. But in other parts of Eastern Nagaland there is no terrace system, only shifting cultivation. Most people have enough food because the soil is good. They sell farming products and domestic animals to buy clothing.

In Namyung area and Lahe area they are also cultivating opium. Many of our people’s lives are ruined because both young and old people, they have become opium addicts. It is a big problem.

 

[/fusion_fontawesome]If one cannot finish their work, she can call the whole village to help in her field

In the past, we had these dormitories for girls and for boys separately. It was the social system. People also still work together in groups in some villages. They have an elderly group, boy group, girl group, working together. Today if they go to one person’s field, next day another one’s field. If they have ten members, they will go and work for ten days. After finishing, they will take a rest and make a feast together in the village.

When constructing a house, it’s not one person’s responsibility, but all the villagers’ responsibility to build a house. If one cannot finish their work, she can call the whole village to help in her field. So she will cook rice beer and call all the villagers. Villagers will come to her field for one day. If something happens, like if I have no good health and I cannot go to the field and finish my field, I can call the villagers to help. All the villagers will come to my field and work for me, and I will just cook food for them, and provide rice beer. No money is needed to give.

If I go hunting and I kill a deer or a boar, the next day all the villagers will come and take their own share. We do not sell. That is our culture.

 

[/fusion_fontawesome]We give information to our Naga people, and cooperate with a lot of different organisations

Now in our Naga area, our people are facing a lot of problems, a lot of suffering.

Many ethnic people have formed NGOs here in Thailand, and they are helping their own people through the organisations. But before, no Naga leader could come to this land so we had no such organisation.

I founded ENDO [Eastern Naga Development Organization]on 6^th of October in 2010 when I was in Mae Hong Son. But I have given the responsibility to all the young Naga people to run it, and I am currently giving advice only. ENDO has more than 40 people working for it now. The main objectives are to improve education and health care for our people, and to eradicate opium growing in our land. And also to advance human rights, environmental protection, and women’s rights.

We have connections and we have information, so we give information to our Naga people, and cooperate with a lot of different organisations.

Opium is a big problem, so our organization’s objective is to slowly eradicate opium growing. Firstly we have to give education to our people so that they can give up opium and poppy cultivation. And we have to send some of our boys and girls to learn about substitute cultivation for opium. The substitute crop is been given in Shan State, so we are contacting the UNODC [United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime] so that we can send our young people to take part in that training. That is our plan.

 

[/fusion_fontawesome]They [young Naga people] want to help our people

Last year we did internship training. Three girls and around six boys participated in the training in Mae Sot. And last September and October we gave internship training in Yangon. There were more than 30 boys and girls participating, and they went back to our area, they are working there now.

This year, we will also form a women’s organisation. Last year I tried to make them form a women’s organisation. Last year, they said they have hope. But then we prepared for women leadership training in Mae Sot, and they failed to come. But this year we hope that we can do it, either in Yangon or here [in Thailand].

ENDO organise their own trainings, but also use their connections to send young Naga people to trainings organised by other CBOs particularly on the Thailand-Burma border, where most ethnic capacity building organisations have been based for decades.

Last year we sent three girls and three boys for teacher training. Now they have completed the training. After finishing the training they went back to our land, to work there. Last year two boys finished the training and went back to our land. Also for Law training, we have sent one boy for Law training. It’s a one year course. Before they were giving two years training but this year they are giving short training, for one year. We will also send some young people for environment training. Some young Naga people also take part in medic training, and after they take part they want to help our people. Last year we sent two boys and two girls for this medical group, Back Pack medic training (read more about Back Pack Health Worker Team here).

 

[/fusion_fontawesome]We will need to find a supply for medicine

There are only a few Naga NGO groups, and the others are working in Yangon. We are thinking to open a sub office for ENDO in Yangon. I think they [the government] will allow because there’s a changing of policy. In the past time they have restricted NGO work. But now, since last year, they said they will not restrict any NGO.

Now our main difficulty is funding. We are facing some difficulties because we have no foreign NGOs to support us. But now we are lucky that one American philanthropist supports maintaining our office. So because of his help, we can run the office.

Now we are thinking that we have to open a hospital in our area. If we open a hospital we will need to find a supply for medicine. Because Back-Pack also cannot supply sufficient medicine. So we should have a medical supply from other source. That is necessary for us. But until now it has been very difficult. As we could give free medical treatment, people have much appreciation. So they are encouraging us to work on it. But we have lack of medical supply. For now, we are working on locating a medical supply.

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Contact Burma Link if you wish to support ENDO’s activities.

This story is based on Burma Link’s interview with W. Shapwon, the founder of ENDO and the Joint Secretary of Naga National Council.

Further reading: Eastern Naga Development Organization (ENDO) (Download PDF)