PEACE IS LIVING WITH DIGNITY VOICES OF COMMUNITIES FROM MYanmar’s ceasefIRE AREAS IN 2016 PEACE IS LIVING WITH DIGNITY Voices of Communities from Myanmar’s ceasefire areas in 2016 i PEACE IS LIVING WITH DIGNITY Voices of Communities from Myanmar’s ceasefire areas in 2016 Listening methodology development: Soth Plai Ngarm Listening Project Implementation (Training, Processing, Writing) Coordinator and Editor: Karen Simbulan Team members: Laurens Visser, Tengku Shahpur, Harshadeva Amarathunga Myanmar Partner Organisations Karuna Myanmar Social Services (Kachin) Ta’ang Student and Youth Union (Northern Shan) Pyi Nyein Thu Kha (Southern Shan) Karen Development Network (Kayin) Kayah State Peace Monitoring Network (Kayah) Mon Women Network (Mon) Cover photo: Karlos Manlupig Inside photographs: Zabra Yu Siwa, Shutterstock, Listener from Northern Shan Copy-editing: Husnur Esthiwahyu Lay-out: Boonruang Song-ngam Publisher: Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies Funding: Peace Support Fund ISBN- 13: 978 99963 856 4 3 ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies (CPCS) is grateful to our Myanmar partner organisations that provided invaluable assistance throughout the project. We could not have done this without you. We are especially grateful to all the individuals who volunteered to be listeners. We appreciate the time, energy and enthusiasm that you demonstrated throughout the process, and your willingness to travel to remote areas. We would also like to express our heartfelt gratitude to the community members from Kachin, Northern Shan, Southern Shan, Kayah, Kayin, and Mon states who were willing to take the time out of their busy lives to share their opinions, experiences, knowledge, concerns and hopes for the future. Thank you for your candour and openness, and for entrusting us with your voices. Lastly, we would like to thank Peace Support Fund, without whose support this publication would not have been possible. iii iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements ........................................................................................ iii List of Tables.................................................................................................... vi List of Maps ................................................................................................... viii Abbreviations and Acronyms ........................................................................ ix CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY OF FINDINGS ......................... 1 CHAPTER 2: RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................... 65 CHAPTER 3: LISTENING METHODOLOGY ..................................................... 71 CHAPTER 4: LESSONS FROM LISTENING ....................................................... 87 CHAPTER 5: KACHIN STATE ......................................................................... 93 Key demographics ................................................................................. 101 Main Themes ......................................................................................... 104 CHAPTER 6: NORTHERN SHAN STATE ......................................................... 121 Key demographics ................................................................................. 129 Main Themes ......................................................................................... 132 CHAPTER 7: SOUTHERN SHAN STATE ......................................................... 149 Key demographics .................................................................................. 155 Main Themes ......................................................................................... 158 CHAPTER 8: KAYAH STATE ........................................................................... 169 Key demographics ................................................................................. 175 Main Themes ......................................................................................... 178 CHAPTER 9: KAYIN STATE ............................................................................ 193 Key demographics .................................................................................. 200 Main Themes ......................................................................................... 203 CHAPTER 10: MON STATE .......................................................................... 213 Key demographics .................................................................................. 222 Main Themes ......................................................................................... 225 v LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Ceasefire groups ...............................................................................2 Table 2. Main themes identified in processing workshops across all areas ...7 Table 3. Kachin State - Main themes from processing workshop ................17 Table 4. Kachin State - Main themes under guide questions .......................19 Table 5. Northern Shan State - Main themes from processing workshop ...26 Table 6. Northern Shan State - Main themes under guide questions ..........28 Table 7. Southern Shan State - Main themes from processing workshop ...33 Table 8. Southern Shan State - Main themes under guide questions ..........35 Table 11. Kayin State - Main themes from processing workshop ................49 Table 12. Kayin State - Main themes under guide questions .......................51 Table 13. Mon State - Main themes from the processing workshop ...........56 Table 14. Mon State - Main themes under guide questions ........................59 Table 15. List of Partner Organisations ........................................................74 Table 16. Gender of listeners .......................................................................74 Table 17. Guide questions ............................................................................76 Table 18. Locations covered and number of participants ............................79 Table 19. Gender of participants ..................................................................79 Table 20. Ethnicity of participants ................................................................80 Table 21. Age range of participants ..............................................................81 Table 22. Educational background of participants .......................................81 Table 23. Livelihood of participants .............................................................82 Table 24. Religion of participants .................................................................83 Table 25. Gender of participants ................................................................101 Table 26. Ethnicity of participants ..............................................................101 vi Table 27. Age range of participants ............................................................102 Table 28. Education background of participants ........................................102 Table 29. Livelihood of participants ...........................................................103 Table 30. Ethnicity of participants ..............................................................129 Table 31. Age range of participants ............................................................130 Table 32. Livelihood of participants ...........................................................131 Table 33. Gender of participants ................................................................155 Table 34. Ethnicity of participants ..............................................................155 Table 35. Age range of participants ............................................................156 Table 36. Educational background of participants .....................................156 Table 37. Livelihood of participants ...........................................................157 Table 38. Gender of participants ................................................................175 Table 39. Ethnicity of participants ..............................................................175 Table 40. Age range of participants ............................................................176 Table 41. Education background of participants ........................................176 Table 42. Religion of participants ...............................................................177 Table 43. Livelihood of participants ...........................................................177 Table 44. Gender of participants ................................................................200 Table 45. Ethnicity of participants ..............................................................200 Table 46. Religion of participants ...............................................................201 Table 47. Age Range of participants ...........................................................201 Table 48. Livelihood of participants ...........................................................202 Table 49. Gender of participants ................................................................222 Table 50. Ethnicity of participants ..............................................................222 Table 51. Age range of participants ............................................................223 Table 52. Education background of participants ........................................223 Table 53. Livelihood of participants ...........................................................224 vii LIST OF MAPS Map of Myanmar .............................................................................................6