“We don’t want a dam! We don’t want a dam!”
This was the cry of the Karen villagers living in Ei Tu Hta Refugee Camp in Karen State, Myanmar. Every year, on the International Day of Action for Rivers, they hold activities to protect the Salween River, which will be changed with the making of a dam as a project of the Burmese and Chinese Governments. They would like to build a dam because they want to create resources for making money in order to boost the economy. If they go ahead with this dam, the villagers will have to move from their shelters, and lose their sources of food and donations.
For two years I worked and lived with the villagers who are stateless and live in the refugee camp. In fact, they cannot move anywhere on account of their former village being destroyed by the Burmese Army. They are victims of war, politics, economy and inequality. In the two years that I lived with them, I tried to learn about their life and understand them entirely. I had an opportunity to interview some villagers that have lived in the refugee camp for a long time. They said, “Salween River is the most important river for us because our ancestors have used this river all their life. The Salween River is our blood, therefore we ought to protect it. We don’t need a dam because it will destroy the environment and nature.” This is the reason why they don’t want or need a dam.
They fight for righteousness and justice in their country even though they are displaced and stateless. They never surrender to the crisis. I always remember the Jesuit quote, “men and women for others”. It always touches my heart because it reminds me that humans should be equal and we ought to respect other lives. When I look at them, I see myself in their shoes. I cannot convince myself that displaced people or any human who live on Earth would ever be able to get rid of the influence of politics and money.
The Earth is beautiful and the environment should be defended by humans, yet we are destroying it. So, we should ask ourselves, “What is the most important thing in life?”
