Student activist Saw Thet Thun was arrested twice – in 1991 and 1999 – and spent nearly 20 years in prison before being released in 2007.
Student activist Saw Thet Thun was arrested twice – in 1991 and 1999 – and spent nearly 20 years in prison before being released in 2007.
Speaking to Karen News, he recalls some of the horrors that he and his fellow prisoners faced in those years.
“The biggest hardship was being tortured. The prison authorities would treat us as less than human, like dogs. They beat us, transferred us far away from our families and would not let us read or write.”
Now working at Burma’s Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) in Yangon, which was founded in 2000, Saw Thet Thun helps ex-political prisoners get back on their feet.
A key aspect of AAPP’s assistance programs is a counseling service for torture victims. Established in 2013 with just 10 counselors, the program now has 24 counselors and treats more than 300 people in Yangon and Mandalay.
Many former political prisoners, having faced torture and abuse at the hands of prison authorities while being locked away in one of the country’s notorious prisons, were haunted by their experiences. Saw Thet Thun said this had left the country deeply scarred. “Our society has been traumatized by 50 years of military rule so we need counseling mechanisms and support services for our people.”
With the assistance of John Hopkins University, and with funding from the United States government, the AAPP is looking to expand the program to all victims of torture, not just ex-prisoners.
“Our focus is to counsel victims of torture. Until now we could only assist former political prisoners and their family members. Now we will focus on victims of torture. We also want to assist their families. For example, what if your daughter/son/spouse was a victim of torture? You would feel terrible. They need support too.”