Khin Ohn Kyi

Ethnically Ta’ang, Khin Ohn Kyi’s life has been shaped by conflict-related violence and her deep religious faith. Born on a small farm and tea leaf plantation in northern Shan State, she loved the chickens and pigs the family raised. Fighting in her area was constant. At times her parents struggled to get food, and the family was forced to eat only rice and bitter gourd.

Khin Ohn Kyi’s life changed in Grade 4 when her father died while a porter for a local armed organization. Lacking money to pay her school fees, she became a nun and studied at a nunnery school. When she was 17, she decided she did not want to be a nun. She grew her hair long again, and at age 23, she married and had two kids.

The early years of her marriage were good. Her husband worked in Thailand, and the family earned enough to survive and even save some money. But life changed again when her husband was conscripted into a local armed group during one of his visits home. While on a motorbike together one day, Khin Ohn Kyi and her husband hit a landmine.

Her husband’s leg was blown off, and she sustained injuries. All of the family savings were spent on medical bills. Despite his injuries, her husband had to return to the army. Khin Ohn Kyi became the head of the household, doing all of the work to earn enough for her children and her ageing mother. Her sons now go to a monastic school in a faraway city.

Her body carries the scars not only of her pregnancy but also of the landmine accident. The accident has also left her with nerve pain, which is the worst in the winter.

“My symbol is a flower because when we pray to Buddha we offer a flower, the flower gives love, and the flower helps people. This reflects me because I am always praying to Buddha; I am always offering. I am very religious.”

Encouraged to ‘not give up’ by meeting other women survivors, Khin Ohn Kyi longs for the day when she can be reunited with her husband and can live together as a family again. She dreams of a day when there will be no more fighting.