ENGLISH DEYEA NEWS

by Zar Ni | Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – Popular writer Hnin Pan Ein fled to the Thai-Burma border on Friday to join her former political prisoner husband, after being frequently intimidated and harassed by authorities inside Burma.

After her husband, Nay Oo, the South Dagon Township National League for Democracy (NLD) Youth Organizer and a former political prisoner fled to the Thai-Burma border last month, local authorities regularly kept watch and intimidated his family, finally forcing them to make the decision to join him in exile.

"First I decided to stay inside Burma as long as I could, even after my husband fled into exile. But when they [the authorities] hinted that they would arrest and interrogate us, while keeping close watch on our family, I realized that I could no longer stay inside Burma. I had to take into consideration the security of my son," Hnin Pan Ein told Mizzima.

"After my husband went into exile, Military Affairs Security (MAS) and Police Special Branch (SB) personnel frequently visited my home to inquire about my husband. We were scared by the frequent knocks on the door," she added. MAS and SB serve as the intelligence wings of the military and police.

She said that her husband fled to the Thai-Burma border last month after intimate friends and colleagues were arrested.

Previously, he was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment on February 19, 1989, charged with various crimes, including the distribution of illegal documents.

Hnin Pan Ein has written many travelogues, essays, articles and stories based on her experiences visiting her husband in Kalemyo prison in Sagaing Division. The manuscripts appeared in several monthly magazines, such as Nweni and Mahaythi.

Even after her husband was released on July 6, 2005, she continued writing on the same theme, based on others' experiences in visiting their beloved ones languishing in remote prisons under harsh environments.

Many of her 200 short stories and articles were censored either in whole or in part by the censor board.

Hnin Pan Ein started her writing career in 2000. Her travelogue, Tamarpan and Bawalan, was very popular among the people. She was honored with the My Best Like award, given by a literary fan living in Japan, for her 'Gratitude of the Environment and a Star'. She also received the Tawphayarlay Prize for her 'Modern Memory and Collected Short Stories' as well as the Naymin Ahman literary group's Best Short Story prize for 'Lotus Beside a Spring'.

"I will continue my writing, which will continue to reflect the situations in which all of us are living and the evil political situation inside Burma," she said.