My name is Win Lay and I am 84 years old. I was born in Pi Ta Ka and all of my family lived there too. My whole family were farmers, and we would have a little business selling rice. I had to work everyday because we had to plant, cut weed and grasses. It did not matter what gender we were because all the boys and girls worked there as farmers. I started working when I was ten years old. We all had chores to do, and my job was to get water from the well and carry it to the house. I have five siblings, one girl and four boys. For girls they had to cook, and grind up rice in a mortar, and boys had to carry water and take care of the cows. I have a lot of cousins and when we met up we would go to the forest to go find vegetables. When I was young it was fun because I did not have to worry about much, whether it was money or anything else. My grandparents were farmers and business people by selling their rice. Both my grandparents and parents have passed away. I am the oldest and all my siblings were farmers as well and taking care of cows. My siblings were really nice to me and all of us got along, but sadly, two passed away.

When I was about 8 or 9 years old, I knew how to cook. In the house, we would make vegetable curry and fishes. My parents made traditional desserts, such as tapioca balls with coconut juice, and I still know how to make them. On Christmas Day, we would go to different places with my friends. For my birthday celebration, we would make a cake and my parents gave me money, but it was not that much. When it was New Years, I would go ride the boat with my friends.

Where I lived in the Thu Gi seventh Camp( Ler Ble Ta Pler), there were a lot of wars happening. When Burmese started shooting, we did not have time to eat or drink. The shootings did not happen everyday, but when it did it would continue up to two or three times a day.

The place I went shopping to was called Pa Yi Pu and it would take us an hour to get there, since we were walking. There were no bicycles or cars to take us. I went to the big city for the first time when I was a young adult. When I got there it was a good feeling. I saw a lot of cars and a lot of people selling stuff and they had everything we needed. I did go to preschool, but I did not graduate from any grade. At that time I was really young and I did not know anything, because the Japanese came and we had to run away. I remember the first time going to school it was a nice feeling. The hardest thing for me was mathematics.

We did not get to play in any sports, because we had to take care of cows. While taking care of cows my friends and I would talk and tell stories. When it got dark we would go home and eat. When we got older our parents were really happy, because they could finally depend on us for planting, being a farmer, and cutting grass. If the Japanese had not invaded our hometown, I would have liked to continue going to school. By the time the Japanese left I was already an adult, too old to even attend school.

I started working at age 12 or 13. My parents were fine with me working. We were not rich and we did not have a lot of things, so we all had to work to support one another. Some of my friends were also farmers but not all of them, because they were born into a wealthy family. The people that I know told each other that one day they would like to be a teacher, leader of the army or chief of their community.

Even when I was an adult I did not have any money to give to my parents, because we did not go outside of our hometown to find jobs, but stayed to help the parents with farming. The only money I actually got to hold of was $10 and $20 bills (in Burmese money), but I spent it on myself buying snacks. My closest friends were the people I worked with in farming. We did not have time to play outside. We would only farm because that was the only thing that could save our lives and support the family. The land that we farmed was not ours; we had to rent it.

When I started dating I was 22 years old. We did not do anything but talk. We would say to one another things such as, “are you true to me and faithful to me”. My parents taught me that we should not get married when we are too young, and to wait until we are old enough. I asked the person I loved to wait for me until we were old enough to get married. The first time I met her was in my village. My interest was drawn to her, because she was cute and pretty. I was 24 years old when I got married. I have seven children but three passed away. My children were corn farmers and some came to America to work as butchers. We did not have anything that we kept in the family that we could pass on from generation to generation, because whatever we had we used it everyday. I taught my children to work, not to steal, not to kill, and when it is time to get married stay with that person till death, so that my children could become good people.

None of my family joined the army. What I felt about the wars was that we did not get to plant and live happily. We did not get to work as much as we wanted, but had to run away from wars from time to time. I came to America because it was peaceful and nice. I got to see a lot of beautiful things here. Living in United States was different than living in Burma or Thailand. When I was young I saw a lot of wars and since I got to America I see the world as more peaceful place with less wars.