Naw May Oo left Burma in late 1988 to take refuge in Thailand. She became a women's rights activist and now studies law in Cambridge, England.
Naw May Oo recalled her experience in a Karen liberated area. She said, “when I took refuge in the Karen area, I came across an essay, which described a painful story of one older Karen lady and her two sons.
She lost one son in 1988 and another son in 1989 in the battlefields against the Burmese army. She is not only old and frail, but also blind.”
“The poor blind lady touched her son’s body, which was brought back to the camp for burial. She cried painfully and touched her son's body from head to toe. It was a heart-breaking moment for all of them,” May Oo said.
“On the other hand, there were also unaccounted for Burmese soldiers who died in those battlefields. I wondered how many mothers had lost their sons on both sides. Some may be still be wondering the whereabouts of their sons. I read letters from mothers of some of the Burmese soldiers’ bodies left behind in the deep forest. Some of them may not have any idea of their sons' death” she continued.
She concluded with a poem in honor of that elderly Karen lady. The title of the poem is called "Destruction of an Old Lady’s Heaven" Oh! My adorable son,There is no more warmth in your body
You left your life and
Headed for another life
I lean on my walking stick
With my feeble hands
Since I can not see
To look at this scene
I touched your body bit by bit
I can not bear the pang
I cry silently in pain.