Food

Barely edible food in meager portions, at times even mixed with rubbish, illustrates authorities’ unwillingness to provide for the basic well being of political prisoners. The inadequate prison food poses health risks for pregnant women and is intended to help break the spirit of prisoner.

Dr. Khin Mar Kyi describes the food in Mandalay prison.

“- I wanted to see the outside world. I only saw light through the slit between two wooden planks. They would only open the door when they wanted to feed me. They only gave us food that was inedible and unpalatable. I suffered a lot. I felt like an animal being locked up. –“
(See appendix-7)

Aye Aye Thin recalls the food in Bassein prison as follows.

“- We received rice soup if we got up early morning at 5:00 a.m. to queue. At 11:00 a.m. there was lunch, consisting of pea soup (much water and not many peas) and fish paste. There was sand in the fish paste. In the evening, we received (rice and) Ta-la-paw soup. It contained a kind of vegetable planted in the prison compound. Of course, it was our dinner. -“
(See appendix-3)

Kaithy Aye explains how bad the food was in Insein prison.

“-In the morning at about 5:00 am, we received a cup of rice soup. We received two meals at 9:00 am and 4:00 pm. The meal usually contained with a plate of rice, a piece of fish paste and a small amount of vegetable soup or pea soup.

The so-called vegetable soup didn’t have salt. I didn’t see any leaves in the soup. Some pieces of vegetable stem (stalk) were boiled to make the soup.

The pea soup was also tasteless because it lacked salt. The peas were not properly boiled. As a result, the pea seeds were hard. The smell of the pea soup clearly suggested that it was improperly cooked. That was our lunch as well as our dinner. How could those dishes contain the vitamins a person needs? Sometimes, we found worms, lizards, a piece of gunny twine, rubber rings and different sorts of rubbish in the soup. Still, how could we throw away “the soup”? We ate it after removing the rubbish.-”
(See appendix-6)

Delegations from International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and human rights special envoys of United Nations sometimes go to Burma’s prisons to witness the conditions in prison. Dr. Khin Mar Kyi explains how the food is suitable to eat the day those officials visit prison.

“- When they were about to see us, [boiled] rice became whiter. The curry became more palatable. When they went away, things returned to normal. - “
(See appendix-7)