Article
U Kyaw: The revolutionary cook
လွန်ခဲ့သော ၂ နှစ် က
A man is busy listening to a song played slowly under the dim light and dour cliff by a winding river.
Peeled onions, vegetables, some plastic containers and some kitchen cooking utensils surrounded him.
He put some wood inside the earth stove and some onions in the cooking pan that placed on top of the stove. He stirred the onions rhythmically to the tune of the song. In a short time, the sweet aroma of fried rice engulfed his surrounding.
He scooped some rice and tasted it, smiled softly and then put down the pan on the stove. He called everyone in Karen language ‘Aw Mae Hu Law’; that means the food is ready. His voice reverberated all over the camp.
His name is U Kyaw Kyaw. But everyone calls him U Kyaw. He opened a BBQ house at Kannar road in Pyay town in Bago Region. Everyone knows him as Master BBQ or U Kyaw’s BBQ house.
“After the military coup, I didn’t open the shop. I protested on the road, including my whole family. But there were military informants in our ward. So, we left our house. Luckily, when they (soldiers) raided our house and destroyed everything including the shop but they didn’t find us.” he recalled.
“After the military coup, I didn’t open the shop. I protested on the road, including my whole family. But there were military informants in our ward. So, we left our house. Luckily, when they (soldiers) raided our house and destroyed everything including the shop but they didn’t find us.” he recalled.
He and his family arrived in the liberated area with the help of his friend. The rough trip was very dangerous and bitter for them. For his young kids, the mountains and forests would not be going well. With insufficient food and money, he fell down many times.
“Me and my wife can eat everything but my daughter needs nutritious food. She usually gazes at someone eating snacks. I feel down as I have nothing to give her,” he recalled, as he held his 6-year-old daughter’s shoulder.
After months in the liberated area, he and his wife took the kitchen duty for the people in the camp when the military training started. Amongst his four daughters, a teenage daughter attends the training when the three others help him in the kitchen.
He manages the kitchen with his skills in order to provide daily meals to the more than 500 military trainees in the camp.
“We go the forest to get anything that is edible on days when we ran short of food in the camp. Bean soup is part of our everyday meal. Bean soup and soldiers are always together,” U Kyaw shared. He recalled how cheerful he was the moment when he took charge of the kitchen in the military training camp.
“We go the forest to get anything that is edible on days when we ran short of food in the camp. Bean soup is part of our everyday meal. Bean soup and soldiers are always together,” U Kyaw shared. He recalled how cheerful he was the moment when he took charge of the kitchen in the military training camp.
Majority of those attending the training are young people. Although they found it difficult to follow the rules of the training, these youngsters thirst for freedom help the, get over the rigors of their daily schedule with the hope of achieving the goals of the revolution.
The trainees have to get up at four o’clock in the morning for the morning queue at 4:30 a.m. together with the sound of the waking whistle of the trainer, which means ‘everyone will get up’.
U Kyaw heart breaks when he sees those youngsters eating and sleeping in the forest. He feels sorry to see them like this, but this is a necessity of the revolution.
“They are the kids who are staying at their home peacefully. They are the teenagers who eat the rice prepared by their moms. I feel sorry watching those children eating and sleeping in improvised beds and mattresses. But I respect their strong will and spirit for staying like this without longing their sweet time with delicious food,” he said.
Because of that, he manages the kitchen very well with the well-prepared food although there is no meat regularly. When there is no cooking oil, he prepares soup and salads to eat along with the rice.
But when there are donations coming from people supporting the revolution, he cooks very delicious food, such as dumplings, chicken rice, biryani, Kyay-Oh noodle, sweet fried vegetables, steamed chicken, meals with pork and chicken and Korean food, among others.
“Of course, I would be very tired as I managed food for over 300 people. But I’m happy to see our young freedom fighters enjoying the food I cook. My body is tired but not the spirit. My sweat is washed away when I saw they liked my cooking,” he said with a big smile.
“Of course, I would be very tired as I managed food for over 300 people. But I’m happy to see our young freedom fighters enjoying the food I cook. My body is tired but not the spirit. My sweat is washed away when I saw they liked my cooking,” he said with a big smile.
Not very long after their military training was finished, they had to leave the camp due to continued military offensives.
They walked for 13 days to arrive at the new camp. His duty remains as the head of the kitchen that ensure the nourishment of the young revolutionaries.
As the new camp is located along the river, he has one more job than the kitchen duty. He has to dig a ditch to plant fast growing vegetables.
“Soil by the river is the best type to plant. I plant everything that I can plant. How good is that? Now, my people eat everything I plant,” he said, gazing at his watergrass, chili, bean root, okra, roselle, calabash and luffa on the vegetable beds he made.
After he settled at a new place, he brought his family who left after they moved the camp due to some reasons. His wife and daughters always accompany him to help in his kitchen duties.
“Revolution is not just fighting with weapons; it is important to be able to participate in the best way you can. I do my share in freeing our country by taking kitchen duties as I’m skillful at it, although I can shoot gun also. I’m proud of myself no matter how tired I am,” U Kyaw shared.