A/HRC/39/CRP.2 I refused again I was beaten with wooden sticks. My eyebrow was broken; I was bleeding.945 420. During patrols, porters were given minimal food and water, while the soldiers had two or three meals a day.946 One victim said that he only received food three times over an eightday period.947 Porters were forced to sleep on the ground in the open air or forest, while soldiers had sleeping mats and blankets.948 The experience of forced labour and the associated ill-treatment had negative health consequences, some serious.949 421. Women were particularly vulnerable while serving in Tatmadaw camps, as they were also subjected to rape950 and other forms of sexual violence. Some women were kept in the camp after completion of their service, and then raped by the Tatmadaw, including at captain rank.951 422. Children were not spared.952 Like adults, children were subjected to portering, including the ill-treatment that often accompanies it (beaten953 or hit with a rock954). One victim explained he still had the scars of injuries inflicted during the beatings while he was a child.955 Another explained how she had been taken from the age of 13.956 Tatmadaw soldiers would visit her village frequently, forcing one person from each household into forced labour. They would often take her father, but have also taken her mother or one of the four children. When they came, soldiers would just point at whomever they wanted. The witness recalled that she was taken to a Tatmadaw camp a three-hour walk away, where she was forced to break and carry stones. Sometimes she was taken for one week, sometimes for one month. At night, she slept in the forest. If she and other victims got tired, or tried to rest, the soldiers would abuse them verbally, threaten or beat them. She was beaten on five occasions. 423. Some of the victims tried to escape. Despite the fact that porters were guarded by troops,957 some managed to flee.958 Attempts to escape were dangerous, with porters being shot at:959 I did not try to escape. We would be shot. One person from a different village tried to escape and he was shot. I saw this with my own eyes.960 424. Those who managed to escape lived in fear of being caught.961 Victims felt compelled to hide, leave their homes, and ultimately flee the country. Forced labour had a significant impact on victims’ economic conditions. 962 The majority of the victims already lived in economically deprived rural areas, with most living on a subsistence basis. While undertaking forced labour, persons were unable to earn a living for themselves or their families. The economic consequences were also a reason given for leaving Myanmar. 963 945 946 947 948 949 950 951 952 953 954 955 956 957 958 959 960 961 962 963 DI-032. DI-019, DI-032, QI-074. DI-019, QI-074. DI-032, QI-075. DI-017, QI-075. DI-014, DI-016, DI-017, DI-036, DI-041, DI-044, QI-072, QI-073, QI-074, QI-075. QI-072. DI-015, DI-016, DI-017, DI-029, DI-042, QI-072, QI-075. DI-015, DI-017. DI-042. DI-015. DI-017. CI-153, DI-016, DI-028. CI-053, CI-153, QI-074. CI-153, DI-028. DI-028. CI-053, CI-056, CI-153, DI-032, QI-072, QI-074, QI-75. DI-015, DI-030, DI-039, DI-055. DI-032. 103