A/HRC/39/CRP.2 children have to participate – they carry small bricks for building and the elderly have to plant trees and do other work.512 261. The location and duration of forced labour varied. Many individuals were subjected to forced labour at military bases, 513 which in some cases were close to their villages. 514 Others were required to travel long distances through the forest with the Tatmadaw. 515 Individuals were also required to cook for the Tatmadaw in their own homes 516 or, in two cases, act as translators for the Tatmadaw. 517 262. In some cases individuals would carry out forced labour during the day and then return to their homes during the nights.518 However, in many cases individuals subjected to forced labour were not able to return to their homes until they were released or escaped. 519 This varied from a period of a day,520 to a month or more,521 or in one case two years.522 Measures were taken to try to prevent individuals escaping, including tying up their feet with chains, 523 tying up their hands,524 and threatening retribution if they escaped.525 Victims also reported that soldiers would shoot at those attempting to escape captivity.526 For example, one woman from Waingmaw Township, Kachin State, who was forced to act as a porter for one day in December 2016, told the Mission, “I decided to escape after my friend was raped. When we started to run, soldiers were shooting at us. I fell down a cliff and lost consciousness. When I woke up I was covered in blood.”527 263. Forced labour has been a common feature of village life for many in Kachin and Shan States.528 One individual reported that in her village in Kutkai Township, Shan State, forced labour happened almost weekly. 529 Forced labour was so prevalent that another individual from Puta-O Township, Kachin State, told the Mission she did not know it was a human rights violation until she left the country. In the words of a victim from Myitkyina Township, Kachin State, who was taken for forced labour twice a month or more from the age of 12 or 13, “We have done this for our whole lives”. 530 264. Individuals subjected to forced labour were required to perform a variety of tasks. Many of those detained were required to act as porters for the Tatmadaw, 531 carrying heavy packages including food532, clothes533 and in some cases weapons534. Porters would often have to walk long distances over difficult terrain and for multiple consecutive days. For example, one individual from Shan State who was forced to work as a porter in December 2014 described being required to walk carrying heavy packs and weapons over a long distance 512 513 514 515 516 517 518 519 520 521 522 523 524 525 526 527 528 529 530 531 532 533 534 PI-063. PI-006, PI-019, PI-020, PI-061, PI-063, PI-068, PI-077, PI-079, PI-084. PI-061, PI-063, PI-077. PI-033, PI-083, PI-085, PI-099. PI-060, PI-075, PI-093, PI-094. PI-111, QI-077. PI-005, PI-007. See this chapter, section A.5: Arbitrary deprivation of liberty and enforced disappearance. PI-007, PI-029, PI-081. PI-011, PI-019, PI-068, PI-079, PI-085. PI-013. PI-019, QI-098. PI-012, PI-060, PI-084, QI-093. PI-025, PI-026, PI-078. PI-026, PI-029, PI-084, QI-085. PI-029. DI-064, DI-072 (2010), PI-007, PI-022, PI-077, PI-089, PI-109, QI-090. QI-084. DI-063. DI-057, PI-022, PI-023, PI-033, PI-060, PI-067, PI-067, PI-076, PI-077, PI-080, PI-083, PI-089, PI-092, PI-094, PI-095. PI-006, PI-011, PI-020, PI-021, PI-022, PI-029, PI-077. PI-022, PI-076, PI-079. DI-063, DI-064, PI-022, PI-076, PI-080, PI-096, PI-099. 67