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Written by Minn Swe Thit Chapter-(1) "We, the Burma win" I heard the sound; very softly. It was not from the playground of the Thai Government School in Khak Khuk, Tombol Takuapa, Phang Nga province in Southern Thailand, but it was a sound from the past, a sound that was heard long ago- loudly and regularly. But now, "Can be said; Sound of once ago and Burma football sport. Let it be".
Chapter-(2) The Migrant Development Branch of FED/GHRE hosted the 82nd anniversary of His Majesty the King’s birthday football tournament. The tournament was between Burmese migrant workers and took place on November 28th, 2009 at the Khak Khuk Thai Government School playground. This tournament is the 7th cup. Since 2006, FED/GHRE has hosted regular football tournaments honoring His and Her Majesties birthdays. The tournaments have alternated between Kuraburi, Takuahtone Township and Phang Nga province. The first tournament hosted by FED/GHRE took place in 2006 and was held in Bannong, Takuapa Township. Unfortunately, the tournament was stopped due to local police enforcement. Thankfully, CCFD, an NGO based out of France, was able to support FED/GHRE by hosting the tournament and it is now an event that we all look forward to every year. Chapter-(3) Nine teams competed in the tournament, which began on November 28th. The third and final match took place on December 5th; the birthday of His Majesty the King. Before the match began, the players and crowd had a silent minute of prayer in which they prayed for good health and a long life for His Majesty. The final game took place between the Takuapa and Bannong teams. After an exciting game, the Takuapa team beat the Bannong team with a final score of 2:0 and were declared the winners of this years cup. Ko Tar Nyunt Oo from the Takuapa team, who won the title of “Best Player” this year, said; "I'm really happy to win the best player- it was an unexpected surprise. I tried my best to gain this cup. I have been able to join only 2 matches, one last year for her Majesty the Queen’s birthday and this one since I arrived in Thailand. If I have the chance to play in these matches in the future, I would love to participate". His voice was a mixture of happiness and exhaustion. Ko Tar Nyunt Oo arrived in Thailand in 2006 and is currently working at a chicken farm. He played in the students’ cup at state level and is considered one of the best players from eastern Shan state. Both the Burmese and Thai communities enjoy the annual tournament. One Thai citizen from Takuapa said, "It’s good they host this tournament to honor His Majesty’s birthday. Since the players come from different far away places and are able to build friendships here". Ma Wei San, the wife of one of the players said: "The team that my husband plays on won third place. I was cheering when his team played, just like in Burma. We are working at a construction site and I love to yell when I cheer at the football match. This was enjoyable, even though there was a match that not my husbands’ team, but some players who I know well were on that team and so I cheered for that team too!” Chapter-(4) FED/ GHRE has a few main objectives with hosting the cup and migrants tournament each year. These objectives are to eliminate the use of drugs among migrant workers, and also to help build friendships among migrant workers. In the future, the best players from the tournament will be chosen to play a friendly game with the Thai communities. Mr. Htoo Chit, the executive director of FED/GHRE, offered prizes for the players and gave a closing speech following the final match. "I would like to encourage the players, even though you are tired from your work- to practice football as much as you can. Increase your abilities. I have a plan that we will select the best players from these teams and form a team and play a friendly match with the local Thai team and provincial level teams. We have already discussed this with the Thai labor union. Therefore keep a sport and spiritual mind and try hard so you can play in more advanced tournaments”. "We, the Burma win" the new melody, the sound, was found at Takuapa that day. It was a sound of testing the string, but just softly… |
