Bamboo People

The narrator of the novel changes: Tu Reh is a 16-year-old Karenni boy whose village was razed by Burmese soldiers. He and his family escaped to a Thai refugee camp, but many other villagers remain in the Burmese jungle. Tu Reh’s parents worry about the intensity of his anger at the Burmese, so Peh, his father, takes him on a mission to bring supplies to the Karenni people in the jungle. Tu Reh is ecstatic to be included on the mission, his first.

During their journey, the group stops at a spring to rest, near the path to a healer’s hut where two Karenni girls and their grandfather live. As they rest, they hear Burmese soldiers nearby (Chiko’s group).

The Karenni group hides while the Burmese soldiers discuss their mission near the spring. Tu Reh recalls that his bamboo pole, one of the few belongings from his village, is there. The Burmese soldiers leave, so the Karenni group heads back to the spring. Two Burmese landmines explode. Peh declares that the healer’s family must be warned about the Burmese mission. Tu Reh volunteers. Peh takes him to check on the Burmese soldiers.