Bo Kyi and Zaw Win agree that the greatest pressure comes first of all from family members, who urge the former political prisoners not to risk further imprisonment. Their concern isn’t entirely selfless—the strains of maintaining contact with their jailed relatives and keeping them supplied with items to make life in prison bearable are not to be overlooked.

Zaw Win says his parents tell him they won’t be able to supply him if he is imprisoned again. “It’s understandable because it doesn’t take a day but many years,” he reasons.  “For eight years, my family supported me and supplied me with everything I needed while in jail.”

Years of imprisonment put further strain o­n family relationships. Partnerships and marriages break up, adding to the strains placed o­n released prisoners, many of whom seek solace in alcohol.

Zaw Win—like many others—is caught between his commitment to his family and his political calling. “On the o­ne hand, we haven’t finished our mission to restore democracy to our country. That’s what I want to continue devoting my life to. But family pressure is making me turn away from politics.”

The second challenge for Zaw Win was to find a job. The search lasted 18 months, handicapped by the reluctance of employers to attract the attention of the authorities by employing a former political prisoner. For many jobs, applicants have to indicate o­n official forms whether they are former political prisoners.

Bo Kyi found a job in a photocopying shop shortly after his release in 1993, but military intelligence pressured his employer to let him go. Zaw Win was also harassed by military intelligence officers, who regularly called at his home and questioned him about his activities. He says he often considered leaving home to escape the harassment.

Some former prisoners are literally hounded to death. Tin Tin Nyo, a young woman student activist, committed suicide in December 1993, shortly after completing a three year prison term.

Kyaw Thike, a 43-year-old former student activist, died in August 2005 after suffering severe depression and tuberculosis, conditions said to have been brought o­n by his inability to readjust to life outside prison. During his time in jail Kyaw Thike was tortured and suffered hand injuries.

Many former student activists whose studies were interrupted by their arrest and imprisonment have difficulty resuming academic work, although correspondence courses are open to most of them.

Blocking the professional advancement of troublesome students is nothing new in Burma, however.