Zau Pan dreams of becoming a famous musician.
He fled violence in Myanmar.
La Htaw Zau Pan, 33 years old: “My name is La Htaw Zau Pan. I am from Laiza in Kachin State. There were clashes near where my family and I lived, with fighting all around. We left and are now staying here in this camp, for the sake of our children’s future.
I’m a bass guitarist. I first picked up the guitar when I was 11 years old and began playing gigs when I was around 17. My favourite genre of music is modern rock – I’ve played in several rock bands. I’m trying to improve my skills all the time. I usually wake up early in the morning to practise, as I usually have guitar lessons for children and young people later in the day. My wish is to become an international-level artist and inspire others, in particular young people. For now, I’m doing my best through teaching.”
La Htaw Zau Pan and his young family fled their home in Laiza, Kachin State, Myanmar, in early 2013. Since the breakdown of a 17-year-old ceasefire between the Myanmar armed forces and the Kachin Independence Army in 2011, clashes have erupted periodically throughout the northern state.
Some 100,000 people remain internally displaced in Kachin and neighbouring northern Shan as a result of this fighting, including Zau Pan and his family. Zau Pan, his wife Lahpai Ja Tsawm and their three daughters, Ja Tsin Pan (12), Ja Mun Pan (10) and Taung Nu Tsin (8), currently live in the southern Kachin town of Bhamo, along with 3,800 other internally displaced people (IDPs) in Robert Church camp.
La Htaw Zau Pan, 33, fled his home in Laiza, Kachin State with his wife and three daughters in 2013. His family live in a camp for internally displaced people (IDPs) in Bhamo, a town further south in Kachin State. The renewal of conflict in Myanmar’s northern state has forced many civilians to flee their homes. © UNHCR/Hkun Lat
Zau Pan (standing, right), a bass guitarist, teaches Jaw Seng Nawng (seated, right) the correct finger placement during a guitar lesson. Jaw Seng Nawng and fellow student Ah Naw (left) are from the local community. © UNHCR/Hkun Lat
Zau Pan is dedicated to being a good teacher and usually holds lessons in the morning, in the clearing outside his shelter in Robert Church camp. He explains: “As a teacher, I try to teach my students with all my love so that they can become as skilled as I am. This is ‘teacher love’.” © UNHCR/Hkun Lat
Zau Pan stands with his daughter Ja Mun Pan, 10, in front of shelters in Robert Church camp. Ja Mun Pan also hopes to play a musical instrument when she is older. “I want to be a violinist,” she says. I don’t really like the guitar, but I love the violin!” © UNHCR/Hkun Lat
Zau Pan sits with his daughter Taung Nu Tsin, 8, in their family's shelter in Robert Church camp. Zau Pan dreams of becoming a successful bass guitarist. © UNHCR/Hkun Lat
Photos showcasing Zau Pan's musical accomplishments are affixed to the wall inside his family's shelter in Robert Church camp, Kachin State. As of 2016, approximately 100,000 people remain displaced in Kachin State and neighbouring northern Shan State. © UNHCR/Hkun Lat
As part of the coordinated response to the displacement situation, UNHCR leads efforts to safeguard rights, ensure fair access to services, and provide shelter and basic household essentials to displaced families like Zau Pan’s.
Written & Video by Kasita Rochanakorn
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The 17-year ceasefire between the Kachin Independence Army and the Myanmar armed forces collapsed in 2011. The renewal of fighting has displaced an estimated 100,000 people in the northern part of the country.
UNHCR is part of the coordinated humanitarian response to displacement in Kachin and northern Shan states, as well as Rakhine State in western Myanmar. We lead the Protection Sector, which works to ensure that the basic rights of internally displaced people (IDPs) and other affected communities are upheld. We also lead the efforts to provide IDPs with shelter, camp coordination and camp management, and basic emergency items (‘non-food items’) like tarpaulins and cooking utensils.
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