Mumbai: Tin stood in front of the tall gate of the apartment complex, eyes wide open, as the scene in front of him unfolded. We heard loud continuous bangs, the vibrating kind that rings in your ears, pulsating throughout your body. 20 feet away we saw men in police uniforms running towards a group of protestors, guns in the air, shooting at the sky. I immediately leapt in front of Tin, who stood exposed to the scene in front of him, eyes wide and watery in horror as we continued hearing loud bangs and protestors fleeing the street to find cover from the guns and teargas.
This situation unravelled an hour after we had celebrated Tin, my neighbour’s child’s sixth birthday, trying to find time to celebrate these small milestones in spite of what was happening around us. I baked chocolate chip cookies and the few friends he had in our apartment building came over to share all the baked goodies. It was a comforting space, a momentary mental break, from what was happening only a glass window view away on the streets surrounding us. Tin blew on the candles on his birthday cake and we asked him to make a wish. Closing his eyes, he said, “I wish that nobody dies today…” Tin is 6 years old, and his biggest fear is seeing death…
It has been 77 days since Myanmar’s military, also known as the Tatmadaw, staged a coup d’etat. On 1 Feb 2021, the Myanmar military detained the country’s de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, President Win Myint and other senior figures from the incumbent party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), seizing power and declaring a state of emergency in Myanmar for a year. This coup comes at a crucial time after Myanmar’s election, which was conducted in November 2020, parallel to the elections in the United States, the day before Parliament of Myanmar was due to swear in the members of the newly elected government. This is only the second ever democratic election the country has witnessed, with the incumbent party, NLD, winning with a landslide victory, securing 396 of the 476 seats in the combined Houses of the National Parliament (Pyidaungsu Hluttaw).
On 1 February, I woke up, got ready to go to work, hailed a taxi and rode the eerily quiet streets of Yangon. There was a total internet blackout, a common psychological warfare technique employed by the military to block communication, and in the early hours of the morning, the country’s leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other key democratic leaders were detained, which was the last time we heard from them, thus far. In those hours, Myanmar seemed to be at a standstill, with no access to the internet; we did not know what had happened. Soon after, the military announced the coup across its propaganda TV channels, declared a state of emergency and denounced the results of the November 2020 election. That day, the country went to sleep terrified of the unknown, angry, because history was repeating itself, but mostly determined, with every intent to restabilize Myanmar’s democracy. In the days that followed, the “Civil Disobedience Movement” erupted across the country, and peaceful protests followed. Millions of people across the country took to the streets to protest the coup and denounce the military.
My friends, co-workers and the citizens of Myanmar are fighting for their lives and their futures—uncertain, yet, they keep peacefully protesting because this is the third coup the military has staged. First, in 1962, then a violent uprising in 1988, and now in February 2021. What makes today different is the unrelenting “Civil Disobedience Movement” that has continued since day 5 of the coup—what first began as a movement to urge civil servants to ban all government posts, has led to some of the largest, most innovative peaceful protests the country has ever seen, with unity in representation across ethnicities in Myanmar and strength in numbers. The military and police began cracking down on these protests violently, initially by opening fire with rubber bullets, and now, responding to shoot-to-kill orders with real bullets, hand grenades and tear gas.
Every peaceful protest has been met with bullets, shotguns, injury and death. Mobile internet has been cut off across the country, essentially stopping real-time news reporting. More than 700 people have been killed, the youngest victim being an innocent seven-year-old girl. More than 3,000 people have been illegally detained and arrested, with no indication of their release. Thousands of government employees participating in the movement have lost their jobs and homes and are at a high risk of being targeted by the military. Ethnic villages are being bombed by air strikes and are forced to flee their homes and find refuge in neighboring countries. Because and in spite of everything they are going through, they persist. They show up to protests, louder and stronger than the day before, hungrier for democracy and freedom from fear with every fibre of their being.
A month ago, I had the privilege to move back home to a place that is safer than the battleground that Myanmar has become. I said goodbyes to friends and co-workers, not knowing when, or if I would see them again. Since then, I have worked with them to identify the most effective ways to help:
More than 90% of the population lives in darkness, with continued internet shutdowns, including cellular and modem wi-fi, while only cable wi-fi is functional. The military continues to visibly use violent force in remote areas, and live news reporting of the reality in these areas goes unnoticed. It is so important to continue reading and sharing the little information that does come out of Myanmar from local, reliable news sources (check links given with this report). Myanmar’s story needs to be shared.
The people of Myanmar immediately began to rise up in resistance—they refuse to be dragged back to the days of disappearances, forced labour, and torture by previous military governments. Hundreds of thousands of people—an estimated three quarters of all government employees—have walked off their jobs, hoping to bring the government to a standstill and force the military to relinquish control. They have been joined in solidarity by millions of nurses, students, workers and citizens in a massive general strike movement. This movement requires continued support to sustain government strikes and Mutual Aid Myanmar is working with groups on the ground to support these government workers with stipends, cash transfers and other necessary resources: https://www.mutualaidmyanmar.org/
While supporting this movement is integral to its continuation, there is an urgent need for international response to the military, specifically, targeted sanctions that affect the military’s business holdings. The UN Security Council and ASEAN’s inaction in this matter is the key bottleneck preventing effective intervention. Please find resources here to support however you can: https://linktr.ee/meemalee
I have lived in Myanmar for two years. This is a personal narrative of my reflections of the coup in Myanmar and a call to urge readers to learn more about what’s happening in Myanmar and find ways to support however you can.
RELIABLE NEWS SOURCES
https://www.frontiermyanmar.net/en/
https://www.voanews.com/east-asia-pacific
https://www.justiceformyanmar.org/
https://www.mmtimes.com/
Up-to-date instagram accounts:
https://www.instagram.com/meemalee/?hl=en
https://www.instagram.com/listenupmyanmar/?hl=en
https://www.instagram.com/stories/spotlight_myanmar/2543548333607148124/?hl=en
https://www.instagram.com/humansofmm/?hl=en