Uncertain life between dictatorship and pandemic.

Zwe
3 min readJul 28, 2021

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I’ve contacted my close friend, with an encrypted messaging app, about his father who’s been got imprisonment by the junta. His father is in Yangon’s Notorious Insein prison(where prison defiance currently happened). He is so much worried and does as much as he can to release his father but his father is now in jail. Including his father, 5358(according to AAPP )were in the hand of the junta.

photo:viral on facebook

For me, every day when I wake up, I feel worry for my country which live on the bank of decimation. Many people are suffering and some people are died by either the Alpha or Delta variant of Covid-19, some still hide in the jungle, others died during protests against the military coup. Until the last three weeks, most were demanding armed and political resistance to the coup. Now 100% of texts and social media posts were desperate pleas for health assistance and international humanitarian intervention. The letter “We need help” is seen on many social media posts and flash protestor sings these days. We don’t need help in the future. We needed it yesterday.Junta has no plan to control Covid-19,even no medical instruction for infected people.Military propagandize that they are indeed nationalist ,even they can’t care their own people.They reiterated the promise of celebrating fair and free election while clearing the streets with gunfire.

Dead bodies waiting to be cremated at YaeWay center.
Dead bodies waiting to be cremated at Yae Way center.

Between Covid-19 and Coup, we also try hard to find freedom for ourselves. The military used Covid-19 crisis as their weapon. Everything we’ve built is slowly falling down. Junta tried to focus more control to the protesting people than Covid-19. More than 500 have been shot dead by armed police and military since the protests began shortly after the coup. We are still fighting for freedom, and also try to overcome Covid-19 at the same time. “Freedom is not free, Freedom is for those who dare to fight”. I can’t guess when this journey ends but it is still igniting all over the country .

During 5 months after Coup d’etat happened, we faced many difficulties and hardships.Junta tried to control and we,people of Myanmar, tried to against them.Myanmar military is called the Tatmadaw.From the beginning,where their’s bootcamp,the propaganda from the Tatmadaw influences above all.That means that they are the guardians of the country , religion , Buddhism.They think that the country will crumble without them. Myanmar was founded as the country of Burma in 1948. From the moment of founding Myanmar’s Tatmadaw, it has been fighting with Ethnic Armed Organizations(EAOs), communist armed group and even the student democracy activists who fled to the jungle after serious crackdown during 1988 revolution.So,it is clear that the military is being focus on fighting against the civilians in Myanmar instead of being a force that protects its own people.It is not an easy way that we try to against military,but we had no other choice.If we don’t do that and fight for ourselves,our next generation Alpha will grow with uncertain future ,and also ruled by junta.We can’t let the history turn back again .

If you’re in a country which has freedom,civil rights and also have the ability to create your own destiny,dream,and also future,you can be said that “You are very Lucky”. Appreciate and try not to lose it.Our country,Myanmar is fighting for freedom since 1948,and still fighting.One day ,our children would be able to buy groceries without fear. They should be able to go to school, hang out with their friends and worship together without mentally or physically planning our escape if security forces come.May flowers bloom at the gun muzzle instead of bullets. Hope dove cooing in the future.

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