Reflections on Myanmar

Dreamers
Community for Hamonious and Unbiased World

Back in the early months of 2021, when Min Aung Hlaing’s military overtook the democratically elected government of Myanmar, international attention was turned to the Burmese people and their struggle for justice. We saw a picture of a country roiling with the energy of generations of activists. A country which, after decades of struggle, enjoyed only about 10 years of relative freedom before having it ripped away once more by a military junta. Perhaps the usurpers did not realize the fight that the young generation would put up in defense of their freedom. Perhaps they thought the world wouldn’t care enough to stop them, and in that regard, perhaps they were right.

In those first days of protest, like-minded folks worldwide stood in solidarity with the people of Myanmar. We marched along in protests, we banged on pots and pans, and we stood by students as they sang songs that had been sung by their parents in the 1988 protests for the same cause. We called along with the Burmese people for the United Nations to uphold R2P- Responsibility to Protect: a doctrine and a promise made by the UN to stand up to human rights violations, to stop violence and atrocities committed against innocent people. As the months went on the calls went unanswered. Other issues took international attention, and the people of Myanmar were left facing a military government which to this day grows more brutal by the minute.



Today, I reflect on a recent visit to the border of Myanmar. What I saw there holds little of the uproarious spirit of early protests; rather the movement marches on with a quiet, boiling intensity. Strategy and organization has taken the place of public displays of defiance. Some members of a movement once dedicated to nonviolence have now decided to take up arms; not because they believe in violence, but because they must defend themselves and the people, they love against a government which plants landmines and carries out airstrikes against civilian villages. These armed resistors are just one segment of a huge movement. The democratic activists who stand against the junta are called CDMs, shorthand for members of the Civil Disobedience Movement. Following the coup countless CDMs were killed, imprisoned, and forced to flee their country. Still, they do not surrender, and they do not rest. There are organizations within and outside of Myanmar still standing for democracy. They work tirelessly in bringing aid to civilians in conflict zones, securing medical care to victims of mines and military strikes, and overthrowing the lawless junta. One would think that this ceaseless fight would drain the joy and energy from anyone, but I have found that could not be further from the truth. During my time with the CDMs, I rode on the back of a motorbike to a rural school of migrant children with a man who volunteers to bring art to refugees and internally displaced people alike. I laughed and chatted and played music for hours with activists who had to escape their homes under threat of death and was served an incredibly prepared bowl of bibimbap in a safehouse by refugees who hardly had enough to survive on day to day. The Burmese people I met are vibrant, kind, generous, quick to smile, and relentless in their causes.

In the days following my trip I often found myself lost in despair. I felt so small, so useless in the face of this huge centuries long struggle. But now I think about my new friends. I think about the work they do every day, and I remember what they told me; no act is too small. Do your research and stay informed, write to your government to recognize the legitimate government of Myanmar and to reject any false democratic elections and constitutions put up by the junta. Donate, if you can, to organizations in support of democracy. Never stop using your freedom to defend the freedom of others. We may be small, but we are not useless, and together we can show the people of Myanmar that we still stand with them.