This Kayin teacher was the first in her village to take part in the civil disobedience movement, haunted by army violence in the past and determined not to live under dictatorship again.

I felt I would not have done my duty as a teacher to my students and to younger generations if I didn’t do anything. That’s why I started CDM on my own. Later on, the rest of the teachers at school joined without me having to persuade them. Some were very worried at the beginning - about not getting their salaries, or losing their jobs - so they didn’t take part at first, but later they understood the situation and joined me. 

I spoke to the village elders and we organised a protest in the small nearby town, where we went wearing our traditional costumes, carrying our flags.

I’m taking part not because I support either (army proxy party) USDP or (Aung San Suu Kyi's) NLD. But I felt terrible when I heard the military had staged a coup. I absolutely don’t want military rule because the Kayins in Tanintharyi have already suffered under the Myanmar military’s abuses. That’s why I cannot accept what is happening.

People are worried about food supplies so they are making preparations to make sure there are no shortages. There are worries about women’s safety because of what we experienced in the past. The military uses (violence against women) as a weapon, which is why women are taking part in whichever way they can to overthrow their dictatorship. We no longer have security in our lives because of the military dictatorship. So we need to protect each other and look after each other. 

I no longer sleep at home. 

Our villagers have lived in fear for a long time. We want to flee if we hear an army convoy is on the way. We do not feel safe. After the coup, when we heard there was an army truck, people were already packing their bags and running. I, too, packed my bag and my phone and went elsewhere. The military did not come to our village that time, so people returned. But there have since been rumors of forced labour (forced portering) and the villagers left again. They dare not sleep in their homes. One man did not flee but set fire to all his Kayin outfits. They can’t forget what happened in the past and they are afraid.  

Now is the time for our ethnic groups to work together with each other and with the people on the mainland. If we do not do this now, it will never happen. In this situation, going to nearby small towns and joining forces makes us stronger and more united in our fight against the common enemy.

I think we can get what our ethnic peoples have been wanting for many years if our ethnic armed groups can use this situation.

I worry that if the situation deteriorates, there won’t be enough food to eat for the children and for the women and men. Because we’ve experienced this before. People in the village just want peace. 

For now, the villagers have agreed not to accept the administrative mechanisms of the military council which were set up without the consent of the people. Parents said they will not send their children back to school until a people’s government emerges because they fear their children will not have a bright future under the military. 

As a teacher, I’m always ready to take part in activities for my village. I try my best to do my part when it comes to environmental protection work and religious activities. I volunteer and conduct training on these issues and also do advocacy work. 

I had plans to work on improving education as well as village development in the coming years. Here and in the surrounding villages, the land and natural resources have been devastated by a plantation project. My students are among the victims of the project so I can’t ignore their plight. 

But when I heard there was a coup, everything I had thought of doing disappeared. The only thing that is in my head right now is that we need to fight to get democracy back for the whole country and to build a federal union. 

I will not continue teaching if the CDM is not successful. I’m due to retire, although I don’t know if they will give me my pension. I’m not scared. I’ll continue doing this. I believe God will not let me go hungry. I know that if the military junta continues, we will all be oppressed. 

I don’t want to be a slave under military dictatorship. I do not want to be involved in any administrative machinery that will prolong the new military dictatorship and I do not want to pass on this slave education system* to the new generation.

* This terminology was used to describe the education system during British colonial rule, when people felt they were taught how to be slaves to the masters, not to be masters themselves. 

Interviewed conducted by Esther Wah who works with ethnic communities across Myanmar on their right to protect the land and forests. 

Art courtesy of Raise Three Fingers for Democracy  https://www.threefingers.org/