VS

Lives on the line

Months after the coup, the military’s bloody crackdown on protesters has escalated. But these pro-democracy protesters show no signs of giving up.

Many of these youths are not just fighting for a return to a quasi-democracy, but to establish a democracy truly free from military dictatorship. In the words of Suu Kyi, they are fighting to achieve “freedom from fear”, where everyone — including the authorities — is equally protected and held accountable under the democratic rule of law. This freedom, it seems, eclipses any other fear they have, even for their lives.

This resilient optimism is seen most poignantly in the killing of Angel, the 19-year-old teen who wore a T-shirt that read “Everything will be OK” while at an anti-coup protest. Angel, a dancer and taekwondo champion who was a first-time voter in the November elections, had clearly joined the demonstrations aware of the heavy price she might have to pay, as she had requested to donate her organs in the event of her death.

Angel has since become a symbol of defiance, with many calling her a martyr for the pro-democracy cause. Hundreds, most of them youths like her, showed up for her funeral procession, singing revolutionary songs and chanting anti-coup slogans. The message emblazoned on her T-shirt has even been transformed into a slogan of the protest.

Everything will be OK?

Every day, the situation in Myanmar continues to deteriorate. Phone lines and the Internet are getting cut off, loved ones are being arrested during night raids and those who attend anti-coup protests never know when they might breathe their last.

A prolonged and increasingly violent conflict with the junta is now expected. Recently, major ethnic rebel groups have joined forces with the anti-coup protesters, while the military rebuffed regional pleas to end the violence in the country.

But the youth activists leading protests in Myanmar are drawing courage from allies across Southeast Asia, who have similarly stood up against growing authoritarianism in the last few years.

Even in the threat of violence and death, they are fighting to keep democracy in the country alive, in hopes that future generations can enjoy the peace and safety these youths had, at the very least, briefly tasted.