For Better, For Worse
The following was written by Ma Khin May, the wife of a soldier in the Burmese military who chose to defect and join the Civil Disobedience Movement.
My name is Ma Khin May. My Husband was a sergeant in the Myanmar Military and we have two sons. My husband is an honest, sincere and loyal man. And for years our family has had few worries. He cares about our family, gives his whole salary to me, and loves our kids more than anything. My parents also love him. We have a peaceful family life. But…all of this turned upside down for us on February 1, 2021.
That’s right, our life turned upside-down on Feb 1, the day Myanmar Military seized power in a coup. Although my husband couldn’t accept the coup, he feared what we might face if he left the military in protest. He had concerns about what might happen to us if we fled the base. He also didn’t want to be called a deserter. He knew we had been losing our basic human rights because of the oppression inside the military system, but we had to think carefully about how we would leave the military. Our first concern was that we would not have any shelter and food if we left. But my husband believed that we wouldn’t have to worry about anything; our shelter, food and our basic needs would still be provided for somehow. Beside, our kids were very young, and he didn’t want anything bad happening to them.
I explained to my husband that we needed to take the long view. If we left the military we would face a lot of difficulties. But I insisted that if we did the right thing now, our kids would not have to live in guilt one day. I also told him that even though Truth and Justice were weak now, they would prevail at last: we must stand up for what is right. Finally, my husband agreed to leave the military.
Then, it was time for travel preparations to get to a “Safe Zone” where the military wouldn’t hurt us. While I was preparing for us to leave, we had to be cautious and secretive. No one inside could know that we are leaving. We had to act alone for our safety.
The fateful day came. We were going to leave. We were excited and nervous. My husband said ‘This is history, our history!’
After leaving the military, we first had to rent a house. We were worried and we didn’t know how to ask for help from others because our whole life had been inside the military. Luckily, we found a place to rent. Although we had to live secretly not to get caught by military, we knew that our life had somehow changed for the better. My husband said he felt safe! He was proud of himself for leaving such a hated institution. We both felt like we had basic human rights at last, which had been denied us our whole lives by the military. And I am delighted whenever I think about our kids’ future; they don’t have to live in guilt because of our choices.
Thank you very much for reading.
