Episode #53: No Magical Thinking
Ni Ni has been planning for a revolution for as long as she can remember… just not this one.
“I always thought that the only revolution I'm going to take part in is gender equality,” she recalls. “Since our country is full of culture and tradition, gender equality is a new topic. Now, I am fighting back about basic human rights and justice! I feel angry just thinking about this. It is unfair, I actually cannot believe that I have to fight this in 2021.”
Although Ni Ni (not her real name) had grown up hearing her parents’ stories about the “bad old days,” for her that was all ancient history, not something that could ever rear its ugly head again to affect the lives of she and her friends. As she reflects in disbelief, “And now that is actually happening to me. It's repeating itself. It’s unbelievable, right?”
For Ni Ni, the dark reality really set in on February 28th. That day started off like any other. Three engineering friends joined her in the morning for a day of protests in their local neighborhood. Suddenly, without warning, shots rang out, and Ni Ni was paralyzed with shock. Until that point, she hadn’t believed that security forces would dare fire live ammunition at their own people, and so she literally couldn’t process what was happening. One friend grabbed her hand and pulled her away, although Ni Ni couldn’t run fast enough due to a heart condition. Eventually, along with other protesters, they found shelter in a stranger’s home. While the couple’s toddler screamed in terror from all the commotion, the group stayed in hiding as soldiers taunted them from outside. After several hours of this torment they left, and Ni Ni and her friends were finally able to return home.
Many others in the crowd were not so lucky. Ni Ni recounts how 18 were shot dead that day, and over 100 abducted and taken to prison, where many were likely tortured. The terror of facing such violence—all the more shocking in that it occurred on familiar streets—shook Ni Ni to her core. While her commitment to democracy did not waver, she realized the fight had to be waged in a different way—and this was especially true for her, given that her health issues precluded frequent active involvement outside. At home, she started consuming every book and video she could find on the topic of revolution. From Sudan to Hong Kong, the more she learned, the more she became fixated on the concept of the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM), which could shut down the economy and prevent the military from effectively running a state. Ni Ni began pouring all her energy into this, collecting donations and channeling them to those civil servants refusing to work.
Ni Ni has observed a generational difference in how the Burmese people have reacted to the coup, exemplified by how she and her mom responded to the crisis. Her mother felt they should just wait safely at home for the US or UN to come to save them, which many elders believed would happen any day. In contrast, Ni Ni realized that any hope of foreign intervention was wishful thinking, a fact that many of her peers were similarly coming to conclude as well. Looking at things rationally rather than engaging in magical thinking, she understood that she and other activists were basically on their own, and no outside savior was likely to come in and rescue them. She realized that the burden of resistance fell on her generation, to play whatever role they could in seeking freedom.
Ni Ni recognizes that they are now in the fight for their lives. As the military is arresting hundreds of teenagers—even children—and torturing and sexually assaulting those they have thrown in prison, she knows the days are dark and likely to get darker still. She is anticipating further crackdowns, such as a total Internet shutdown, and protesters are brainstorming how they will work around this closing off of one of their last lifelines to the outside world.