The Main Street Defense Team
Take a moment to imagine how your country, your community, your neighborhood, and your individual household would respond if the end of the world suddenly came down on you without warning. We’ve seen this in movies, but rarely have we seen such a vivid and horrific reality as what is now playing out in Myanmar.
In response, regional groups are now banding together to learn survival skills that normal residents never in their lifetimes thought necessary, as they suddenly must find ways to protect themselves and their loved ones against a professional military, whose soldiers are often given amphetamines before battle to encourage even greater recklessness.
We are not naive: for a trained soldier with orders to kill, civilians are at an extreme disadvantage. Making matters worse still are the closure of banks and trade, allowing the military to essentially starve them out.
Still, these communities are trying and innovating every day, and as the spirit for freedom still flames within them, we will do our utmost to support them. The following message is from the “Main Street Defense Team” (“Main Street is obviously a pseudonym here for the actual region which we cannot name for safety reasons). After having learned that we had a secure way for funds to reach them, they sent a desperate message explaining their needs in detail. They are hoping to support 50 “defenders.” These are people whose role it is to hold out against a military assault as long as possible, thus allowing as many other protesters to escape. It is by far the most dangerous job in the movement, as they bear the brunt of the violence and know that every additional second of holding the military back can save countless lives, but puts their own in greater peril (as we told in Wai Phyo’s sadly death). To make matters worse, Main Street’s protectors do not have sufficient equipment for their dangerous role.
And tragically, as generous as the support has been thus far, we are able to fund only a very small portion of what they require. We will send this small fund urgently, and pass on more donations as they come to us. They write:
“Since 22nd Feb 2021, the ‘Main Street Defense Team’ was formed to protect protesters as a coordination and cooperation team with students, local citizens and other defense groups.
Our main purpose is to protect the protesters in strikes using nonviolent methods, and to protect the livelihoods of citizens. In the first few days of the strikes, we sought out our community’s personal funds to buy protective equipment. However, our current materials are not safe for defenders, and some have been arrested, thus losing those precious resources. With no more funds left to draw upon, we urgently need some donation to buy and upgrade what protective equipment is needed against the assault we expect to come to our town, and to prevent the deaths and injuries that the soldiers will try to cause on us.
These are our needs:
(1) Protective Equipment in order to arm our defenders for safety (see below)
(2) Store and Transportation of equipment ($500)
(3) Legal Aid and other supports for defenders and strikers if they are arrested ($1,000)
Concerning Protective Equipment, we need the following items:
Protective Shield $50
Helmet $20
Gas-Mask $10
Protective Vest $50
Goggles $10
In total, $140 USD will fully provide all the needs for a single defender. Therefore, to provide 50 defenders, the number we feel we need to keep others safe and give them time to run for cover, we have to spend $7,000 USD.”