Support to CDM: Thank you!
We have been sending donation funds to one region in Upper Myanmar, which we are not able to name due to safety concerns. These funds are then directed towards those civil servants who are continuing their strike, refusing to come to work under the brutal military dictators. In the following piece, one of the volunteer leaders provides an overview of how and why CDM took off in his region, and how they are continuing to support those carrying on this courageous mission. We thank all our donors for their generous support!
Since February 2021 when the civil servants decided to join Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) against the military coup, some CDMers have returned to their jobs for various personal reasons. Majority of CDMers from different departments though are still staying put and avoid any contact with the military regime. Many CDMers have been threatened with arrests, pressured by their peers and friends to return to their positions. So far the senior level officers are not in the list to be dismissed or to be removed, but many of them are in the announced “wanted” list. Junior staffs are ordered to be removed from their positions and they are not able to find jobs to feed their families, but they are not intimidated.
The military arrested more than 50 people from the railway station slum community here in [Redacted] during December 2021 and there have been no news of their whereabouts. There have been random, frequent searches/checks and threats to the communities in downtown areas in the evenings and late evenings without any reason as well.
The Covid-19 and the coup-aftermath situations everywhere in the country affect the economy very negatively, with majority of construction firms closed down, and farmers cannot afford to work on their farms due to the fluctuation of prices and market instability. Rise in petroleum prices increased the commodity prices, and many private businesses- especially small and medium sizes- are not able to operate. This in turn affects the livelihood of people who rely on daily wages from working in those small-and-medium-sized businesses. People in general who are not CDMers can hardly find a job to maintain and sustain their families. It has been more challenging for CDMers to find a job and to feed their families.
The regime recently issued an order to all department heads to report the profiles, name lists and addresses of the CDMers. This causes another challenge for CDMers to go out in public.
In addition, the regime’s local officers in [Redacted] released a notice letter to remove the slums near the railway station in which some of the CDMers live. The notice letter stated that the government would exercise forced eviction upon those remaining after the deadline. All the people in the slums will have to move out, but they have nowhere to go. On the other hand, the regime officers are trying to persuade CDMers whose names are in the removed list to return to their service and if they do so, they can continue living in the slum. They would have to rejoin service and work without pay for three months, and their records would be washed clean. But many CDMers refused to go back and work for the regime.
The CDMers also have great challenges with health care and medical support as well. Concerned that their identities would be exposed, they dare not go to governmental hospital which often refer majority of cases to the military hospital. They cannot afford to go to private hospitals which are very expensive. One CDMer (a man) passed away last December because he couldn’t get proper treatment for his kidney issues. Many families with small children are going through hardships, and pregnant mothers find it difficult to find a proper place to give births and to get maternity care.
There will be more people who will need support for subsistence and healthcare as the conflicts intensified in most parts of the country. As much of the attentions turn to fighting the military regime with the military means, CDMers and other citizens who are in dire needs get fewer attentions and supports. Also, because the military regime restricts and closely monitors the financial transactions of bank accounts and business persons, less and less people can support local CDMers. Fundraising locally is also getting more difficult because the regime is keeping a close watch on the movements of people and CSOs/NGOs in the town as well as on financial transactions.