"I want to see equal rights for every ethnicity."
Editor’s note: These posts are part of a collaboration between Tea Circle and Insight Myanmar to publish Report #3 by Real Stories Not Tale’s (RSNT). To read RSNT’s Report #1, visit Tea Circle’s posts here and Insight Myanmar’s posts here. The full RSNT Report #3 is available here. For all posts by RSNT featured on our site, check out the full list.
“Because of the success of our revolution, people are also more aware of LGBT+ issues, and I think society has become more open-minded.”
Seng is a social worker from Yangon. She is from Kachin State. She was interviewed on January 13th, 2022.
“I was working full-time at the time of the military coup in February last year. Although there was no direct attack on our work, we had to stop the projects we were planning to do because of the coup and the constraints of the Covid-19 pandemic. I lost some friendships with people I used to get along well with because they supported the State Administration Council (SAC; the military regime). I didn’t feel safe talking with them anymore. My feelings drastically changed: I could not believe they would support the military coup. I’m still speechless and disgusted.
Right now, I’m on my way to Myitkyina for a relative’s wedding. Most of the time I live in Yangon. I kept working as a social worker in an INGO after the coup, and now I plan to go to Rakhine State. When I compare my own post-coup challenges to others’, I feel lucky because I still have a job. Some have lost so much: their lives, families, employment, and loved ones. There have been no big changes in my life. Yet, I can no longer move or travel freely like before. I still have to travel a lot, but my organization plans it all and I have little chance to stay at home.
I have regular communication with youths from Kachin State, but I have to keep a low profile because of my work. When I contact young people in Kachin State, I use a different name. Most young people from my community have gone to Laiza to join the ethnic armed organization. I am not going, but many of my siblings and relatives have already gone and joined the Kachin Independence Army (KIA). At the moment, I am living with my sister in Yangon. I have no particular plan for my future. Before the coup, I was doing a research program, but the military takeover ruined our research process when we were about to sit the finals. I also used to have an online business but I lost it because of the turmoil—basically, I lost my way. The situation is quite unstable, and if I were to start my business again, I worry it might not work because of the threat of civil war.
After the coup, I joined the underground movement. I made the firm decision to be part of the anti-coup movement and feel a strong dedication to it. However, there were some restrictions and security concerns about my participation, so I have been using a different name for those activities. There are loads of women in our movement. Since we are an underground group, we do not do direct actions against the military. This is also because most women live in township areas. However, some women have joined the armed struggle.
I have been fully supported by my family for being part of the resistance movement, but sometimes they are worried for my safety. At some point, our group decided to speak out about the natural resources concern in Kachin State, and some people were against our intervention; this frightened my relatives. Since joining the resistance movement, I do not see inequalities between genders. I believe it is because we made well-organized plans to avoid women participating in dangerous situations. The one advantage we have as young women joining the resistance movement is that the soldiers do not suspect us at checkpoints because of our gender.
I can’t tell you our group's name in Kachin State, but it is a group with direct contact with the NUG focusing on making youth's voices heard. I joined the data collection program and did lots of campaigns with other youths. My primary responsibility is creating a network between the General Strike Committee of Nationalities (GSCN) and youth groups.
I witnessed many women's participation in the anti-coup movement, but more male leaders are in higher positions. I think it may be because of the level of commitment. I feel like there is equal treatment among us. Although I am not physically present in Laiza with my siblings and cousins, I trained the same way. The perception of society has changed because they have seen the involvement of women leaders. One thing that stands out is that some renowned female activists were recognized as some of the most influential women of the year by an international organization. Because of the success of our revolution, people are also more aware of LGBT+ issues, and I think society has become more open-minded.
I feel guilty when I see civilians bullied and attacked by soldiers during the protests and clashes. It was heartbreaking witnessing this all around me, and I hated it. Now, I am trying to recover from such pain because it affected me in many ways: I can’t focus on my work and I wouldn’t be able to move on if I kept all that pain in my heart. One thing that keeps me strong is that I’m grateful no one in my family has been arrested so far.
I wish to see democracy restored in Myanmar. I want to see equal rights for every ethnicity. I want to see the inclusiveness of everyone in this development. I wish to see the Tatmadaw judged and sentenced for their crimes, and I want to see justice for all their victims. I want to see more females in high positions. I wish to see the restoration of democracy in our country and equality for all, regardless of gender.”
Real Stories Not Tales (RSNT) is a dedicated team in and out of Myanmar that aims to bring awareness to the reality of young people’s lives since the Myanmar military staged a coup on February 1st, 2021. Stories are collected through interviews with each protagonist by the team, either in Burmese or in English. Each character is drawn by a professional illustrator bringing a visual context to the story. RSNT is an anonymous name that is used by the group to guarantee security to all parties involved in the collection of the stories.