From Yangon to Varanasi: A Student's Journey of Transformation
Judy is studying a bachelor of education at the University of Varanasi in India. She is originally from Yangon Region. Her story was collected on March 3, 2023.
“As I am one of the majority ethnic groups in Myanmar, I had no idea what it felt like to be part of a minority group. But here, in Varanasi, I am a minority. What hits me is that, as a minority, we face problems the majority does not know about.”
"I arrived in Varanasi three months ago. I have faced many language problems since then and am trying to find my way here.
At the time of the coup, in February 2021, I was staying at my work office. I decided to go back home and join the peaceful protests. They were cracking down on the protestors, and as days went by it got worse and worse. Our mindset changed: what are they doing to us? We decided we had to change the system. I know I could never return to my pre-coup mindset. Mentally, it's been tough, and I am not recovering well. I heard so many gunshots and my sleep was affected, and I felt nervous and worried. My family also worried about what would happen to us when we faced such terrible inhumanity.
I am from the Bamar ethnic group, and it is my first time experiencing something like that. I never knew how bad it was for other ethnic groups.
I had always had the plan to study abroad, so it wasn’t a hard decision for me to make. However, when I decided to study abroad, it was hard to choose the university and apply for a scholarship as I am Burmese from Yangon, the economic city of Myanmar. In the end, I decided to study in India as I thought we had similar background and culture.
As I am one of the majority ethnic groups in Myanmar, I had no idea what it felt like to be part of a minority group! But here, in Varanasi, I am a minority. What hits me is that, as a minority, we face problems the majority do not know about…
I meet people whose cultures, languages and backgrounds are different from mine, although India might be close to Myanmar. Sometimes I feel depressed as I can’t communicate or express my feelings well because of the language barrier. I can do less than in Myanmar. As a result, I tend to feel lonely. Sometimes the experience is a lonesome one, but sometimes, it's an interesting one. I live in a university hostel. After going through the challenges of moving abroad, I feel more confident about myself: I do my best and am capable of facing problems.
We have to invest in ourselves. We can only do a little right now to change things, but we can change, grow, and expand our capacities. They can destroy us physically, but they cannot destroy our minds.
After studying for my bachelor's degree, I plan to continue and do a master's degree in education. I want to contribute to the educational field’s ability to value differences and humanity. After that, I will return to my country and support communities, hopefully as an educator.
I wish for Myanmar to be a democracy, to respect and value minorities, and to treat each other with humanity. Furthermore, I would like to see a federal country with decentralization, where each state governs their own territory."
These stories are collected by the Real Stories Not Tales team. Real Stories Not Tales is a dedicated team in and out of Myanmar that aims to bring awareness to the reality of 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. RSNT is an anonymous name that is used by the group to guarantee security to all parties involved in the collection of the stories.