Beneath the Iron Sky
Salai is from Chin State. He is currently living in India and actively participating in the revolution. His story was collected on June 20, 2023.
“The future nation I long for is one with no dictatorship. And I think, with a federal democracy, there will be an opportunity to rebuild the country.”
"When the military coup occurred, I was in Mandalay for a medical check-up. When the internet shut down for the whole day, I was worried. Then I heard a coup had occurred, and I felt lost at first, but later I realized we needed to fight back. Psychological warfare spread quickly from the military's side, deterring people from protesting. Despite the situation, I contacted Chin students from Mandalay and organized student protests. After participating in the Ethnic Youth General Strike Committee and the founding of the Anti-Junta Forces Coordination Committee (AFCC) for two weeks, I was arrested and detained in Obo prison in Mandalay for four months. After being released, I came to India for treatment of my injuries from being tortured in prison.
I am now taking a consulting role for five revolutionary forces, working with an organization called India for Myanmar, and I’m still involved in the implementation of the Chinland constitution. After the coup I became unemployed. I can still participate in the revolution thanks to the support and love of my friends, but being unemployed remains a stressful factor. My family members are in a safe area, and it is hard to bring them to stay here with me due to my financial situation. I just got married, so I live here with my wife.
I do some part-time work and I’m working on some non-profit projects, specifically a pre-college program. I can’t say I’m in a stressful situation as so many other people have to live in much worse conditions than me; whenever I feel overwhelmed and struggle mentally, I think about them.
My participation in the revolution is varied: I work with the National Unity Consultative Council (NUCC) as a protest committee representative and initiated the emergence of an interim constitution in addition to my responsibilities for Chin State. Then, when it comes to diplomacy, I work with the India for Myanmar team. On top of that I do some technical support for the community. I am also trying to initiate higher education projects for Chin State, like founding a university.
Being in my mid-thirties, I can't stand seeing the country being destroyed. The chance of winning this revolution is relatively high, which gives me hope to keep fighting for what we want. Also, there are so many supporters despite many challenges in this situation. Another thing that gives me hope is my family.
Since the start of my academic journey, I always planned to participate in politics and work for the benefit of the people, which I am still doing and will keep on doing. As I need to build on my skills and knowledge, it would be great if I got the opportunity to study while working. I want to succeed in contributing to the public's interest and do more in the political sector.
The future nation I long for is one with no dictatorship. And I think, with a federal democracy, there will be an opportunity to rebuild the country. Since it is crucial we win this revolution, I want to encourage people to participate as much as they can."
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.