The Rebel Barista: Brewing a New Future Beyond Borders
Moon is studying and working in Hong Kong while organizing entrepreneurship in his community. His story was collected on June 21, 2023.
“When I first arrived here, people around me said they saw a light in me that would benefit my country. It was also hard for me to adapt to society here—I had to try hard.”
"I was already studying before the coup and attended classes online. I didn't study at home; I went to an organization’s office in our community where my friend worked and logged on from there. Pre-coup, I struggled to get good grades, so I decided to study harder. I remember donating some books on January 31, 2021, and I had yet to learn about the situation as I did not keep up with politics. I was so positive about everything on January 31, 2021, and everything changed just one day later. When the coup happened, I had a class to attend, but there was no internet connection. I was devastated when I asked people around me about the situation, and they had no idea what was going on. And then I found out about that lip sync video; we watched it on repeat and found the situation intolerable.
It was hard for me to focus on my studies during the political turmoil. I had a mental breakdown and could not study. I informed the school and instructors about my situation and tried to understand what was going on by learning about the context as much as I could. I joined many protests in Taunggyi, but not so actively because of my studies, and many people around me discouraged me from getting too involved.
Now I am studying business in Hong Kong and working part-time as a barista. I'm in my final year, and like a typical final-year student I’ve started to think about what’s next and how I will enter the workforce after graduation. And I am also trying to build the skillset needed.
At first, it was hard for me when I arrived in Hong Kong because I came with a fixed budget. There is more freedom here than back in Myanmar. I still have contact with my family, but not very frequently, and I also lost some of my closest family members because of COVID-19. I do not have much contact with friends since arriving here, but I talk to some from time to time. I also meet up with Myanmar people in Hong Kong - rarely though. Here, I pretty much sacrifice my personal life and focus on my studies and work. I do not have a good mechanism for coping with stress, but I learn from others. Everyone is struggling, and all of us have issues with mental health. When I am in a stressful situation, I think of my position, focus on the changes I can make, accept the situation I am in and what I cannot change. We should not underestimate our mental health issues; they need to be taken care of. The most important thing, I think, is accepting and appreciating.
When I first arrived here, people around me said they saw a light in me that would benefit my country. It was also hard for me to adapt to society here—I had to try hard. After some time, I had a change in perception where I look beyond Myanmar. What can I do for human society, with a wider ambition? For instance, what can I do at the ASEAN level, not just in Myanmar? And on the other hand, I also try to do what I can for now, like donating and helping vulnerable people."
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.