Young people take up arms in post-coup Myanmar

NHK World-Japan | 15 March, 2022

Before last February’s coup in Myanmar, Sai Kyaw Thura was a student, with dreams of pursuing higher education. Just over a year later, he is a member of an armed resistance group fighting the military junta.
The sound of gunfire and explosions have become a regular part of Sai Kyaw Thura’s daily life since the military took power. Last September, soldiers came to his hometown of Demoso, Kayah State and burned at least 35 houses to the ground, including the one he grew up in.

A few days later, the twenty-year-old decided to join a local armed group and fight back. He is one of the countless young people who no longer see peaceful protest as a viable option.

“I realized we couldn’t overthrow the military just by raising three fingers,” he told NHK in an interview earlier this year, referencing the hand gesture that’s become a symbol of the pro-democracy movement. “All that was left was to take up arms.”