22 THE DISRUPTION ISSUE
Student Experience:
“Hear me when I am asking for help because I’m breaking the law by speaking out”
The world watches as Myanmar protestors fight back against ongoing disruption to their democracy.
“When I was young, my mother always told me, ‘Don’t get on the bad side of the military guys, even when they’re wrong, you need to talk to them nicely,’” said Lilly during a Microsoft Teams meeting on 10th February. Following the coup on 1st February, protests continue to rage across Myanmar’s most notable cities, and Burmese nationals have taken to social media to speak up against the actions of the military. Images of the violence that has spread in Yangon, Nay Pyi Taw, and elsewhere are gaining an audience alongside the hashtag #WhatsHappeninginMyanmar and #HearTheVoiceofMyanmar.
Lilly’s mother participated in some of these protests, calling for an end to the military regime and a pro-democracy state. “During the 1988 Uprising, my mom saw people killed in front of her eyes; some of her friends died,” said Lilly. She continued: “In 2007, during the Saffron Revolution, I saw tanks coming in and saw monks taken away. That’s why we were all panicking when we saw the tank on 3rd February in Yangon. It felt like history was repeating itself. I don’t want to see my loved ones die.” Lilly is an international student studying fashion art direction at Manchester Metropolitan University. She has been keeping in touch with her family and friends as best she can, but the military, after initial widespread internet disruption, has continued to limit internet services in several places across the country and block popular social media sites.
“Gen Z especially have been coming up with creative ways to protest. We know that we don’t have any weapons. They are the ones who can harm us, so we have been coming up with creative ways to push civil resistance,” said Lilly.
“I’m really worried right now. The internet is unstable, and people don’t feel safe. We don’t know when we will lose contact entirely,” said Lilly. Many protesters are still using VPN services to continue to speak out on social media, but there are concerns that these too will be targeted and blocked.
Myanmar has a tumultuous history, and this is not the first notable protest that has occurred against the military junta. In fact, nearly every decade during the 50 years of military rule between 1962 and 2010 saw its share of antiregime protests in urban areas across the country, some of the most notable being the 1988 Uprising, and the Saffron Revolution in 2007.
The military seized control with claims of voter fraud following the November 2020 elections, which saw Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party win by a landslide general vote. According to the Myanmar election commission, this claim is not substantiated. Ms Suu Kyi has been placed under house arrest, along with a number of NLD officials. Power has
#HearTheVoiceofMyanmar
Growing up, Lilly Oo never felt safe in her own country. Although she grew up in Myanmar’s largest city, Yangon, and was able to attend an international school, her mother repeatedly warned her to keep her head low, avoid confrontation with military personnel and stay away from conflict.
