[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/myanmar-coup-the-despair-and-hope-of-myanmar-nationals-in-singapore\/#NewsArticle","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/myanmar-coup-the-despair-and-hope-of-myanmar-nationals-in-singapore\/","headline":"Myanmar coup: The despair and hope of Myanmar nationals in Singapore","name":"Myanmar coup: The despair and hope of Myanmar nationals in Singapore","description":"In Myanmar, mass funerals are being held to mourn the deaths of protestors who had taken to the streets following the 1 February military coup. According to the United Nations, at least 149 people have been killed, including women and children. Hundreds more have disappeared, it said on Tuesday (March 16).\u00a0 Thousands of miles away, […]","datePublished":"2021-03-17","dateModified":"2022-04-15","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/author\/Ming%20En%20Liew\/#Person","name":"Ming En Liew","url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/author\/Ming%20En%20Liew\/","identifier":132,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8fe7a89455a989038349633329a6e4ad6299388f5e1e3ea83c28126090b2314f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8fe7a89455a989038349633329a6e4ad6299388f5e1e3ea83c28126090b2314f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"TheHomeGround Asia","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/photo_2021-07-22-222533.jpeg","url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/photo_2021-07-22-222533.jpeg","width":640,"height":640}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/1615992981363_1280X626_282129_28129.png","url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/1615992981363_1280X626_282129_28129.png","height":626,"width":1280},"url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/myanmar-coup-the-despair-and-hope-of-myanmar-nationals-in-singapore\/","about":["Community","Local","Myanmar","Singapore"],"wordCount":1958,"articleBody":"In Myanmar, mass funerals are being held to mourn the deaths of protestors who had taken to the streets following the 1 February military coup. According to the United Nations, at least 149 people have been killed, including women and children. Hundreds more have disappeared, it said on Tuesday (March 16).\u00a0Thousands of miles away, Myanmar nationals living and working in Singapore speak to TheHomeGround to share how they have been dealing with the situation back home. It is estimated that the Myanmar community here numbers some 200,000 nationals, including domestic workers, students and professionals.NOTE: Names have been changed to protect identities.When news of the military coup made the headlines on the morning of 1 February, Isabelle, 32, a teacher in Singapore, was on her way to work.\u201cI remember not believing it, [I was] just in a state of disbelief,\u201d she recalls. \u201cAt first, we were thinking, \u2018Okay, maybe this is just a misunderstanding, [they will] talk it out and then it [will be] over.\u2019\u201d\u00a0But Isabelle\u2019s hopes were dashed.\u00a0As news of elected State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi and the leaders of the National League for Democracy (NLD) being detained made its rounds, Isabelle\u2019s disbelief morphed into concern: \u201cA lot of the NLD members of parliament are old, so we worry for their health, worry for a lot of things.\u201d\u00a0On 1 February, Myanmar\u2019s military seized power of the country, detaining Ms Suu Kyi and President Win Myint. It declared a year-long state of emergency, ending democratic civilian rule.\u00a0The military coup comes after Ms Suu Kyi led the NLD to a landslide victory in Myanmar\u2019s general election in November 2020. The military had made allegations of electoral fraud, despite a lack of proof.\u00a0In response, citizens rose to hold peaceful demonstrations. In the beginning, the military responded by arresting protestors. Subsequently, they shut down the country\u2019s internet, and blocked social media platforms.\u00a0Myanmar nationals take to the streets to protest against the military coup. (Source: MgHla (aka) Htin Linn Aye \/ Wikimedia Commons)University student Phoo, 21, was outraged upon hearing the news.\u00a0\u201c[I felt] anger because I had lived through the whole dictatorship period in Myanmar,\u201d she shares. Phoo moved to Singapore in 2010, when she was 10 years old. At that time, Myanmar was under military rule. Seeing no future for Phoo then, her parents had made the decision to migrate.\u201cIt feels like we\u2019re living through it again, under dictatorship,\u201d she adds. \u201cMy parents are very angry as well, because [they] lived through the \u201888 protests.\u201d\u00a0For the younger generation of Myanmar individuals, being thrown under military rule again harks back to the horrifying stories they heard from their parents about the 1988 uprising.Also referred to as the 8888 Uprising, 8 August 1988 was a watershed event in the country\u2019s history, when Myanmar citizens joined in a nationwide strike led by students, marching on the streets of Yangon (formerly known as Rangoon) to call for democracy.\u00a0Phoo\u2019s parents had experienced the uprising, and shared stories of the horrors that had occurred in the crackdown by the military.\u00a0\u201cHe [Father] told me about how [the military] hung the heads of the bodies they\u2019ve hacked off in the supermarkets,\u201d she recounts.The demonstrations came to a violent end on 18 September, when the military retook power and declared martial law. Thousands were killed in the process.\u00a0A reminder of life under dictatorshipWhile the Myanmar individuals interviewed did not live through the harrowing experience, they remember how citizens had suffered prior to NLD\u2019s rise to power in 2015. This was not a history they were keen to relive.\u00a0Thalim Lay, 32, arrived in Singapore in 2011 to work as a domestic worker to support her parents and three younger sisters. She comes from a family of rice farmers.She claims that under military rule, her family was forced to give up a large portion of their rice harvest to the military. They were also required to pay a proportion of income to the military every year, leaving them with very little.\u00a0When the NLD came to power after the 2015 elections, Thalim\u2019s family was finally able to save some money. Her burden was eased, and she was able to retain most of her income. She was looking forward to saving enough to eventually return home and start a business. But the military coup threw a wrench in her plans.\u00a0\u201cNow, we [are] not happy. We don\u2019t like the military power, we like democracy,\u201d she stresses.\u00a0Isabelle, too, remembers the suffering of her people pre-democracy. She recounts a time when the military could, at any moment, ask to check their phones or enter their homes: \u201cAt gunpoint, if they ask you for your phone, you cannot not give [it to] them.\u201d\u00a0\u201cThere is a complete disregard for the well-being of the people,\u201d she despairs. \u201cHealthcare, education, economy, personal lives, daily functioning, movement, all gone [if the military were to take over]. Nothing good can come out of it.\u201d\u00a0Worry for their families back homeLiving far from home has exacerbated their worries for family.\u00a0University student Min, 24, was at a loss when asked if her family in Myanmar was safe.\u00a0\u201cThis is a very hard thing to answer,\u201d she says. \u201cWe don\u2019t know when they will no longer be safe. They could be safe now, but every night, they get cut off from the outside world… My family has been moving around because there are times when their areas were quite bad.\u201dPhoo, whose family members had been actively taking part in the protests, has also been receiving alarming updates.\u201cI have cousins who were trapped [in the raids at Sanchaung]. They couldn\u2019t go home until the morning, because if you go past them [the military], you get shot… As for my aunt, she was running away from bullets just the other day.\u201d\u00a0Civil Disobedience Movement participants forced to leave their homes by the military in Ma Hlwa Gone, Yangon. (Source: Waiyan Htut \/ Twitter)\u201cI don\u2019t think they\u2019re safe,\u201d Isabelle remarks. \u201cIf you look at the escalation of events, it\u2019s not just people out on the streets that are affected or implicated. People in their homes are also being terrorised.\u201d\u00a0She elaborates, \u201cI had a close relative of mine who had these troops coming in, and they were shooting at the house… The whole family had to hide in the bathroom, because they were just shooting the front of the house.\u201d\u201cNo one is safe now,\u201d she emphasises. And with this awareness comes an increasing sense of helplessness.\u00a0\u201cThere is such injustice and there\u2019s nothing you can do,\u201d Isabelle deplores. \u201cWho do you go to, to report [acts of violence], when it\u2019s your police that are killing everybody?\u201dA continuous fight for a better futureEven as the death toll increases, people continue to take to the streets in protest.\u00a0\u201cThe younger generation wants to fight. They want democracy,\u201d says Thalim, who shares their determination.\u00a0\u201cWe can die. After we die, the next generation will be okay. We will get back democracy and we will be happy, and the country is nicer.\u201dChoking up, Isabelle shares how the hope of the Myanmar people has been crushed with the military coup.\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s like we took one step forward and 10 steps back. The country is completely in a state of destruction right now. Everywhere. We see the images [of Myanmar]. In my head, it\u2019s like, \u2018Is this even Myanmar? It doesn\u2019t look like my home anymore.\u2019\u201dUnarmed protesters facing the Myanmar military in Tontay Township near Yangon. (Source: Sayar Htin Lin \/ Twitter).\u201cThe people don\u2019t deserve this,\u201d she adds. \u201cThey\u2019ve such good hearts. Anyone who has ever been to Myanmar, that\u2019s what they\u2019ll tell you. The smiles and the warm welcome from everybody. That\u2019s who they are. They don’t deserve this. The anguish grows, the helplessness is there, but we don’t let it settle in, because once that happens, we cannot win.\u201d\u00a0She says of the protests: \u201cNobody wants to have to do this, but they know they have to. They don\u2019t have a choice… They\u2019re made to, because that\u2019s the only way that we can move forward.\u201d\u201cYou die either way. If you go out, you may die. But if we don\u2019t, the country is dead.\u201d\u00a0A sense of guilt, helplessness, and despairBeing in Singapore, the four Myanmar individuals are aware of the laws regulating public assembly. They are happy to respect the law, but feel the guilt and helplessness of not being able to do more.\u201cYou have this survivor\u2019s guilt, right?\u201d Phoo expresses. \u201cI\u2019m so privileged to be here, I\u2019m safe, I\u2019m in a country where the law is very much abided by. It\u2019s very surreal going through this while trying to lead a double life. At night, I will cry myself to sleep, and in the morning, I have to pretend that everything\u2019s okay and go to class.\u201d\u00a0Similarly, Min experiences the discordance of leading a double life. Being unable to express her outright support has taken a mental toll. \u201cYou are expected to be okay, but it\u2019s not okay, because it\u2019s personal. But the thing is, everyone around you is fine, so you are kind of forced to be fine because nobody else is experiencing it.\u201d\u00a0Even so, Min, Phoo, Isabelle and Thalim are doing what they can.\u00a0Despite not making much as a foreign domestic worker, Thalim donates to the cause and shares important news updates on the protests and crackdowns on social media.\u00a0She says, \u201cIf I can go back, I [will] also want to go. Now, [we] cannot fly, cannot do anything\u2026Just pray, just share.\u201dSupporters of the National League for Democracy protesting near the University of Yangon on 8 February 2021. (Source: \u101e\u1030\u1011\u103d\u1014\u103a\u1038. \/ Wikimedia Commons)The other three are doing the same. Despite feeling overwhelmed by the continuous flow of often gruesome and horrific news, they feel obligated to continue sharing and speaking out, especially when their people are fighting on the frontlines and risking their lives for their country.\u00a0Phoo, for instance, took it upon herself to compile a list of resources for individuals to refer to if they wish to learn about what is happening in Myanmar, and what they can do to help.What you can doIsabelle makes a simple plea: \u201cPlease acknowledge what is happening. We\u2019re not politicians, but [even] the comments on social media is a source of hope, revival, and energy for those fighting for their freedom.\u201dIn particular, Min requests that employers of domestic workers from Myanmar can support them during this time.\u00a0\u201cMost of them [domestic workers] don\u2019t have an outlet, or they don\u2019t have emotional support because they are here alone without their families,\u201d she shares. \u201cIf you have a Burmese friend, then it doesn\u2019t really hurt to reach out to them. Make sure that they are okay, or just listen to what they have to say. If you see a social media post that your friend has shared, it could be really helpful to just share it.\u201d\u00a0Within Phoo\u2019s compilation of resources, she has also included information relevant to Singapore, such as a letter template to appeal to Members of Parliament regarding Singapore\u2019s position on the coup, and a resource list for Singaporeans who wish to learn more and help.Remaining sanguine, Phoo says, \u201cI know that we will win this fight. Even though the situation looks really bad right now, we will get through this, and we will see a better future.\u201d\u00a0Join the conversations on THG’s Facebook and Instagram, and get the latest updates via Telegram."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Destinations","item":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Singapore","item":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/\/singapore\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Myanmar coup: The despair and hope of Myanmar nationals in Singapore","item":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/myanmar-coup-the-despair-and-hope-of-myanmar-nationals-in-singapore\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]