Have you ever wondered what it’s like living under the rule of a military dictatorship? People are currently suffering through this in Myanmar—a country located in Southeast Asia that shares borders with Thailand, Bangladesh, India, and China.  It is made of seven ethnic minority states and seven divisions.

It is populated primarily by the Burmese—otherwise known as the “Bamar ” or “Burman”—majority. There are more than one hundred languages spoken there, but most of them are from the Tibetan-Burmese language families.

Since February 1, 2021, the military coup—also called the Tatmadaw—has grasped the control of the government of Myanmar. The leader of the country and other political workers involved in the National League For Democracy (N.L.D.) were arrested. Signs of brutality and terror were released on the civilian population. It happened in the aftermath of the arrest of the N.L.D. members. The citizens were displeased with the situation simply because the coup devalued education and healthcare.

The majority of people began to gather in the streets of Yangon and Mandalay protesting for democracy. Later on, when the coup had enough, they started shooting the protestors. A lot of the deceased were under the age of 30. The military also had blocked out Internet access and even had started guarding the ethnic minority states.

One of them includes Chin State. Last July-August, a “war” bursted between the civilian resistance group known as the Chin Defence Force(CDF). This group was trained by the Chin National Army. There are a countless number of refugees from Chin State who were making their way to Indian states such as Manipur and Mizoram.

The refugees had taken a week to walk through some of the most rugged mountains and jungle terrains. These people had been telling their stories of their experience under the military dictatorship. It included several obstacles such as looting, torture, rape, and other forms of violence.

 There were old people, small children, and other refugees of varying ages who made a living with bamboo shoots and fish. As they were going through their journey, they gained some support from the hospitality of the villagers. Eventually, they crossed into Mizoram.

Once there, a few reports revealed that the Chin refugees had to survive in a room crammed with around one hundred people. There was a lack of adequate warmth, shelter, food, water, and other needs essential for living. What’s worse is that rudimentary healthcare wasn’t available and Covid was still widespread in Mizoram.

There were also institutions that had village communities to manage, which is the whole duty of the refugees such as the Young Mizo Association and the Mizo Baptist Church. They had been organizing fundraisers and offering comfort. There were also schools that had Chin children enrolled.

Even though a lot of the Chin had felt like Mizoram was their home, they long to go back to the Chinlands. However, there is a lack of hope for a return, and many were reported to be dealing with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Despite the hardships that kept on passing through, I have full faith that these refugees will come back to their country, feeling safe and loved. Just as they had in Mizoram. It’s difficult to imagine having to leave your beloved home due to a military coup overthrowing the government.

It’s also unbelievable to imagine facing so much pain mentally and physically while being on a journey to find a safer place to survive. This may sound very familiar with other situations that have happened in other countries. However, this particular situation is like living in a dystopian novel with subtle ethnicity issues combined. That is how overwhelming this was—and still is—for these people.

Links of sources: Outlook India, BBC, minority rights, indianexpress