A Myanmar student describes the military coup and why she’s fighting to restore her country’s democracy.

I had never been involved in politics and had never taken part in any protests. But everything changed on February 1, 2021.

I had just come back to Myanmar after a trip abroad. Soon after my quarantine ended, there was a military coup at about 9 a.m. The military arrested our leader Aung San Suu Kyi, President U Win Myint and other political leaders. They cut off the telephone lines. In the days that followed, they also cut off the internet, forcing jobs, online classes and banks to shut down.

“The military arrested our leader Aung San Suu Kyi, President U Win Myint and other political leaders. They cut off the telephone lines. In the days that followed, they also cut off the internet, forcing jobs, online classes and banks to shut down.”

— Eldr

The military is claiming that Suu and her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), rigged the November 2020 election where the NLD won about 80% of the vote. According to the election commission, there was no evidence to support these claims. That is why we, the Myanmar people, do not accept the military as our government.

Since February 2, we have taken to the streets to protest this unwanted dictatorship that has violated the freedoms of our people. We demand the release of our president and the leader of our country. We refuse to live under the dictatorship; our people already lived in poverty for decades under the military junta, which oppressed educated students and young people. We demand the restoration of our democracy.

I have been protesting peacefully along with tens of thousands of others around the country. Young women in particular have been leading the revolution. But we have been met with police and military violence. The police are forcibly arresting pregnant women, medical staff, the elderly and children. The first victim was a 19-year-old girl who was shot and killed by a police officer while hiding behind a bus stop. Now the death toll is in the hundreds and some are still missing. Most of the dead people are educated young people. They had a bright future but violence at the hands of the military and police has taken their futures away from them.

Our people are brave. Young and old, men and women are going out of their way to stand up for what is right. We must fight for the next generation. We do not want our children to live in poverty under the military dictatorship.

In 1988, there was a similar uprising when pro-democracy activists tried to overthrow the military junta. The revolution did not succeed at that time. But I am hopeful this time we will. We have technology, an important tool to share information and evidence of military violence against protesters. We have the conviction that what we are fighting for is right. We refuse to accept this injustice.

“We have lost our people, our leaders, our internet and our safety. But we refuse to lose our voice.”

— Eldr

I believe this revolution will succeed, but we need international attention. Educate yourself on what is happening to the people of Myanmar and join us in speaking out. We have lost our people, our leaders, our internet and our safety. But we refuse to lose our voice.

Editor’s note: Eldr is a pseudonym.