On 1st February 2021, the military of Myanmar staged a coup, arresting the President, the State Councilor and many other members of the government and civilians. It was the end of 5 years of experiment in democracy in the country which started in 2015 under the leadership of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.
After more than two months of the coup, the Young People, who call themselves as Generation Z, keep demonstrating in so many places of the country. The military has no other way but to use the violent means – shoot and arrest – to suppress the protests. So far, they have shot and killed about 600 people and many are wounded; 2751 people have been detained and most of them do not even know the reason of their arrest. The worst action is night raids, in which the soldiers and police go around in the residential areas shooting recklessly; break in the houses in the middle of the night and shoot, beat and arrest the people arbitrarily; take away the money and valuable things in the house. The people have nowhere to turn to for the security and justice. Most of the young people feel the need to take up arms for self-defence. They have formed Civil Defence Force (CDF) to protect the people. However, the people have no ammunition that can compete the fully armed soldiers.
The Burmese people are showing great courage and determination, showing themselves willing to suffer for freedom and for a better future for the country. In recent weeks, citizens’ responses to violence are becoming more and more creative: drums are beaten, rubbish is unloaded in public places, the United Nations is appealed to in the streets of Yangon. All this always through the civil disobedience movement.
A few days ago, Pope Francis also shared his solidarity with the suffering people of Myanmar, whom he personally visited a few years ago. “I kneel with you in the streets of Myanmar,” said the Holy Father.
The Salesian Family has intensified their movement of prayer and solidarity. Many have expressed their closeness to the suffering people of Myanmar, who have witnessed violence, killings and imprisonment since February 2021. The Salesian Provinces and the Association of Salesian Cooperators of many countries have responded to the appeal for prayer and solidarity.
Fr. Babu Varghese SDB