28 February 2021
[Above photo: Taken in Pro Mart, a Korean-owned grocery store nearby. Bud’s Ice Cream on Divisidero St. in Noe Valley in SF was the go-to parlor in the 1960’s. Always a lively crowd there. Small world! Except that now Bud’s is probably owned by China.]
I was awakened by chants of protesters at 5AM today. They were moving down Kabah Aye Pagoda Road, ¼ mile away from our house, heading for Sule, one of the two or three major protest sites. All morning today, and it is noon as I write, there have been the sounds of gunfire and other explosives. The military is using flashbangs and tear gas on the protesters, as well as rubber bullets and, occasionally, live ammunition. Two days ago, pro-coup protesters showed up in force with clubs, knives, and slingshots. Some people were stabbed, beaten, and otherwise injured. The official death count for the country so far is at 8 but may be much higher after today. Huge protests are anticipated for tomorrow, Monday.
There have been videos of thugs, allegedly paid by the military, stabbing protesters. A neighborhood watch civilian was stabbed to death at night two days ago. My student in Magway has moved with her family into hiding, as have all her colleagues. The military is apparently breaking down doors and arresting those physicians who have joined the Civil Disobedience Movement work stoppage in Magway. Videos are available on YouTube showing interviews with poor families who were allegedly paid by the military to have their children, as young as 9yo, light fires in different areas of Yangon. Yesterday during my group supervision, one of the students reported that soldiers were clubbing people in front of her apartment. Suddenly, there was tear gas deployed on both sides of her building.
I was able to conduct the supervision with difficulty. Our internet, for some reason, has not been working, independent of the 1AM to 9AM countrywide shutoff. I walked across our back lawn to Jose and Irene’s and sat on the porch while they slept. Irene eventually came out to enjoy the morning on the shaded porch and I moved into one of their bedrooms to complete the 3 hours. Now I have repurposed my wi-fi extender so it connects with Jose’s, positioning it on our patio which faces his home. We can use wi-fi when the internet is on nationwide.
Kelly and I talk about the current and prospective situation constantly. He also talks daily with the head of a large UN organization, the director of CARE, and others of similar rank. His perspective is, although always qualified with “We generally get it wrong in Myanmar.”, that things are likely to quickly devolve. It seems that the opposition to the coup is growing and firm and, of course, a military is reluctant to relinquish power anytime. Which leads us to a rock and a hard place. Plus, 10% of the population supports the military coup. They have released from prison the radical right, military-supporting monk, Wirathu, so he may bring some monks into the fray.
My professor wrote to me, suggesting I go home because he thought things would get worse. The problems for me with going home now include: 1) feeling like I am abandoning my students, although in reality I can do little to help them; 2) the strong likelihood of not being able to return, at least for a long, long time if the military hangs on; 3) I still am teaching now, even if it is outside the university; and, 4) I have a comfortable life with some purpose, if a bit boring at the moment.
However, if it gets dicey, we really cannot move about at all, and they are rounding up foreigners, I’ll likely try to get a flight out. It isn’t easy, as very few come through the airport now. A special flight for Americans voluntarily leaving was arranged by the Embassy and left this morning. I’d guess they’ll attempt the same again if things get truly wild for us and there is a mandatory evacuation order. I’ll pack a grab-bag today and a couple of suitcases so I can go quickly if needed.
It is very cold in Maine at present so it’s likely I’d go to Berkeley for awhile and stay with friends. Living out of a suitcase when not truly on vacation gets old after a week, though. And houseguests, like fish, stink after 4 days, according to Benjamin Franklin.
It makes me think of what young war correspondents endure—-and seek. I am sure, after the initial terror, there is an adrenaline high. Lots of alcohol-fueled debriefing in smokey bars, lots of intense, anxiety-driven couplings. I can see the appeal but it isn’t strong enough for me to seek it. I have more to do and don’t want to become a random, useless casualty, wounded or worse. My description is more dramatic than the reality, since so far we’ve felt no threat. It is not yet a war zone, outside of the protest centers. At night we have begun locking the metal gate covering our front entrance. And this is the first day we’ve heard such sustained bursts of gunfire repeatedly.
Hearing that the ports are closed, medications may become difficult to purchase. Yesterday I walked to Golden Bell Pharmacy on Shwegondaing yesterday to get my ACE inhibitors. Going and coming I passed the entrance to Dhammazedi Road which was blocked off with barriers and police; underneath the flyover was a huge gathering of protesters. The flyover both shielded them from the sun and amplified their songs and chants dramatically. On the way to the pharmacy, I waved to the police but they didn’t wave back. Then I realized I had on my red “Fight For Democracy” face mask. On my return, I was the only person walking across a 100×100 foot expanse of empty asphalt dividing the protesters from the police. I couldn’t resist and turned to the protesters and raised and waved the 3 finger salute (from “The Hunger Games”) that is standard for the protest. I wondered if I would attract more police attention than I might want, but I didn’t. In retrospect, I am glad it was police, not the military.
It is so difficult to know how this might play out. A slow burn, as the military keeps upping the ante and the protesters fatigue with the intimidation, casualties, and limited funding/food? A counter-coup within the military by those officers sick of seeing their countrymen/women killed and injured? Armed intervention by the rural militias—Kachin, Shan, Karen—who may see this as their only chance for a new Constitution embracing a Federalism which allows them partial autonomy? It all feels like it’s heading for chaos, bloodletting, and civil war, if that is what you call conflict by a people against their military rulers.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I read an interesting piece in the NYT today about Madison Cawthorn, a 25yo newly-elected Representative from N. Carolina. A college drop-out (1 semester, all D’s), deemed a sexual predator in an open letter by 150 of his classmates, a shameless liar about his past along the Trump lines, and a DT-for-ever acolyte, spewing nonsense and Trump-like vitriol. In our House of Representatives? Really, western North Carolina? DT announced that he had “a great future”.
Meanwhile, it is a quiet Sunday afternoon. I was going to have beers with a friend on her poolside patio today at 5 but the Embassy has said that none of us should go out. I did hear a lot of loud machinery moving slowly down Kabah Aye yesterday morning; it sounded to me like an armored column, but what do I know? Rumors abound.
Note: After I finished writing this post news arrived that another girl has been shot and killed in the Hledan protest and 4 wounded.
Note: 17 were killed by the military in Myanmar today. Many were wounded, many were arrested for peaceful protesting. 30 doctors were arrested for their part in the CDM (Civil Disobedience Movement).
A Psychiatrist in Myanmar 