My phone kept ringing at 8 am on Monday. I missed the first call. I thought my Taiwanese friend had forgotten the time difference between him and me. I was still sleeping when I saw my mother's name floating on the screen. My mother lives in Mandalay in central Myanmar; About 400 miles from Yangon, he had never called so early in the morning.
The first session of Myanmar's newly elected parliament was scheduled to take place a few hours later. Dao (Hon.) Aung San Suu Kyi's party, the National League for Democracy, won more than 80 percent of the vote in last November's election and is awaiting the start of their second term in government. The military, led by Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, has questioned the legitimacy of the election. Most of the conversations I had with family and friends this weekend have been about debating the possibility of a cure.
When I saw my mother calling on the phone, I realized it was a queue. The mother said, ‘You go to your aunt’s house and stay there. Reunite with your family and don’t trust anyone else. ’My grandparents, who belong to a well-to-do community, hid in the homes of various family members during the 1972 coup. The military then overthrew Prime Minister Wen Nour's civilian government in a coup led by General Ne Win.
During the 1966 student uprising against the military dictatorship, my mother and her siblings constantly moved জায়গা street protests and drains; They took refuge in the drain to avoid shots during President Sean Luin's crackdown. Soon after that brutal crackdown, Aung San Suu Kyi formed the National League for Democracy.
Despite winning the 1990 election, Aung San Suu Kyi and other senior NLD leaders were kept in exile. After this coup, the military rebranded their continued rule in the country. There will be no more elections in the country in the next 20 years.
After talking to my mother, I felt sleepy. Gradually I consolidated my body. I tried to call my aunt; But my phone was not working. I was scared. Authorities blocked all mobile phones and the Internet, but did not completely block the Internet.
At one point I realized, my broadband internet was working and I started texting friends of journalists and politicians. They told me as much as they knew. It is learned that the military has already arrested Aung San Suu Kyi and NLD leaders. We shared information and opinions about the rumors. We comforted each other.
My fear was that the authorities might turn off the water and electricity after shutting down the internet and mobile phones. I pumped water from the water tank of the apartment building and charged all the electronic devices, power bank I got at hand. Around 8 am, I left my apartment in Chinatown District. My apartment is only 20 minutes away from City Hall. I wanted to talk to people. The road from my balcony seemed empty; But I did not see any soldiers. I put food for my cats and got out of the house.
Everything is kind of uncomfortable. The monks and nuns are outside, to collect their morning alms. Municipal officials are collecting bribes from street vendors. People were seen buying chrysanthemums and jasmine flowers. I started taking pictures. There is a kind of nervousness working because of holding the camera in hand. When I went to take pictures, I saw someone moving away, someone covering his face with his hands. The NLD flags that used to adorn shops, balconies, car bumpers are no longer visible.
Everyone is crowding the markets. A saleswoman said to another shopkeeper, "I told you, we know them." When I returned home an hour later, the road was still wide. Cure scenes are getting lost and people seem to be panicking. Long crowd in front of banks and cash machines. People are rushing to gold shops to exchange currency for gold. Memories of the old days are haunting them — military currency demonetisation, long crackdowns — all controlling their behavior.
People have also started buying rice. If there is enough rice in the house, you can survive the curfew, you can survive the long-term crackdown. Three-wheeled carts are ferrying 100-pound sacks of rice in my alley. I took about 10 pounds. At around 10 in the morning I locked my apartment and left for my aunt's house. Vendors were still on the streets, but banks and other shops were closed. I arrived at my aunt's house; I saw four sacks of rice weighing 100 pounds near the entrance of the house.