- Published
"One day we will get our freedom back."
asserted
we → publish → freedom
The 22-year-old has spent much of his adult life fighting for it.
asserted
old → spend → it
But now, after five years of civil war in Myanmar, he has had enough of war and political struggle.
asserted
he → have → war
I want to help our people as much as I can.
asserted
I → want → people
But I choose another way.
asserted
I → choose → way
The young man is part of a huge exodus of people from Myanmar seeking sanctuary in the Thai border town of Mae Sot.
asserted
man → seek → Sot
He spoke to the BBC from a small, dark room tucked away down a back street – one of a network of safe houses set up by charities to help new arrivals.
asserted
He → speak → arrivals
Most have very little.
asserted
Most → have → little
They are exhausted, traumatised by their experiences in Myanmar, and very vulnerable.
asserted
They → exhaust → Myanmar
He was 17 when he joined the nationwide protests against the military coup in Myanmar in 2021.
asserted
he → join → 2021
When these were crushed by the army, like many young protesters he travelled to an area controlled by ethnic insurgents to get military training.
asserted
he → crush → training
He returned to Yangon as part of an urban guerrilla squad, planting bombs outside targets like police stations.
asserted
He → return → stations
"I thought then that non-violent protests were not the right way to get back our freedom."
But he was soon caught and sentenced to seven years in Insein prison, notorious for its brutal treatment of inmates.
asserted
he → think → inmates
He was released last year, and fled to Mae Sot because of the intense police surveillance of his family at their home in Yangon.
asserted
He → release → Yangon
It is for their sake that he does not want to use his name.
asserted
he → want → name
For the millions of Burmese who have risked their lives and left their homes to oppose military rule, these are disheartening times.
asserted
these → risk → rule
They have been dreaming of a revolution which will remake Myanmar as a more democratic and inclusive country, and purge the armed forces from politics.
asserted
which → dream → politics
Instead, they are watching the man they hold responsible for igniting the civil war strengthen his hold on power.
asserted
they → watch → power
Last month Myanmar's military ruler General Min Aung Hlaing was given a red-carpet welcome by China's Xi Jinping, capping a joint effort by both countries to transform his image from blood-stained dictator to civilian president, increasingly accepted, if not respected, by neighbouring countries.
asserted
ruler → give → countries
Chinese diplomatic and military support has been critical in helping the man who deposed the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021 to recover from the catastrophic consequences of his coup.
asserted
who → help → coup
Over the past year the military junta recaptured much of the territory it had lost to the hundreds of insurgent groups which formed to resist the coup.
asserted
which → recapture → coup
A stage-managed election earlier this year, from which the main opposition groups were excluded, has now allowed Min Aung Hlaing to present himself as a legitimate, elected leader.
asserted
Hlaing → manage → leader
So where does that leave those who had hoped for a very different future?
asserted
who → leave → future
Many are effectively trapped in Mae Sot.
asserted
Many → trap → Sot
The town is the main gateway for trade between Myanmar and Thailand, and has always had a large, though fluctuating Burmese population.
asserted
town → have → population
This has been swollen by refugees since the coup.
asserted
This → swell → coup
But you rarely see them outside.
asserted
you → see → them
They got here unofficially, by crossing the narrow Moei river which marks the border, and live in constant fear of arrest and deportation by the Thai police.
asserted
which → get → police
They also fear reprisals against family members back in Myanmar.
asserted
They → fear → Myanmar
One former army officer, who defected to the opposition three years ago, told the BBC she only dares leave the room she rents in Mae Sot twice a month.
asserted
she → defect → Sot
For those who have just arrived, the safe houses offer them short-term shelter, usually for a maximum of six months.
asserted
houses → arrive → months
These are warrens of small rooms with basic communal facilities, hidden down the city's smaller side-streets.
asserted
These → hide → streets
The young urban guerilla who was imprisoned in Insein jail described routine torture and sexual assault by the guards.
asserted
who → imprison → guards
He also says prison was where he had a change of heart about the struggle.
asserted
he → say → struggle
"I had hoped the revolution would be better.
asserted
revolution → hop → ?
But they did not unite at all [the insurgent groups], they fought each other and I did not like that situation.
asserted
I → unite → situation
I saw many casualties from the war, and I could not bear to see things like that."
uncertain
I → see → that
As the eldest child, he also felt he couldn't risk his life and abandon his family.
asserted
he → feel → family
"So I gave up the armed struggle – not only the armed struggle but other kinds of struggle too, like in politics.
asserted
I → give → politics
I want to help our people in another way."
asserted
I → want → way
…and 65 more, not listed.
The Aporia
