Min Neing, an unemployed 22-year-old economics graduate and member of the National League for Democracy, has taken part in four days of demonstrations in Rangoon
“The whole place is rife with rumours the government’s going to arrest protesters. That’s why I moved from place to place. Close friends of mine have been picked up, either on the street at protests or when the authorities make ‘guestlist checks’. Everyone who’s got someone staying in their home must register them with the local authority. If they’re discovered and they’re not on the list, they’ll get arrested.
“The authorities are also watching houses of known activists. And they’ve got lots of informants to tell them if someone new is living in the neighbourhood. All taxi and trishaw drivers have been warned to inform the MI [military intelligence] or police about strangers, otherwise they’ll lose their licences.
“Before the monks started their demonstrations a week ago I’d taken part in the earlier protests. Each day I’d get up and find out from my friends where the protest would take place. Usually we’d get the information by cellphone. But we had to be really careful. I know my telephone is tapped. We’d always use a simple code to describe when and where it was taking place.
“When there were no demonstrations we produced and distributed pamphlets. We wrote them on a computer and photocopied them. One called on students to join the protests, another urged people to assist and feed the monks, while a third explained about taxes and how the government was spending the people’s money. But we had to be extremely careful and secretive when we made them and distributed them. We handed them out at supermarkets, shopping arcades and schools. It was very dangerous work.
“When the first day of the monks’ protests started on September 18, people were shocked and amazed. They never thought such a thing could happen, but they began to join the monks. People are desperate for political change, but they’re also becoming very poor. I joined them for four days before I had to leave.
“It’s really dangerous for everybody taking part. But it’s vital to be involved in the movement to change the situation in our country … We all know we could easily be arrested and tortured. But we’ve no other choice.
“I’ve just seen so many people in terrible poverty. I absolutely had to do something — anything — to alleviate that hardship. Many people can no longer afford to send their children to school. They can’t even pay for two meals a day for their families now. They’re down to one meal a day, it’s that bad. As a result many are malnourished and they’re falling ill. But then they can’t find the money for medical bills.
“With all of that has come the growing injustice. There are more and more restrictions every day. People have much less freedom than they did before and I couldn’t stand by and watch these mounting problems any more. Sure, we had difficulties before, but the price hikes were the straw that broke the camel’s back. Living standards have gone down and down. The middle classes have become poor, and the poor have become destitute.
“The electricity goes off in Yangon for five or six hours at a time without warning. Now the city’s deserted after 10pm at night except for a few people waiting for the last buses home, if they can afford it. People who work in the city’s industrial zone have to walk to work because they can’t afford the bus fares since the fuel price hikes. That means they’re walking for 45 minutes or an hour, both to and from work.
“The people are both afraid and highly motivated by the desperate situation. But I’m excited. I really believe we have the power to create a new environment in which we can bring about democratic change. The military must go back to their barracks and not be involved in politics. Aung San Suu Kyi can be part of that process. I think she can talk to the military and get them to agree. It was so important for everyone to see pictures of her fit and healthy.” — Â