Mya Thwe Thwe Khaing
February 11, 2001 — February 19, 2021
Why
A million deaths is a statistic. One death is a tragedy.
I hope this young woman’s death can serve to remind us all of the tragedy that the coup d’etat in Myanmar is turning into.
Mya Thwe Thwe Khaing became a household name in Myanmar after her shooting death sparked national outrage. Pro-democracy protesters and international groups have rallied around her cause.
Who
Mya Thwe Thwe Khaing was born on February 11, 2001, in Myanmar.
Not much information is currently available about her, but she was working at at a grocery store when the military overthrew the country’s democratically-elected government. Mya had voted for the first time in that election, which took place last November 8th. The National League for Democracy won in a landslide.
The morning of February 1st, 2021, the ruling party was deposed by Myanmar’s military led by Commander-in-Chief of Defense Services Min Aung Hlaing. He proclaimed a year-long state of emergency and vested power upon himself. A new election would be held at the end of the state of emergency. A week later, a curfew from 8:00 pm to 4:00 am was imposed in major cities, and gatherings of people in public spaces were restricted to…
