MYANMAR teenager Mya Thwate Thwate Khaing was supposed to be celebrating her 20th birthday today.
Instead, she is fighting for her life in a hospital in the capital Naypyitaw after she was shot in the head when police cracked down on a protest against the military coup.
Myanmar’s army seized power on February 1 and detained elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi, ending a long transition towards democracy and bringing tens of thousands of demonstrators onto the streets.
The shooting of the teenager – the first known serious casualty of the protests – has roused anger across the nation and rallied support for the anti-coup movement, many of whose members are part of a Generation Z who say they refuse to allow another generation to experience military rule.
Mya Thwate Thwate Khaing, a 19-year-old grocery store worker, had traveled with her sisters from a nearby village to Naypyitaw, the army-built capital in the center of the country, for a protest on Tuesday. It was one of dozens in towns and cities across the country.
Police quashed the peaceful protest with water cannon and gunfire. The teenager was struck in the back of the head with a live round as she was fleeing. Doctors do not expect her to survive.
Her brother Ye Htut Aung told Reuters the family – though supportive of the protests – had urged her against going to the demonstration for fear of violence. She insisted.
“It was her spirit,” he said by phone. “She wanted to and I couldn’t stop her.”
The last time he spoke to her, he said, was on a voice call over a poor connection. Neither could get the video to work – the new ruling junta has been stifling internet access.
Ye Htut Aung warned her to stay at the back of the protest and that the police were not to be trusted.
“What are you going to do if they shoot?” he asked.
“No, they wouldn’t,” she replied. “It’s OK. Even if they fire, it should be fine.”
