With braided hair, pink plastic clogs and a wide grin, 18-year-old Moe Pyae Sone stands straight before a camera and tells of her decision to leave her family, her school and her village.
“I am from northern Shan state and I’ve come to Kayin state for the revolution,” she says to Radio Free Asia.
Moe Pyae Sone pauses for a moment at an internally displaced people’s camp just south of Myawaddy, where ethnic rebels recently overran military junta positions.
Wearing camouflage pants and a tactical vest over a traditional red garment, she recalls her participation in protests – like so many other young people – against Myanmar’s military junta after the Feb. 1, 2021, coup d’etat.
Knowing of her desire to fight, her parents asked her to remain in school, she says. But in 2022, she secretly sold a pair of earrings to pay for travel expenses.
On the other side of the country – in Chin state – she joined resistance forces and eventually became a trainer.
“In Chin state, I’ve gained combat experience,” she says. “I’ve participated in quite a few battles.
She speaks matter-of-factly and occasionally lets loose with a nervous giggle.
Earlier this year, she made her way to Kayin state to join with another group of anti-junta fighters.
She’s the eldest of three siblings. She says her mother still lives in the same village in Shan state.
“Of course they worry about me,” she says.
Then she jumps in the back of a pickup truck with a half dozen others. She turns around to wave goodbye – still smiling – as they drive off toward a junta outpost.
Edited by Matt Reed.
A man gets 19 years for a downtown St. Louis crash that cost a teen volleyball player her legs
VOX POPULI: Leadership skills of the past are missing in the politics of today
VOX POPULI: ‘Dandara’ puns still entertain amid destroyed shops of Wajima
VOX POPULI: Young texters have rendered punctuation marks obsolete
Nelly Korda 1 shot back through 36 holes at Chevron Championship as she chases 5th straight victory
VOX POPULI: Nikkei index soars but real economy still feels sluggish
VOX POPULI: ‘Dandara’ puns still entertain amid destroyed shops of Wajima
VOX POPULI: Abe faction’s ‘amended’ funds report is simply worthless
Rahul and De Kock pace Lucknow chase in IPL win over Chennai
VOX POPULI: Unlike Taylor Swift, few stars in Japan speak out about politics
Olympic torch makes Acropolis overnight stop a week before handover to Paris organizers
Princess of Wales: Data watchdog 'assessing' Kate privacy breach claims