A Risk-Taker at Risk
Insight Myanmar25 Apr 2021

A Risk-Taker at Risk

“Thurain” (not his real name) had planned to spend the start of 2021 building on his already impressive worldly achievements. Though a “country boy” from birth, he had made his mark in Yangon, establishing not one, but three successful businesses.

But on February 1st, this all came to a crashing halt.

He began attending the nonviolent protests, but eventually decided to lend his skills to the resistance in a different way, in planning. He worked with a small group of people in the interest of safety, so that knowledge of the wider movement wouldn’t rest in any one individual. Unfortunately, one group member was captured, and after being tortured, shared details about the others. The group quickly dispersed, and Thurain remains hiding to this day.

Thurain remains active in the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM), cold-calling civil servants still going to the office and encouraging them to take leave, a high-stakes decision-making process that could literally mean life and death for either party. He also tries to encourage police and soldiers to join the CDM, and works to prevent the military from installing ward officers at the local level, which he feels is the most critical part of the entire struggle.

He admits that he is often terrified, but that he works to calm himself whenever possible. He practices vipassana meditation, which he does even when in the middle of important discussions. If he has the time, he also composes poetry and paints, as those supplies are some of the few luxuries he allows himself while on the run.

Avsnitt(506)

When Spiders Unite

When Spiders Unite

Episode #444: After more than 40 years of Burma advocacy, Larry Dohrs sheds light on the strategies that have exposed corporate and military abuses in the country, inspired meaningful action, and exac...

8 Dec 20252h 24min

Children of the Revolution

Children of the Revolution

Episode #443: Ei, a former member of the People’s Defense Force (PDF), shifted from armed resistance to humanitarian work, and now focuses on child soldiers and youth affected by conflict. She joined ...

5 Dec 20251h 29min

A Scanner Darkly

A Scanner Darkly

Episode #442: Yin Maung, a Myanmar-born digital-rights researcher with Aung Media, examines how non-consensual intimate images have become a political weapon in post-coup Myanmar. He places this crisi...

4 Dec 202552min

Against Injustice

Against Injustice

Episode #441: “I just thought, ‘Someone has to stay and bear witness,’” says Paul Greening, a veteran humanitarian with the International Organization for Migration (IOM). For decades he moved between...

3 Dec 20252h 9min

No Space for Dictators

No Space for Dictators

Episode #440: Rick Hanson and Brang Nan engage in a moving conversation on Myanmar's ongoing struggle for democracy, focusing on psychological resilience, Buddhist practice, and activism. Rick begins ...

1 Dec 20251h 5min

Far From Home

Far From Home

Episode #439: “The key human rights issue within Thailand and more broadly within the region is migration related,” says Ben Harkins, a veteran labor rights and migration expert who has spent over sev...

28 Nov 20252h

Leaving the Tradition

Leaving the Tradition

Episode #438: Jonathan Crowley shares his journey as a practitioner and teacher in the Goenka Vipassana tradition, highlighting the conflicts that eventually led him to step away after 35 years of ded...

27 Nov 20252h 54min

Ghosts in the Machine

Ghosts in the Machine

Episode #437: Researchers Myat Su Thwe, a human-rights scholar, and Kyaw Lwin, a socio-legal specialist, examine how Myanmar’s National Unity Government (NUG) operates digitally after the 2021 coup in...

25 Nov 20252h 14min

Populärt inom Politik & nyheter

motiv
aftonbladet-krim
rss-krimstad
p3-krim
fordomspodden
flashback-forever
spar
aftonbladet-daily
rss-viva-fotboll
blenda-2
rss-sanning-konsekvens
svenska-fall
rss-krimreportrarna
rss-frandfors-horna
rss-vad-fan-hande
olyckan-inifran
rss-flodet
rss-expressen-dok
dagens-eko
svd-dokumentara-berattelser-2