Hope in the eyes of Deng Jia Xi, known as Angel, when she voted with her father
On November 8, Kyal Sin proudly shared photos of herself hugging her father and kissing the tip of her pinky finger which had been stained purple to show that she had voted in Myanmar’s elections.
“My very first vote, from the bottom of my heart,” the 18-year-old, also known as Angel and by her Chinese name Deng Jia Xi, posted on Facebook, alongside six emoji red hearts. “I did my duty for my country.”
It was that sense of duty and her sensitivity to injustice that drove her onto the streets, despite the escalating dangers, to protest against the military coup that annulled the election results and her cherished vote, her aunt Ma Aye Aye told The Telegraph.
On Wednesday, Angel was pictured among protesters defiantly facing down armed security forces in Mandalay, shouting, according to one eyewitness “we won’t run, and our blood must not be shed.”
Minutes later she lay dead from a shot to the head, one of dozens brutally mown down that day by the military and police.
Hundreds attended Angel's funeral in Mandalay on Thursday
Credit: Kaung Zaw Hein/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
“We will always be proud of our little girl for sacrificing her life for Myanmar,” said Ma Aye Aye. “She will be dearly missed, and she is one of the heroes. I’m sad because she is my niece but I’m proud of her at the same time.”
On Thursday, Michelle Bachelet, the United Nations human rights chief, told the junta to stop murdering and jailing protesters. Her office has documented at least 54 deaths and hundreds of injuries, although it has warned the actual toll could be much higher.
“Everything points to troops adopting shoot to kill tactics to suppress the protests, and with silence from the military administration, there is a growing consensus that this has been authorised by the government,” said Amnesty International’s Emerlynne Gil.
But the rising risks of death, injury or arrest have not deterred the mass protest movement, many of them, like Angel, from the younger Generation Z.
Having grown up during the country’s democratic transition, they are instead writing their blood groups and emergency contacts on their forearms as they step up their fight to preserve their freedoms from military diktats.
Angel was a supporter of Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy party
Hundreds of mourners attended Thursday’s funeral for Angel, who has emerged as a symbol of resistance against a junta that has no qualms about turning its guns on its own people.
The poignancy of her final moments, captured in now viral photos and video, has gripped a population willing to defy the state’s use of lethal force. “Everything will be OK,” the message visible on her black T-shirt as she took cover on the day she died, has been adopted as a protest slogan.
Angel, an only child, was a “Daddy’s girl” who used the skills she learned at the beauty salon where she worked to dye his whitening hair, said her aunt.
Before the coup, she was not overtly political in her social media posts. Like many teenagers, she posted selfies, about birthday parties with friends, and videos that showed off her talent for singing and dancing. She was dancer at Mandalay’s DA-Star Dance Club, and an expert in Taekwondo.
“Angel wanted to be a singer. She loved red lipstick and her favourite colour was black. Her Burmese name Kyal Sin means Star in English,” recalled her close friend Cho Nwe Oo. “For me she is a fallen Angel and fallen star. But she will remain in our hearts.”
RIP Ma Kyal Sin. One of many shot by the Myanmar military today. I'm so sad & wish that I could do more than paint these pictures. Int'l community don't look away. Keep the pressure on. It is the least we can do for the people of Myanmar. #MilkTeaAlliance #WhatsHappeningInMyanmar pic.twitter.com/FsjfUmYhf1
— Tams Lu (@tamyumkung) March 3, 2021
After the military seized power, Angel began to express her support online for arrested civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her ruling National League for Democracy, who the generals accused of cheating to win the election, despite no evidence to support this claim.
At street protests, she waved the red NLD flag, and wore a red face mask. In one set of Facebook pictures, she posed as her father tied a red ribbon to her wrist.
At first the rallies were festive, but she kept attending as the mood darkened and the junta deployed combat troops with assault rifles alongside police. She was not naïve to the dangers, and made a request to donate her body in the event of her death.
Ye Htet, a photographer who was in the crowd when she was fatally shot, said he heard her chanting “we must win.” She had shown no fear, he said. “She did her best. We will never forget her.”
Min Bo, another friend, described her as “strong, very energised and innocent.” He said her killing had spurred him to keep opposing the junta.
“I respect her for being brave in the defence line. I won’t let her life be in vain. We will fight this revolution to win. We must win,” he said.
Before the coup, Angel was a normal teenager who loved dancing, singing and taekwondo
More than 1,500 have been arrested since the coup – many in terrifying night raids – but the intimidation and violence have not stemmed the swell of protests, and crowds amassed again on Friday.
“We are a fearless generation. Their brutal crackdown means they are losing. If we stop going out on the street for protests, the gunpoint will arrive at everyone’s door…It’s better to die than to live under the junta,” said Thuzar New, 20, a protesting student.
The US this week unveiled new measures to punish Myanmar’s army, blocking the ministries of defence and home affairs and top military conglomerates from certain types of trade.
On Friday, the UK will chair a closed-door session of the United Nations Security Council to try to find a solution to the crisis.
But Aung Htet Naing, a 23-year-old protester said Myanmar’s younger generation was not relying on the international community to be rescued.
“We will never give up. Finally, justice must come at some point and the regime must step down. I don’t think the UN and US will come and help us. So, we will fight for ourselves to win this.”
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