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Medics and medical college students maintain placards throughout an anti-regime protest in Naypyitaw in February 2021. / The Irrawaddy
By Yuzana 21 November 2022
It has been practically two years since Tracy final noticed her mother and father. She left her household in Yangon, the place she was in her last yr on the College of Drugs (1), at some point after celebrating her twenty third birthday in February 2021.
Now 24, Tracy is amongst many in Myanmar’s younger era who’ve traded snug city lives and promising futures for a tricky jungle existence with the anti-regime resistance.
The regime’s lethal crackdowns on peaceable protests after the February 2021 coup drove multitudes of younger folks like Tracy to hunt refuge in areas managed by ethnic armed teams who reject navy rule.
Some at the moment are combating with the ethnic resistance forces, whereas others, like Tracy, are making important contributions with what they’ve realized, offering medical care to comrades and locals.
Tracy now lives in Karenni State (Kayah State), which has been rocked by every day clashes between regime troops and ethnic armed forces since Might final yr.
Like many others throughout Myanmar, she took half within the 2021 anti-junta protests following the coup. As a secretary of her scholar union, she joined the nationwide strikes to protest navy rule. Nonetheless, she fled after regime troops raided her home and tried to detain her on an incitement cost.
“I made a decision I might preserve struggling towards the regime for so long as the revolution existed. So I left Yangon,” Tracy instructed The Irrawaddy.
“I can’t stand by and simply watch this injustice. I don’t need the way forward for our folks to be misplaced. I’ll do no matter I can to withstand this dictatorship,” she mentioned.
Tracy arrived at Demoso township in Karenni State and started working as a medic for Folks’s Protection Pressure (PDF) members, residents and internally displaced folks (IDPs). She additionally helps to distribute studying supplies for college kids in distant areas of the township and gives well being schooling in faculties below the parallel civilian Nationwide Unity Authorities.
She arranges meals provides for IDP camps with help from Yangon Medical College 1 seniors and the general public. Furthermore, she and her colleagues have arrange cell medical companies of their space.
A clinic of their space has now been upgraded to a hospital able to conducting several types of surgical procedure. Tracy mentioned the hospital is working with help from her college seniors, NGOs that don’t wish to be named, public volunteers and the NUG’s Well being Ministry.
The hospital sees greater than a dozen badly wounded sufferers after each conflict between regime troops and resistance forces. At these occasions, Tracy and her colleagues carry out surgical procedure each day and night time.
“Sufferers arrive within the working theatre with lacking legs, palms or with gaping stomach wounds,” she mentioned of injured resistance members.
She remembers one younger comrade wheeled in with catastrophic abdomen wounds after being hit by regime artillery. Tracy and different docs operated on the youth regardless of figuring out his probability of survival was low. He emerged from surgical procedure alive after six hours of determined battle, solely to die half-hour later.
Tracy mentioned she and her colleagues have been nearly damaged by their grief when he died.
“I felt distraught over the wrestle of the younger resistance fighter. On the identical time, I really feel hatred, disgust and anger on the sit-khwe [junta military “dogs”] and the individuals who work for them” she mentioned, her voice cracking with emotion.
Tracy admitted to unhappiness at being parted from her mother and father, who help her choice to affix the resistance.
“After I get depressed, I simply take into consideration the sacrifice being made by resistance fighters. They provide their lives and so they by no means see their mother and father once more,” she instructed The Irrawaddy.
It’s not simply PDF combatants who depend upon Tracy and her colleagues, but additionally civilians and IDPs within the space. Civilian residents get injured in frequent junta artillery assaults on their villages, which additionally destroy properties. In the meantime IDPs in native camps typically endure poor well being and emergencies by lack of humanitarian help.
IDP camps have inadequate blankets, which leaves youngsters liable to pneumonia within the chilly climate, whereas lack of unpolluted water means many residents endure diarrhea. In the meantime, older IDPs with power circumstances like hypertension, coronary heart illness and diabetes typically arrive on the hospital desperately ailing attributable to drugs shortages.
“We maintain them day and night time. In the event that they recuperate from their life-threatening situation, we’re very completely happy,” she mentioned.
Like Tracy, Julia travels round an ethnic space offering well being companies to civilians and ethnic armed combatants, in Chin State.
The energy of CDM medics
Julia, 33, was a civil servant within the public well being division in Mindat Township, Chin State, earlier than the navy took energy. In late February 2021, she and her pals joined the Civil Disobedience Motion (CDM). Well being employees nationwide have been the primary professionals to go on strike in protest towards navy dictatorship. Medics from authorities hospitals throughout the nation participated in every day anti-coup protests and rejected the regime by hanging CDM hospital banners.
Myanmar’s well being system floor to a halt as 60,000 of the nation’s 110,000 well being employees joined the CDM.
Almost 5,000 of the CDM well being employees at the moment are working amongst resistance teams below the shadow civilian Nationwide Unity Authorities (NUG), based on the CDM Medical Community, which compiles lists of well being employees. They embrace 320 specialist docs, 560 nurses, 1,554 primary well being employees, and volunteers, based on the NUG.
Julia is amongst them, having served each in a resistance group’s base camp and in addition in distant areas of Mindat township. Beforehand, she had labored on the Ministry of Well being for 10 years.
“I joined the CDM motion as a result of I strongly oppose and condemn the coup,” Julia instructed The Irrawaddy.
She and her pals had opened a CDM clinic simply earlier than Might 2021, when the clashes erupted in Mindat. She then moved to a distant space the place Chin Protection Forces (Mindat) have been combating regime troops.
She and the opposite 5 well being employees served on the entrance line for 14 days in Might 2021.
“Our aspect suffered casualties due to a scarcity of weapons. I used a whole lot of bandages on comrades who have been badly wounded and bleeding profusely,” Julia recalled of the battles.
Having by no means skilled fight circumstances earlier than, she was scared at first. However she overcame the worry by specializing in treating CDF comrades injured in battle.
She recollects seeing a tarpaulin on the bottom soaked so closely with the blood of wounded combatants that well being workers couldn’t sit down.
“One comrade was killed by a shell that shattered his cranium. Others suffered smashed jaws or bullet fragments lodged of their legs. I felt sorry for them, these youths who needed to take up arms as an alternative of pens,” she muttered.
Away from the entrance line, she gives well being companies at CDF base camps. She mentioned many resistance fighters endure from kidney stones as a result of the water shouldn’t be clear. Some additionally fall sick due to the dangerous climate and coaching.
She is at all times prepared if wanted on the entrance line. In the meantime, she gives maternity and baby well being companies, her area of experience, in distant villages within the township.
She faces many difficulties as a result of these distant rural villages do not need sufficient medical gear.
“Earlier than the coup, we supplied full companies as a division.
However since final yr we’ve been doing this work on our personal. Because the coup, we’ve encountered an absence of apparatus and insufficient drugs,” she defined of the challenges in public well being provision.
Nonetheless, Julia and different CDM medics stay decided to supply well being companies for areas below their care.
Doe Myae Medical Group
The Doe Myae Medical Group was fashioned by CDM well being workers three months in the past to supply healthcare companies in western Sagaing Area, an anti-regime stronghold. The crew is working for each IDPs and resistance forces.
Ko Myat Thu, 36, is the CDM medic who based Doe Myae Medical Group.
He labored as a public well being official for greater than 18 years earlier than becoming a member of the CDM motion on February 3, 2021 – two days after the navy takeover.
“Our driving drive to affix the CDM motion was the coup,” Ko Myat Thu instructed The Irrawaddy.
Like different CDM medics, he has traveled round villages offering primary well being care to the populace since final yr. He and his colleagues have prolonged these companies to PDF members within the final three months.
Ko Myat Thu and two different medics have stationed themselves simply behind the battle traces to present first help to wounded comrades. Significantly wounded combatants are transferred to the hospital in resistance-controlled territory.
He has seen many younger resistance fighters killed, or lose legs and palms in battle.
“There may be extra ache than pleasure right here,” he mentioned quietly.
His household worries for him, however he additionally worries for them – regime troops launch artillery assaults on villages in his area nearly every day.
The junta’s air drive additionally carries out frequent airstrikes within the area.
“If the planes come, we will’t do something. We have now to run,” Ko Myat Thu mentioned.
CDM medics unbeaten and unbowed
Having arrange public well being protection of their respective areas by themselves, the CDM medical workers are decided to maintain doing their jobs regardless of shortages of medicines and different requirements.
“I’ll proceed to struggle with my comrades till the revolution ends. After the revolution, I’ll return to my division,” Ko Myat Thu instructed The Irrawaddy.
Julia strongly believes the wrestle towards navy rule will succeed as a result of the general public and the resistance are combating a righteous struggle.
“We’ll inevitably succeed, however it can take time. I gained’t abandon my fallen comrades, I’ll struggle towards the navy to the tip,” she mentioned.
The medics additionally requested the general public to donate to their medical groups across the nation, as they supply well being companies not simply to PDF camps but additionally IDP camps and civilian areas.
Tracy urged folks to not loosen up below navy rule however to take part in any approach they might to help the revolutionary forces.
“We’re struggling to complete the revolution as shortly as potential. I wish to ask you to be a part of this wrestle.”
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