SNA (Melbourne) — Amidst political chaos, military violence, and a lethal pandemic, some Myanmarese are lining up in the thousands to go out of their homes, onto the streets, and to risk their lives.

In February, the National League for Democracy, led by Aung San Suu Kyi, which had won the general elections, was overthrown by a military junta led by General Min Aung Hlaing. The soldiers claimed, with scant evidence, that the elections had been rigged.

Since that time, many ordinary Myanmarese have put their lives on the line, protesting against the junta both within the country and without.

The military’s response has been to meet many of these protests with violence and repression. The junta has used water cannons, rubber bullets, and actual bullets in its attempts to quell the protests. Since February, a curfew was imposed which orders people to stay home from 8pm to 4am and any gatherings of more than five people are deemed to be illegal.

Over 3,300 people have been detained by the junta, and at least 700 people have lost their lives.

The protests and the civil disobedience actions, however, have continued.

The political crisis has been compounded by the Covid pandemic, especially since the arrival of the Delta Variant in mid-June.

This is especially so because many healthcare workers, perhaps half of them, are engaging in civil disobedience against the junta protesters by refusing to come to work.

There is a near collapse of the nation’s healthcare system. Covid testing and vaccination efforts have slowed to a crawl.

No one is really sure what are the true numbers of infected and the death toll in Myanmar. The partial data that is available puts infection numbers since the beginning of the pandemic at over 370,000 cases and the death toll at over 14,000 people.

Overcrowding at cemeteries and crematoriums suggest to many observers, however, that the real impact is much worse than the official numbers.

While the military has restricted sales of oxygen cylinders to members of the public, they have become one of the most precious commodities for families trying to provide their own makeshift emergency medical services amidst the pandemic.

Myanmarese are thus caught between the military bullets and coronavirus suffocation. Many seem to believe that given that horrific choice, it’s better to die by the gun.

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