The men stole the country while it was asleep.
asserted
it → steal → country
Min Aung Hlaing and the army seized power before dawn and arrested Myanmar’s de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi, whose party had been due to return to office for a second term.
asserted
party → seize → term
Black military vehicles rolled through the streets of the Potemkin capital Naypyitaw and state TV announced the decade-long reprieve from outright dictatorship was over.
asserted
reprieve → roll → dictatorship
Myanmar’s sweetheart rose on that Monday morning of February 1, 2021, expecting to open her gymnasium for the students she coached.
asserted
she → rise → students
Instead, the coup left her shocked and outraged.
asserted
coup → leave → her
An actor and businesswoman with a national profile, Htar Htet Htet was at the time best-known abroad for being crowned most popular at the Miss Grand International beauty pageant in 2013.
asserted
Htet → know → 2013
Within days, Htar Htet Htet was on the streets of Yangon at the forefront of anti-coup protests as bullets flew.
asserted
bullets → fly → protests
Within months, she earned international headlines and viral attention as the beauty queen taking on the junta.
asserted
she → earn → junta
Now, years later, she has starred in a new film, Ray, that she calls a “95 per cent” accurate account of her story in an effort to keep attention on Myanmar’s slide into civil war and the pain its citizens have endured.
asserted
citizens → star → war
“When I look back, my life feels like a different lifetime,” Htar Htet Htet said.
asserted
Htet → look → lifetime
While she was stunned by the coup, what she couldn’t stomach most was the army’s “bullying”.
asserted
stomach → stun → coup
Confusion and misinformation reigned in the first 72 hours, but by the weekend Htar Htet Htet was among the anti-coup protesters.
asserted
Htet → reign → protesters
In the crackdown that followed, she saw a young student of 16 or 17 shot and killed.
asserted
student → follow → 16
“They just wanted to protest peacefully.
asserted
They → want → ?
We just want our freedom, our future.
asserted
We → want → freedom
But the military, they shot the young child.
asserted
they → shoot → child
A lot of people were arrested and tortured and killed, it was very painful for me.”
asserted
it → arrest → me
By March, it became more dangerous and increasingly personal.
asserted
it → become → March
Given her fame, Htar Htet Htet was noticed at the protests and received threats through her Facebook page.
asserted
Htet → give → page
“They said they would kill me, they’d rape me if they found me.
asserted
they → say → me
I realised it was no longer safe to stay in Yangon, I needed to protect myself.”
asserted
I → realise → myself
Demonstrators were armed mainly with placards and emotions, demanding democracy, justice and freedom.
asserted
Demonstrators → arm → democracy
The army responded with violence and coercion, and clemency only to those who swore obedience.
asserted
who → respond → obedience
“I cannot accept that kind of situation.
asserted
I → accept → situation
That’s why I left my country, I left my home.
asserted
I → ’ → home
It was really painful to me, but why would I say sorry to them?
asserted
I → say → them
Together with her husband, Htar Htet Htet decided to leave town.
asserted
Htet → decide → town
In the jungle, joining a resistance camp in Karen territory near the border with Thailand, life was tough.
asserted
life → join → Thailand
Food was a rationed portion of rice and beans twice a day, power was scarce, and phone or internet connections required a 15-minute march up the mountain.
asserted
connections → ration → mountain
The fighters included many young people who had run away from home.
asserted
who → include → home
Htar Htet Htet put her gymnastics coaching to use when troops needed strength and conditioning training.
asserted
troops → put → training
“Also the little things, the small things, like if they didn’t have water in the toilet then we’d fill it,” she smiles.
asserted
she → have → it
“We try to help everything that we can.
asserted
we → try → everything
“Everyone had the same feeling in the jungle, because we missed our homes, we missed our families, and we missed our friends.”
asserted
we → have → friends
What money they had taken with them was absorbed by the cost of keeping the camp running and fed.
asserted
taken → take → camp
“We spent all our own money as well, so we didn’t have any more funds.
asserted
we → spend → funds
They relied on the goodwill of friends, but resources were soon stretched.
asserted
resources → rely → friends
They hatched a plan to use Htar Htet Htet’s celebrity to their advantage.
asserted
They → hatch → advantage
The photos of the beauty queen hoisting weapons, wearing black “army” gear in the jungle worked; between international news coverage and social media, support flowed in for the resistance.
asserted
support → hoist → resistance
On trips down the mountain for supplies, Htar Htet Htet would be noticed in villages and her movements were tracked.
asserted
movements → notice → villages
…and 14 more, not listed.
The Aporia
