With braided hair, pink plastic clogs and a wide grin, 18-year-old Moe Pyae Sone stands straight before a camera and tells of her decision to leave her family, her school and her village.
“I am from northern Shan state and I’ve come to Kayin state for the revolution,” she says to Radio Free Asia.
Moe Pyae Sone pauses for a moment at an internally displaced people’s camp just south of Myawaddy, where ethnic rebels recently overran military junta positions.
Wearing camouflage pants and a tactical vest over a traditional red garment, she recalls her participation in protests – like so many other young people – against Myanmar’s military junta after the Feb. 1, 2021, coup d’etat.
Knowing of her desire to fight, her parents asked her to remain in school, she says. But in 2022, she secretly sold a pair of earrings to pay for travel expenses.
On the other side of the country – in Chin state – she joined resistance forces and eventually became a trainer.
“In Chin state, I’ve gained combat experience,” she says. “I’ve participated in quite a few battles.
She speaks matter-of-factly and occasionally lets loose with a nervous giggle.
Earlier this year, she made her way to Kayin state to join with another group of anti-junta fighters.
She’s the eldest of three siblings. She says her mother still lives in the same village in Shan state.
“Of course they worry about me,” she says.
Then she jumps in the back of a pickup truck with a half dozen others. She turns around to wave goodbye – still smiling – as they drive off toward a junta outpost.
Edited by Matt Reed.
Biden administration restricts oil and gas leasing in Alaska
Diddy takes a call at his Miami mansion
US navy flies aircraft through the Taiwan Strait a day after US
Stock market today: Asian benchmarks are mixed while US seems committed to current rates
PSG loanee Ekitiké scores winner as Eintracht Frankfurt beats Augsburg
Solomon Islanders vote in key election for their country, region — Radio Free Asia
Alison Hammond's son Aidan follows in his mum's footsteps as he lands HUGE new job
Massachusetts official warns AI systems subject to consumer protection, anti
EDEN CONFIDENTIAL: Princess Martha Louise of Norway blasts 'lies' about her love guru fiance
Dutch soccer club Vitesse docked points and relegated during probe of Russian ties to Abramovich
Paul McCartney's psychedelic Wings 1972 double