On 1st February 2021, everything changed for May Aung*.
A student at St Aloysius Gonzaga College (SAG) in Shan State, Myanmar, she harboured ambitions of becoming a teacher.
She thrived in the SAG system, which puts critical thinking and problem-solving classes alongside traditional subjects.
The Covid-19 pandemic brought its challenges, with lessons moved online, but she continued to progress.
Then came the coup.
The Burmese military, the Tatmadaw, seized power, ending a ten-year period of hope and liberalisation and signalling the return of a savage dictatorship.
Schools were closed, the internet was shut down and communities across the country – including May Aung’s – were suddenly in real danger, as civil war loomed.
“My country had entered its darkest time.”
May Aung had the chance to continue her studies, since SAG was not run by the government, but, understandably, her mind was scrambled by recent events.
“My country had entered its darkest time,” she explained.
“Some of my friends had to stop school, so I stopped learning too; to show solidarity.
“I got involved in the [peaceful civilian protests] of the Spring Revolution as much as I could – I wanted to fight against the injustice in Myanmar.”
Soon after the military takeover, May Aung and her family were moved to a camp for internally displaced persons as their village came under fire.
In comparative safety, she and her community still had to regularly seek shelter when potential airstrikes were on the horizon.
She took up a voluntary teaching post, educating children in the camp, and it was this that inspired her to go back to SAG.
“I realised I had to return to my education, as this is the only way to change my country,” May Aung said.
She is now in her third year of studying and, on the weekends, leads classes at local monastery schools.
She still dreams of being a fully qualified teacher and, with the help of SAG, an organisation supported by Jesuit Missions, believes she will realise this.
But while the 23-year-old is grateful for her opportunities, she appreciates that she is among the lucky ones in Myanmar.
She hopes to see more people given the chance to receive an education, more people returned to their homes and, ultimately, peace and freedom for all in her country.
*Name has been changed
Images: Unsplash/Saw Wunna, Pyae Sone Htun
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