Daw Sandar Thwin knew starting a new life in exile as a woman in her fifties wouldn’t be easy, but it has proved more difficult than she ever imagined.
Her peaceful family life in Yangon now feels like a distant dream.
Daw Sandar Thwin’s life was turned upside down by the 2021 military coup and ensuing national uprising. But despite imprisonment and numerous hardships, she remains committed to the revolution against dictatorship amid the daily challenges of exile.
In April 2021, Daw Sandar Thwin and her husband, U Thein Htwe Myint, were arrested and sentenced to three years in prison for “inciting anti-regime activities”.
They had been protesting the coup since February 6, 2021, five days after the military ousted the elected National League for Democracy (NLD) government and jailed its leaders. The Yangon couple led the protests in South Okkalapa Township. Their two daughters fled into hiding to avoid arrest on the same charge, leaving the two eldest family members – Daw Sandar Thwin’s father and grandmother – alone in the house.
After nearly three years incarcerated in the notorious Insein Prison, the couple was released in an amnesty on May 2, 2023, just three days before their term was due to expire.
However, their ordeal was far from over.
News that police and the junta-appointed local administrator were searching for them again forced the couple to flee over the border to Thailand in mid-May.
Once a shop owner in her hometown, Daw Sandar Thwin took work in the kitchen of a tea shop in the border town of Mae Sot, while her husband works as a waiter to support themselves and the revolution.
Most of their belongings, including her husband’s car, were sold back in Yangon to fund prison visits by their friends and family.
“Everything is gone,” Daw Sandar Thwin said.
Supporting the revolution
The newly exiled couple struggles daily to make ends meet, but they still send money from their meagre earnings to support People’s Defense Forces (PDFs) back home.
Daw Sandar Thwin lost her grandmother and father during the third wave of Covid-19 while she was in prison. She has also been separated from her elder daughter and beloved grandson. However, she says her sacrifice is nothing compared to that of PDF fighters.
“They are sacrificing their lives for the revolution, so I support them as much as I can.”
Too old to take up arms, she has found another way of joining the revolution.
Assisting women political prisoners
Daw Sandar Thwin and fellow political detainees formed the Women’s Organization of Political Prisoners on January 15 this year to support women jailed for opposing the military regime. She has taken charge of finance for the group, which provides food and medicine to female activists imprisoned across the country.
“Women political prisoners requested our help before we were released, so we saved up money and formed a group to assist them as much as we can,” Daw Sandar Thwin explained.
A total of 5,649 female anti-coup activists were arrested between February 2021 and August 31 this year, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.
The Women’s Organization of Political Prisoners reports that many have been denied family visits and are forced to rely on inadequate prison food.
Daw Sandar Twin is tasked with finding supporters and managing monthly food and medicine supplies for the political prisoners.
“While I was in prison, we shared food with each other. But the junta has now transferred political prisoners to jails where they can’t receive parcels from their families,” she said.
Her organization sent food and medicine to 77 of these women across nine prisons in September and October. Members also sell fried-fish paste – the political prisoners’ main food – to help fund the organization’s efforts.
Hope for the future
Daw Sandar Thwin previously joined the 2007 Saffron Revolution against military rule. Though not a member of the NLD, she expresses deep admiration for its chairwoman, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.
She hung NLD flags on streets and cars at her own expense during the 2020 election, which the NLD won by a landslide before being ousted by the military.
Her 19-year-old daughter, an information officer for South Okkalapa Township’s NLD branch and a Dagon University student union member, woke her at 2 am on February 1, 2021 to share news of the coup, tears streaming down her face.
“Even as dictatorships fell elsewhere in the world, they [Myanmar military leaders] remained crazy for power. We don’t accept that. So, I joined the protests to end military dictatorship,” Daw Sandar Thwin recalled.
Their home became a meeting place for student union members, the photocopier used to churn out anti-junta pamphlets.
Now, she still works to eradicate the military regime despite new physical and mental challenges.
“If I were still young, I would take up arms to fight them [Myanmar soldiers],” Daw Sandar Thwin said.
Desperate for the revolution to succeed, she firmly believes that ending dictatorship is the only path to lasting peace.
Former political prisoner Ma Thuzar praises Daw Sandar Thwin and her husband for their unwavering convictions and calmness amid adversity.
“When I first met them, they were working at a tea shop. Aunty [Daw Sandar Thwin] wasn’t in good health, so Uncle took on most of the work, including the cooking. The way they support each other and face difficulties together is truly admirable,” Ma Thuzar said.
After working at the tea shop for more than a year, Daw Sandar Thwin has taken a break for her health. However, she refuses to give up her efforts for political prisoners and the revolution.
“It doesn’t matter if we never get the chance to return home. We will continue to root out the military dictatorship,” she vowed.
