Saw El Kalu Taw — The man unloading boats coming across the fast-flowing Thaungyin (Moei) River from Thailand to a liberated area of Karen State used to be a teacher before he joined the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) shortly after the February 2021 coup.

He actively led post-coup protests in Karen State and advocated for the CDM, which made him a target for the junta authorities. In April 2021, three months after the coup, he sought refuge in a liberated area controlled by the Karen National Union (KNU) and has remained there ever since.

His previous career is acknowledged in his nom de guerre of Kyaung Sayar, which means teacher. He was one of the first CDM participants to reach the liberated area and now he helps other CDM participants to settle in and  find ways to earn a living after they arrive.

The CDM movement started in response to the 1 February 2021 coup. Those who joined the CDM were people employed by the state, such as educational and health professionals and civil servants. These included teachers, doctors, nurses and people working in administration departments.

CDM participants refused to work for the junta government and went on ‘strike’. This effectively meant that they lost their jobs and income because they have pledged not to return to work until the junta is overthrown. Also, in many cases their employers will have done their best to hire replacements for them. This means CDM participants have to find alternative ways to support themselves and their families, which can be hard.

The junta blacklists and persecutes CDM participants in an effort to get them to return to work. Ways the junta has punished CDM participants have included imprisoning them and their family members. They are also forbidden from travelling abroad. As a result many CDM participants have fled to areas out of the junta’s control, such as the liberated area of Karen State where Kyaung Sayar is staying, or neighbouring countries such as Thailand, which they have to illegally cross into.

In the early days following the coup, CDM participants received a lot of aid that helped support them, but as time has gone by, the amount of aid coming in for CDM participants has gradually diminished, presenting them with significant challenges, especially those trying to survive in unfamiliar places such as the liberated areas of Karen State.

Kyaung Sayar said: “CDM participants had a lot of support in the early days of the revolution. The officials in the areas where CDM [participants] are sheltering provided them with a significant amount of food and other aid. At that time, funding wasn't too difficult to obtain. When CDM [participants] were receiving food supplies, they didn't face many hardships. However, as that aid decreased, CDM [participants] had to find their own sources of income. CDM [participants] who migrated from distant areas encounter difficulties working in their current locations compared to locals.”

He knows how hard it can be for CDM participants used to working in white collar jobs in urban areas to adjust to living and finding work when they move to the Karen State liberated area.

When Kyaung Sayar first moved to the Karen State liberated area he lived for a short while in a camp especially set up for CDM participants. Fortunately he could also do carpentry, so he soon found work as a carpenter. During that time he would also earn extra income from smuggling cattle across the Thaungyin River into Thailand and working as a cattle herder.

He said: “I have friends among the cattle traders. Through their contacts, some young CDM [participants] and I worked as cattle herders and transporters. But later, that business ran into various obstacles, making it harder for CDM [participants] to earn an income.”

He was fortunate that he could easily move from working as a teacher to doing physically demanding jobs and being single had no family to support.

Some of the arrivals to the liberated are are not as fortunate and find it harder to adapt. So, Kyaung Sayar made it his mission to help newly arrived CDM participants having difficulties. He is currently helping over 100 of them.

Currently he has a crew of CDM participants working under him carrying and transporting goods along the banks of the Thaungyin River. The work helps the CDM participants to earn a living, but some find it hard and tiring working outside in all weathers, doing work for which they do not have the necessary skills. As a result some are suffering from illness and psychological problems, according to Kyaung Sayar.

He said: “Some are people who used to work in offices with a pen and they have found themselves in this harsh situation due to a significant turning point in their lives, and they suffer more than others from the effects of this change. Businessmen, traders, and those returning from Bangkok often treat them as coolies, which only adds to their pain. In fact, they are completely undeserving of such disdain.”

He added that despite these difficulties and hardships the CDM participants want to be independent and do not want to rely on assistance from the public or become a burden on the revolution.

Kyaung Sayar has helped CDM participants from many backgrounds, including former staff from the police, army, civil service and education sectors get work so that they can support themselves and their families.

One of his friends said: “First impressions of him [Kyaung Sayar] are that he is tough and speaks frankly, but he is a genuinely kind person. Many CDMs here rely on him, and he is the main leader. Everyone has always accepted his decisions unconditionally.”

Kyaung Sayar understands the hardships faced by the CDM participants arriving in the liberated area and he believes what he is doing to help them is his contribution to the revolution and he does it because of strongly held political beliefs.

Because of those beliefs and because Kyaung Sayar believes the CDM participants need his help he has refused offers to relocate elsewhere where he might have a better future.

He said: “I haven't received any support from anyone for my livelihood, nor have I asked for help. My siblings live in Bangkok, and I could leave for there right now for my own welfare. But I truly want to stay here. Having witnessed the hardships faced by CDM families up close, I want to be with them and support them.”

Kyaung Sayar believes that people joining the CDM have helped the revolution and those people should not be forgotten for the sacrifices they have made and the hardships they have endured.

He said: “I firmly believe that this revolution will succeed because the public stands with us. However, I don’t want people to forget that there are many who sacrifice greatly without recognition. I urge the relevant authorities to acknowledge the sacrifices made by CDM staff, after the revolution is successful.”

Since the 1 February 2021 coup more than 400,000 people have registered as CDM participants with the National Unity Government (NUG).

Edited by Mark Inkey