She had a job in marketing, enough money to shop in Yangon’s new malls and fuel her quiet dreams of opening a small bakery, as her generation enjoyed unprecedented economic and personal freedoms.
But that was before Myanmar’s short-lived experiment with greater democracy ended in a coup in 2021.
With the military once more in charge, the economy is in free fall, and inflation has surged to well over 20 per cent. The country is mired in an ongoing civil war, which has driven millions to flee from their homes – many of whom are overseas – and forced thousands to pick up arms.
Taya, 24, is among them. She moved to Bangkok in February, fearing a conscription order into the Tatmadaw – as the military is known. The junta announced last year that men aged 18 to 35 and single women aged 18 to 27 would have to serve military service in accordance with a 2010 military conscription law.
“I have lost my future,” she said, as her shift at a downtown bar in the Thai capital ended. Her small bartending wages allow her to avoid fighting for a military that has been killing the pro-democracy rebels she supported.
“I won’t go back. I can’t go back. It’s a trap,” she added. She has requested to be referred to by one name to avoid the junta identifying her.
