02-03-2021, 10:06 AM
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It's been a day since Myanmar's military launched a coup and detained Aung San Suu Kyi.
But this is not the first time a military coup has taken place in Myanmar, also known as Burma. In fact for many, it's reminiscent of one that took place in the late 1980s.
"It kinda felt like deja vu, it's like we're back to square one," a 25-year-old told the BBC.
Here's what it was like growing up under junta rule.
'I grew up with fear'
Wai Wai Nu was five when her father was snatched before her eyes.
A political activist affiliated with civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, he was bundled up into a truck and taken away.
He may have been freed after a month, but even now, she can remember how she felt that day.
"I grew up with that constant fear," she said. "I was always scared as a child. There were always soldiers outside and I can still picture my father taken away from me. I remember we would put in earphones and listen to the radio very softly."
Wai Wai - who is a Rohingya, one of the most persecuted ethnic minorities in the country - says her father was always being chased.
When she was 10, the family decided to move to the then capital Yangon (Rangoon).
"I did see a bit more liberty in Yangon," she said. "In Rakhine, the majority of the population are Rohingya but in Yangon, it's more multicultural with different languages. But a lot of people in Yangon have no knowledge of what's happening with ethnic minorities."
At that time, life seemed to her to be pretty normal.
"We would go to school then go home. At school, I remember we had to welcome different generals and pay tribute to them. The education system is simply, military propaganda."
But then, when she was 18, her father was targeted again, and the entire family was put into jail, where they remained for seven years.
Her crime? Being the daughter of a political activist.
After she was freed, she went on to go to university and today works as a human rights activist, campaigning especially for equal rights for women and for the Rohingya. pg
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"Growing up, Rakhine state was poor but it wasn't bad, people were still able to run their businesses," she said. "It's not like how it is today."
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