How the Myanmar coup brought a father and daughter closer together

It wasn't until the Myanmar military overthrew the elected government that Burmese-Australian activist Hnin Win truly understood her father. "I like to explain it this way: he wasn't a good father, but he was my hero," she told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). This duality reflects the complex relationship she had with him, further complicated by his past as an activist.

Hnin recalled, "I didn't meet him until I was 12, and we never really connected. But during the coup, my resentment towards him lessened, and I began to understand why he abandoned me to become an activist." This understanding grew as she witnessed his unwavering commitment to fighting for a better Myanmar, just as he had done in his youth.

On February 1, 2021, the Myanmar military arrested Aung San Suu Kyi and other senior government officials. At the time, Hnin was living in Yangon, Myanmar's largest city. She had moved there from Melbourne in 2015 and opened Father's Office, Yangon's first female-run bar, inspired by Australian pub culture. Myanmar was then enjoying an economic boom after opening up to the outside world and had just held its first democratic elections. This vibrant atmosphere was shattered by the coup.

After the coup, Hnin and her partner went for a walk. To suppress dissent, the junta cut off electricity and mobile internet data, but Hnin said the streets were surprisingly "normal." "Everything was quiet, nothing unusual was happening. Maybe there was a group of people giving a speech on a corner, but that was it." The initial calm belied the storm that was about to break.

However, the calm did not last long. Days later, thousands of protesters took to the streets across the country. Myanmar's young people, wearing bold outfits and holding satirical posters, demanded the restoration of civilian rule and the release of Aung San Suu Kyi. People from all walks of life – health workers, bankers, doctors, teachers – joined the civil disobedience movement. Everyone raised three fingers, giving a "Hunger Games"-style salute. People banged pots and pans, and cars honked in protest. The collective outrage was palpable.

Hnin told her father, Htun Htun Lay Win, who had moved back to Myanmar in 2016, that she was going to join the protests. He replied, "I'm going with you!" Hnin recalled, "Next thing you know, the military started brutally beating and shooting people." The first victim was 20-year-old Mya Thwe Twe Khainga, who was shot in the head. The violence escalated quickly and tragically.

Hnin realized she had to do something. Her home, already a gathering place for journalists, artists, and musicians during the pandemic, became a resistance center overnight. "Adrenaline was pumping, we were all on edge. We hid people in our homes, distributed gas masks, VPNs, and SIM cards," she said. Her home became a transit point for protesters. "People came over, smoked, drank, organized, rested, and left." They held first aid training for 500 people. By the third training session, they were already instructing people on how to transport bodies from the front lines. The situation had become dire, requiring immediate and practical action.

Journalists risked their lives to document developments, many without press vests. Hnin's father offered to help and brought out his old silk-screening tools. Together, they made seven hundred press vests and sent them across Myanmar. Despite the terrifying memories of the coup, it also transformed Hnin's relationship with her father. "I reconnected with my father because of this revolution," she said. The shared experience forged a new bond between them.

Htun Htun Lay Win was a young artist and political activist. In 1988, at the age of 26, he and other university students rose up against the military's brutality and corruption, triggering a military retaliation that resulted in the deaths of 3,000 to 10,000 people. He created resistance art and was a member of the All Burma Students' Democratic Front. Forty-eight days after Hnin was born, her father fled Myanmar to avoid imprisonment, during what became known as the "8888 Uprising," and her mother left a year later, leaving baby Hnin in the care of her grandmother. His past activism deeply influenced his actions during the recent coup.

After her grandmother died in 1999, Hnin met her parents for the first time at the Tham Hin refugee camp in Thailand. Two years later, the family settled in Reservoir, Melbourne, with Hnin's two youngest sisters. Like many, starting over was difficult for Hnin's father. "He was an absent father, always out. When he lost his second job, he became very depressed." He used drugs to numb his pain. The trauma of his past continued to haunt him.

In Yangon, Hnin said she and her father connected during the protests. "We talked about the resistance movement – the differences between his 8888 Uprising and our generation's Spring Revolution," she said. "We have cell phones, we have the internet, they didn't. We're better at organizing. Their protests were made up of students, we have people from all walks of life." They found common ground in their shared commitment to fighting for democracy.

"He was the only person in my family I could talk to about the revolution. My sisters are in Australia, they haven't experienced what we've experienced." Four years after the coup, Hnin has dedicated her life to the cause. A few months after the coup in April 2021, Hnin left Myanmar, but instead of moving back to Australia, she went to Thailand to continue supporting the resistance movement. Now living in the northern city of Chiang Mai, she founded a creative collective called [A New Burma](https://whenweseetheplanes.com/support). She felt compelled to continue the fight, even from afar.

They host exhibitions documenting the atrocities in Myanmar and showcasing the resilience of the people through art and creativity. Since 2022, they have collaborated with over 100 artists and held exhibitions in Bangkok, London, Manchester, and Melbourne. They expose the military's airstrikes and bombings of schools, religious buildings, and villages, and highlight the courage of medics saving lives on the front lines in Karenni State. Hnin also travels overseas to participate in international panels to discuss her work, highlight the plight of the Burmese people, and call for international sanctions. Their efforts aim to raise awareness and garner support for the resistance movement.

This year, A New Burma's art exhibition will pay tribute to the heroes of the four-year civil war. "For the Love of Heroes" will be part of their annual "Can't Stop, Won't Stop" event in Chiang Mai from February 19-22. It will also include a food and craft market, film screenings, and live concerts to celebrate the resilience, culture, and identity of their people. "It's been four years now. We don't know when we'll be able to go home," Hnin said. "But we are sustaining our revolution and our fight in this way. We have to do it. We must never lose who we are." Despite the uncertainty, they remain committed to preserving their culture and fighting for their freedom.

Sadly, Hnin must continue the fight without her hero. Htun Htun Lay Win died of a heart attack in 2023 at the age of 61. "I really wish he was here," Hnin said. "He was the only one in the family who would understand what I'm doing now. But I know he must be proud of me." His legacy lives on through her work and her unwavering dedication to the cause of a free Myanmar.