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Myanmar’s jungle war: ‘If I don’t die now, when will I?’

Published

1 year ago

August 11, 2023

Myanmar’s jungle war: ‘If I don’t die now, when will I?’

Demoso, Eastern Myanmar – The rebel commander studies a chicken bone in a search for clues as to the fate of his coming attack against the Myanmar military.

Scraggly bearded Reh Du, 27, frowns. The signs from the bone are mixed.

Nevertheless, his underlying confidence in the plan of attack against Myanmar’s military in the hills of eastern Kayah state is steadfast.

“I believe we will win,” the shrapnel-scarred fighter says after his act of divination – a practice these ethnic Karenni fighters embrace in uncertain times.

“Today or tomorrow,” he says.

Around Reh Du and his prophecy ritual, villagers in the conflict-torn township of Demoso celebrate Karenni new year, dancing under totem poles to the beat of traditional drums and the distant thunder of artillery shells.

Like the other ethnic minorities of Myanmar’s borderlands, the Karenni have fought against persecution by the military for decades in Kayah state, which is located between Myanmar’s capital Naypyidaw and the border with Thailand to the east.

Kayah has also witnessed one of the most coordinated rebellions in the country since Myanmar’s military seized power from an elected government in February 2021.

The brutality of the crackdown on those protesting peacefully against the military’s power grab evoked outrage, which has since boiled into a nationwide revolt.

Ethnic armed groups, such as the Karenni, have provided military training to everyday protesters who have risen against the military under the banner of the People’s Defence Force (PDF).

A striking feature of the uprising has been the range of people leaving from Myanmar’s cities – baristas, fitness instructors, marketing managers – to take part in combat training in the jungle.

As a result, the military government has lost control of most of Kayah, the smallest of Myanmar’s seven states, along with western border areas and even swaths of the military’s traditional recruiting grounds in the Magway and Sagaing regions.

Sporting a fresh tattoo of a Kalashnikov assault rifle on his forearm, ethnic fighter Reh Du is a leading figure in the Karenni Nationalities Defence Force (KNDF) – an ethnic armed group.

Interviewed earlier this year, Reh Du tells Al Jazeera he fights to protect Karenni identity and to maintain the independence of their way of life free from domination by Myanmar’s military and the authorities of the country’s majority Bamar ethnic group.

He spent eight years in a refugee camp, he says, before being jailed under the previous administration of Noble laureate Aung San Suu Kyi for protesting against the construction of a statute of her father and founder of the military, Aung San, in Kayah’s capital Loikaw.

Now Aung San Suu Kyi is herself detained by the military, recently being placed under house arrest and her 33-year jail term on corruption charges reduced by six years.

Reh Du told of worrying that if Aung San Suu Kyi was released, she might call off the uprising and the PDF’s armed operations.

“In Myanmar, the cult of personality is very strong,” he says. “If she says stop, they will stop.”

He also sees a difference in the commitment of fighters with financial means and other options in life compared with those who were grass-roots recruits to the struggle.

Urban recruits to the resistance often drop out, Reh Du says, leaving combat after a time to pursue other paths, such as educational and employment opportunities.

Karenni Nationalities Defence Force (KNDF) recruits watch a demonstration on how to operate weapons during a training session for female special forces members and battalions in 2022 at their base camp in the forest near Demoso in Myanmar’s eastern Kayah state [File: Karenni Nationalities Defence Force/handout/AFP]

“Not only are rich people afraid to die, but our determination is not the same,” he says, telling how working-class Karenni people drive the revolution in Kayah state.

He has lost close friends in battle and he no longer sees his family because he believes the sight of their poverty will weaken his resolve to continue with the armed struggle.

“If you are a revolutionary, you cannot go back home,” he continues, explaining to Al Jazeera how being a fighter had required sacrifice in every aspect of life.

“You will see your family have nothing and you will never get strong. If you are fighting you must stay strong,” he says.

This photo taken on October 16, 2021 shows members of the Karenni Nationalities Defence Force (KNDF) taking part in training at their base camp in the forest near Demoso, in Myanmar's eastern Kayah state. - Young anti-coup recruits line up at a secret camp in Myanmar, hands behind their heads and stomachs braced, waiting for a drill instructor to deliver a punch to toughen them up for their fight against the military. (Photo by STR / AFP) / TO GO WITH MYANMAR-MILITARY-POLITICS-COUP-CONFLICT, FOCUS - TO GO WITH Myanmar-military-politics-coup-conflict, FOCUS — Karenni Nationalities Defence Force members train anti-coup protesters at their base camp in the forest near Demoso, in Myanmar’s eastern Kayah state in 2021 [AFP]

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World

Italian state railways plans 1.3 bln euro investment in solar plant

Published

3 hours ago

December 22, 2024

Press Room

Italian state railways plans 1.3 bln euro investment in solar plant

Italian state railways Ferrovie dello Stato plans to invest 1.3 billion euros ($1.36 billion) in a photovoltaic plant with an initial 1 gigawatt (GW) capacity that would cover 19% of its energy needs by 2029, the CEO said in a newspaper interview.

World

Christmas in Puerto Rico is a 45-day celebration with caroling, festive decorations, family feasts and more

Published

4 hours ago

December 22, 2024

Press Room

Christmas in Puerto Rico is a 45-day celebration with caroling, festive decorations, family feasts and more

Christmas, Navidad in Puerto Rico, extends far beyond Dec. 25.

The island proudly proclaims itself as having the “longest holiday season in the world,” according to the website Discover Puerto Rico.

On average, the holiday festivities in Puerto Rico last about 45 days, per the source, commencing right after Thanksgiving, and stretching all the way through mid-January.

The Christmas season in Puerto Rico typically lasts around 45 days. (iStock)

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The holiday season in Puerto Rico is full of rich traditions beloved by families.

One tradition those who visit Puerto Rico will immediately notice during the holiday season is decorations.

In Puerto Rico, decorations are typically put up by Thanksgiving, and kept up until the season concludes in mid-January, with opportune picture moments at every corner.

Parrandas, Christmas caroling, is a holiday staple.

17 SECRET TRAVEL TIPS FOR FALL AND WINTER THAT AREN’T SO SECRET AFTER ALL

Carolers choose houses of family and friends to visit, typically starting around 10 p.m., performing aguinaldos (traditional Christmas songs), with not only their voices, but often with instruments as well, according to Discover Puerto Rico.

The group you begin caroling with is likely not the same group you end with.

In Puerto Rico, when carolers visit a house, they’ll often stop inside for conversation, food and drink before moving to the next residence.

Coquito is a popular beverage enjoyed during the holiday season in Puerto Rico. Coconut, vanilla and rum are among the ingredients. (Mayra Beltran/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)

Usually, the residences of the house visited will join the group for the next house, according to Discover Puerto Rico.

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A night of serenading loved ones can last quite a while, often stretching into the early morning hours of the following day, according to the source.

The biggest day of the holiday season in Puerto Rico actually isn’t Christmas, but instead, the night before.

In Puerto Rico, Dec. 24 is Nochebuena. On that day, loved ones gather for the exchange of gifts, caroling and a large feast.

Many families will also attend a midnight Mass on the day, known as Misa de Gallo.

FLIGHT ATTENDANTS REVEAL THE SURPRISING DAY TO TRAVEL AHEAD OF THE CHRISTMAS RUSH

After Christmas passes, the festivities go on in Puerto Rico.

Another big event in the holiday lineup is Three Kings Day on Jan. 6, a holiday that “commemorates the visit that the Three Wise Men paid to Jesus after his birth,” according to Discover Puerto Rico.

On the eve of the day, children fill up a shoebox with grass to be left for camels to munch on while the Three Kings leave behind gifts for them, according to PuertoRico.com.

For a particularly festive Three Kings Day, Juana Díaz is the place to go, as it hosts the largest celebration in Puerto Rico for the holiday. In Juana Díaz, there is an annual festival and parade in honor of Three Kings Day that brings together over 25,000 people every year, according to Discover Puerto Rico.

Gifts are primarily exchanged between loved ones on Christmas Eve in Puerto Rico. (iStock)

Then, eight days later is Octavitas, a post-holiday celebration where families get together and celebrate one last time for the season.

The end of the holiday season is marked with the San Sebastián Street Festival.

This festival, spanning over multiple days, takes place in Old San Juan, and is filled with live music, dancing, shopping and parades.

Ashlyn Messier is a writer for Fox News Digital.

World

Small plane crashes into Brazil town popular with tourists, killing 10

Published

4 hours ago

December 22, 2024

Press Room

Small plane crashes into Brazil town popular with tourists, killing 10

Twin-engine plane crashed in largely residential neighborhood of Gramado shortly after takeoff, authorities say.

A small plane has crashed into a tourist hotspot in southern Brazil, killing all 10 people on board and injuring more than a dozen people on the ground, officials have said.

The twin-engine Piper PA-42-1000 hit the chimney of a home and the second floor of a different house before crashing into a shop in a largely residential neighbourhood of Gramado shortly after takeoff from Canela, Brazil’s Civil Defense agency said on Sunday.

Rio Grande do Sul Governor Eduardo Leite told a news conference that the aircraft’s owner and pilot, Luiz Claudio Galeazzi, was killed along with nine members of his family.

Leite said that 17 people on the ground were injured, 12 of whom were still receiving treatment in hospital.

Galeazzi’s company, Galeazzi & Associados, confirmed that its CEO and Galeazzi’s wife and three daughters had died in the crash.

“Luiz Galeazzi will be forever remembered for his dedication to his family and for his remarkable career as a leader of Galeazzi & Associados,” the company said in a post on LinkedIn.

“In this moment of immense pain, Galeazzi & Associados is deeply grateful for the expressions of solidarity and affection received from friends, colleagues and the community. We also sympathize with all those affected by the accident in the region.”

Gramado, located in the Serra Gaucha mountains, is a popular destination for vacationers, especially during the Christmas season.

The crash comes a little more than a year after Brazil suffered its worst air disaster in nearly two decades when a twin-engine plane crashed in the southeastern city of Vinhedo, killing all 62 people on board.