Posted on Jun 9, 2021
He Used His Poetry To Speak Out Against Myanmar's Coup. It May Have Cost Him His Life
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https://www.npr.org/2021/06/09/ [login to see] /a-poet-raised-his-voice-against-myanmars-coup-then-he-was-taken-away-now-hes-dea
Khet Thi made cakes, ice cream and poetry. The latter may have cost him his life.
He died in police custody in Myanmar early last month. The authorities say the cause was heart failure. His widow says he was beaten to death.
A civil engineer by training, the 43-year-old quit his civil service job in the central Myanmar town of Shwebo in 2012 and opened a cake and ice cream shop to support his poetry.
"Before the coup, he wrote poems about love, about life," says his friend Nyein Chan, another poet. "But after, all he wrote about was the revolution."
The revolution is what Nyein Chan calls the resistance to Feb. 1 coup that abruptly ended Myanmar's decade-long experiment with civilian rule. Four months later, that resistance continues to grow. So does the list of civilians killed by security forces.
The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners Burma, an advocacy group, puts the figure at more than 850 — including Khet Thi. Well known in the restive Sagaing region, he wrote perhaps his most famous poem after security forces killed a close friend — another poet — with a bullet to the head in March.
Khet Thi made cakes, ice cream and poetry. The latter may have cost him his life.
He died in police custody in Myanmar early last month. The authorities say the cause was heart failure. His widow says he was beaten to death.
A civil engineer by training, the 43-year-old quit his civil service job in the central Myanmar town of Shwebo in 2012 and opened a cake and ice cream shop to support his poetry.
"Before the coup, he wrote poems about love, about life," says his friend Nyein Chan, another poet. "But after, all he wrote about was the revolution."
The revolution is what Nyein Chan calls the resistance to Feb. 1 coup that abruptly ended Myanmar's decade-long experiment with civilian rule. Four months later, that resistance continues to grow. So does the list of civilians killed by security forces.
The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners Burma, an advocacy group, puts the figure at more than 850 — including Khet Thi. Well known in the restive Sagaing region, he wrote perhaps his most famous poem after security forces killed a close friend — another poet — with a bullet to the head in March.
He Used His Poetry To Speak Out Against Myanmar's Coup. It May Have Cost Him His Life
Posted from npr.org
Yangon
Poetry
Posted >1 y ago
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