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Death of Kyal Sin

Kyal Sin at the Protests

Kyal Sin (Burmese: ကြယ်စင်), also known as Angel or by her Chinese name, Deng Jiaxi (邓家希),[1] was a 19-year-old woman from Mandalay who was killed on 3 March 2021 during the 2021 Burmese protests.[2] Kyal Sin emerged as an early martyr and symbol of resistance against the military junta's use of violence to suppress the protest movement.[3][4][5][6][7] She was one of several teenagers and young adults who gave up their lives in the protests.[8][9][10][11][12] As of 13 March, around 60 civilians had lost their lives; more than a third of the dead are teenagers.[13]

Personal background

Kyal Sin was born to a Kokang Chinese mother and a Yunnanese father from Mainland China.[14] She voted for the first time in November 2020.[15]

Kyal Sin was a taekwondo instructor and champion,[16] and worked as a singer and dancer.[17]

Protest and death

During the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, Kyal Sin began to express her support online for arrested civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and the ruling National League for Democracy.[18]

On 3 March 2021, she participated in a protest in Mandalay wearing a black T-shirt emblazoned with Everything will be OK. A photograph of her wearing the T-shirt has become iconic.[19]

During the protest, she is reported to have broken open a water pipe to allow protestors to wash tear gas from their eyes, thrown a tear gas canister back at police, and encouraged protestors to take cover when live rounds were fired.[17]

While she was on the front line of the protest she was shot dead.[20][17] Prior to the event, she had made a Facebook post stating her blood type in case she was injured and her wish for her organs to be donated should she die during the protest.[21]

Her funeral on 4 March 2021 was attended by several thousands of protesters.[22][23]

The next day, authorities went to the cemetery where her remains were buried and exhumed the body for autopsy.[24][25]

References

  1. ^ "缅甸政变:民众上街悼念被枪杀的华裔女子邓家希". Radio Free Asia (in Chinese). Retrieved 2021-05-18.
  2. ^ Beech, Hannah (4 March 2021). "'She Is a Hero': In Myanmar's Protests, Women Are on the Front Lines". The New York Times.
  3. ^ "Grave of slain protester disturbed in Myanmar". Bangkok Post. 6 March 2021.
  4. ^ "'We will not run!': 19-year-old's death inspires Myanmar protesters — and inflames crisis". Los Angeles Times. 4 March 2021.
  5. ^ "'She is a hero': In Myanmar's protests, women are on the frontlines". www.businesstimes.com.sg. 5 March 2021.
  6. ^ "Myanmar mourns killing of anti-coup 'angel'". TRT World. 5 March 2021.
  7. ^ "Myanmar army violates grave shot dead resistance hero Angel (19) | Abroad". Netherlands News Live. 6 March 2021. Archived from the original on 6 March 2021. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  8. ^ "Myanmar coup: 'Everything will be OK' teenage protester mourned". BBC News. March 4, 2021.
  9. ^ "Myanmar coup: Kyal Sin alias Angel knew everything will not be OK". www.telegraphindia.com.
  10. ^ "မတ်လ ၃ ရက် ကြွေလွင့်ကြယ်စင်". BBC News မြန်မာ. March 4, 2021.
  11. ^ "Teen among victims after Myanmar's 'bloodiest day'". NewsComAu. March 3, 2021.
  12. ^ "ONE's Aung La mourns death of protesting Burmese taekwondo champ, 19". South China Morning Post. March 4, 2021.
  13. ^ "Myanmar's generals have not thought their coup through". The Economist. 2021-03-13. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 2021-03-13.
  14. ^ "19岁华裔少女之死". news.ifeng.com (in Chinese). Retrieved 2021-09-04.
  15. ^ "'Everything will be OK': slain Myanmar teen's T-shirt slogan spurs defiance". Reuters. 2021-03-04. Retrieved 2021-09-04.
  16. ^ "ONE's Aung La mourns death of protesting Burmese taekwondo champ, 19". South China Morning Post. 2021-03-04. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
  17. ^ a b c "'Everything will be OK': slain Myanmar teen's T-shirt slogan spurs defiance". Reuters. 2021-03-04. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
  18. ^ Theint, Nandi; Smith, Nicola (6 March 2021). "From first vote to bullet in the head: Death of Myanmar teenager crystallises bloody protests movement". The Telegraph.
  19. ^ "Myanmar exhumes Angel only to find police 'innocent' of killing teen". independent. 7 March 2021.
  20. ^ "Military Regime Can't Defeat Myanmar's Brave Hearts". The Irrawaddy. 5 March 2021.
  21. ^ "Opinion: Death Of A Teenage Protester in Myanmar". NPR.org. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
  22. ^ "မကြယ်စင်(၁၉ နှစ်) နာရေး". Radio Free Asia (in Burmese). 4 March 2021.
  23. ^ "Shooting Death, Raid of Protester's Grave Spark Anger in Myanmar's Mandalay". Radio Free Asia. 5 March 2021.
  24. ^ "恐怖挖墳影片曝光!緬甸19歲正妹遭爆頭 網瘋傳軍警「盜墓偷屍」 | ETtoday國際新聞 | ETtoday新聞雲". www.ettoday.net (in Traditional Chinese). 6 March 2021. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
  25. ^ "緬甸19歲少女中槍亡 當局被指起棺驗屍再回葬 (20:52) - 20210306 - 國際". 明報新聞網 - 即時新聞 instant news (in Traditional Chinese). Retrieved 2021-03-28.