An interview with Daw Than Khin from Ah Myint Kyun village in Sittwe, wife of U Maung Aye Than, detained for nearly 10 months by the junta
In June 2024, military junta troops entered Ah Myint Kyun village, located at the entrance to Sittwe, the capital of Arakan State, and surrounded the village, arresting around 50 villagers.
The detained villagers were brought to a battalion in Sittwe, and while most were released by the evening, eight people, including U Maung Aye Than, were kept in custody, according to reports.
U Maung Aye Than and the seven other villagers from Ah Myint Kyun have been detained by the junta for nearly 10 months, with no contact with their families.
This interview with Daw Than Khin, U Maung Aye Than’s wife, explores how she and other women, along with the families of the detained villagers, are managing without their household heads and why these eight villagers remain in custody.
Q: First, can you describe what happened in the village on the day the villagers were arrested? How were they taken into custody?
A: They called us first. Then they separated the men from the women. Including the children, they rounded us up starting at 10 a.m. and didn’t release us until 6 p.m. At that time, we hadn’t even cooked any meals. People were saying the men had been taken away in vehicles, but we didn’t believe it at first. Some people cried when they heard the news. We weren’t allowed to leave. Their (military council) troops surrounded us. They said the men were at home and nothing had happened, that’s what their soldiers told us. But we didn’t believe them.
We wanted to go check, but they had us surrounded, so we couldn’t go. At that time, they kept us at the monastery. The household heads were kept under a rain tree in the village. They separated us, each in a different place. At 6 p.m., they let us go. My two children and I went back. When we got home, there wasn’t a single person left. They had taken all the men. By all the men, I mean middle-aged men, those in their 20s and 30s. Some in their 40s and older were taken too.
Q: What happened after that?
A: With the belief that they would be released, we stayed there even after the men were arrested. My husband has done nothing wrong. I don’t know how to explain it. We thought they would release our men, so my two children and I waited and stayed. But they weren’t released. That’s why we decided to go to where my parents are and came back here.
Q: How did you and your family leave the village? What difficulties did you face?
A: Leaving the village was extremely difficult. We couldn’t afford the costs. We faced all sorts of hardships. We came by motorboat, and the person driving the boat was drunk. At times, while driving, the boat would swerve this way and that. It’s a miracle we made it here alive. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be meeting like this.
Other families of the detained stayed behind, waiting for their release. But for me, I couldn’t stay. It’s not just me alone—I have two children, so it’s not too bad yet. At that time, I was pregnant and about to give birth, and money was tight. That’s why, no matter what, I decided to go to my parents and came here.
Q: What concerns do you have about your husband?
A: Since he was arrested, we’ve had no contact. We don’t know if he’s alive or dead. We still hope he will return. But now, we’re not sure if he’s dead or alive. Because he’s in their hands. They could kill him if they want, or they could keep him alive.
To comfort the children, I have to say something. I tell them their father will come back. But when they ask when he’ll come back, I can’t give an answer. Sometimes, out of frustration, I say he’ll come when he feels like it. When my anger subsides, I feel pity for the kids. They want to live happily with both parents, like others do. The children are still young, so they keep longing for their father.
Q: How are you managing your basic needs at the moment?
A: Others can sell firewood or other things. But I have no one to work, and I can’t work myself, so we have no money. We’re facing hardships. We’re struggling with basic needs. I want to work and earn a living, but I can’t afford it. If my husband were here, even if others earn 10000 kyats, we’d at least get 5000.
Now, without my husband, it’s extremely difficult. When I think about going out to work myself, the children are still young. I can’t go out to work. So, I’m constantly mentally exhausted. When the kids ask for money to buy snacks, I can’t buy them anything because I have no money. When I can’t provide, I feel sad. It breaks my heart.
Q: How difficult is it for a woman to struggle without the household head?
A: Having the head of the household versus not having one makes all the difference. Because we can’t use things like we used to or eat what we want anymore. We’re facing hardships. My husband didn’t leave us with a pile of money either. But we could manage basic needs—everything was fine. Now, there’s not even money for the kids’ snacks. We’re just getting by with what we have.
Q: Is there anything else you’d like to say?
A: We’re struggling with basic needs. That’s why I want help, whether it’s money or other support. Right now, we’re staying with my parents. We don’t want to, though. My parents are getting old, and I don’t want to burden them. But when there’s no one to rely on, we have to depend on them. Both my parents are elderly now, no longer at an age to work. Yet, for the sake of feeding my children and me, they climb the hills, chop firewood, and sell it to provide for us.
Others can gather a hundred bundles of firewood in one or two days, but it takes my mother four days. A hundred bundles fetch 12,000 kyat. That’s how we’re surviving. As time goes on, the prospect of struggling alone with my children feels increasingly harsh. The kids are growing up, and I’m on my own, so it’s not easy to keep going. I don’t know how to move forward anymore.
Sent by Aung Htein (DMG).