On 12 September, around 1 a.m, the military junta’s air force dropped two bombs on Pyinnyar Pan Khinn and A Myin Thit Private High School in Thayet Ta Pin village, Kyauktaw Township. The attack resulted in the deaths of 20 students and left 21 wounded.
The deliberate targeting of students in the attack drew condemnations from the Untied Nations, ASEAN, and various Arakan civil society organizations.
Among the casualties were students—both local residents and those displaced by conflict—from Kyauktaw, Mrauk-U, Pauktaw, Maungdaw, Myebon, and Sittwe townships. It is reported that up to 25 of the students killed or injured were under the age of 18. Development Media Group (DMG) reached out and spoke to victims’ families regarding their feelings about the students’ deaths and injuries.
Daw Ma Thaung Nu (Mother of deceased Ma Khin Khin Kyaw), Min Thar Taung village, Kyauktaw Township
She had just filled out the form for the 12th grade exams and gotten her seat number. She sent a note with the person who brought her lunchbox, telling me to send her 20,000 kyat the next day to buy some snacks for her little nieces. My daughter was going to come home in the morning, but before dawn, a military junta plane bombed the place, and our daughter was gone. As her mother, how can I ever accept this? She was studying and had just gone to sleep when she was hit. Half of the skull was gone. Her forehead and the back of her head were ripped open, and we had to tape her skull back together before we could bury her.
Ma U Mya Yin (Family member of deceased Ma Hla Hnin Nwe), Min Thar Taung village, Kyauktaw Township
I encouraged my little sister, telling her not to worry about anything and to just focus on passing her grade 12th exam. I just wanted her to study hard. But now, because of their (the junta’s) cruelty, my sister is gone in this terrible tragedy. She had so many hopes. Her friend told me that before she passed, she was screaming in pain her injuries. She was leaning against the stairs, screaming, ‘Mom, Mom!’ Her friend told me that, and he’s still full of regret for not being able to save his friend.
My sister was screaming that she was in so much pain and begging the villagers for help. If it had happened near our house, we could have saved her. She would have survived. Our family helped her get an education, even though we had very little. We lost her just as she was about to become educated. Is this fair? Please, try to see it from our perspective.
Daw Ma Mi Khaing (Mother of deceased Maung Myint Myat Soe)
That day, before he passed, I visited my son at the boarding school. He told me he missed me and gave me a kiss on the cheek. He would joke with me, saying I had to give him 10,000 kyat for a kiss on one cheek. He kissed both cheeks, so I gave him 20,000 kyat. That same night, this happened. I never even got to ask him where and how he was hurting. How must my little son have felt? I haven’t even had a chance to hold a novitiation ceremony for him. Before he passed, he told his older brother, ‘Brother, try to pass your exam. If you’re educated and I’m educated, we can support mom even without dad. How can I ever forget those words?
Ma Nwe Mar San (Family member of the deceased Ma Khin Khin Kyaw)
I want to kill Min Aung Hlaing (the military leader). I never want anyone else to go through an experience like this again. I pray that those who can overthrow the military junta will emerge as soon as possible.
U Aung Tun San (Local resident), Min Thar Taung village, Kyauktaw Township
I am completely disgusted by this incident where these ‘little stars’ have fallen, and the future generation has been killed en masse. These children were on an educational path, and they had already reached the 10th grade, about to reach their 12th grade. They could have become doctors or teachers; they could have become good people for the future. Killing them is a tragedy for their families, for society, and for the entire Arakanese people. This must be investigated and acted upon effectively. This is a wrong thing to do. This is an act of genocide, and I don’t want them to continue killing our future ‘little stars’ one after another. I want to see the people who ordered the killing of these children and the bombing of these two schools to be found, prosecuted, and removed. It would be better if Russia and China stopped giving them heavy weapons, bombs, and arms that kill people. If they continue to provide them, more people will die. I see this as an act of genocide. I want those countries to stop supplying weapons, and I want the leaders who can stop them to do so.
DMG