“Iron pipes from me in the mines that were first blasted in the Pale area were included,” a voice said sharply.
Burnt, dirty oil wells, and wood fragments are strewn about. Not far from there, on the side of the rock wall, there was a hut that looked like it had been newly built. It is said that it looks like it was newly built because the bamboo matting roof (made of bamboo strips) of the hut is still fresh.
Between the land razed by fire and the new hut, there was a man cutting iron pipes with a cutter. That person is (Ko) Naing Win. Ko Naing Win said the above words proudly while cutting the iron pipes with the cutter measuring about 3 feet each.
Naing Win is an oil well businessman in the oil field area between Pauk Township and Myaing Township, and he is known to many revolutionary organizations from the Myaing and Pale area. It is said that people come to him for help if they need iron pipes for making weapons and mines. Now, he donates the 2-inch round iron pipes needed to make front landmines for a revolutionary force, as well as cuts them himself to make them easier to transport.
“Even if there is nothing left, I will continue the revolution, I told Ma Nge(his wife). Don’t want anything, nothing will follow people when they die,” he said while cutting the iron pipes.
Naing Win’s wife, (Ma) Nge, is of the same mind as Naing Win. Squinting at her husband, she replied, “I don’t even dream about it. If these *** (the junta SAC) fall quickly, everything will be fine. I even want to fight them by myself.”
Before the junta SAC seized power, Naing Win and his wife lived a peaceful life with their three children. Naing Win went from being an oil well worker who worked for rent in other people’s oil wells to the life of an oil well business owner.
Now, he is 43 years old and his wife has reached 41 years old. They are good ages to do business. However, he lives on the slope side of a ravine, building a hut and living frugally.
“These oil wells used to produce more than 50 to 60 barrels per day. At that time, only MMK 30,000 per barrel were sold,” said Ko Naing Win, recalling the days of the past, pointing to the old oil wells that had been burned down by the SAC soldiers.
Next to the oil wells are large old oil tanks that have been dug up by excavators. “These oil tanks are full in about 3 days. If only for now, I can buy a lot of weapons,” said Naing Win, looking at the old oil tanks.
At that time, Ko Naing Win had an oil well owner life with many workers. Currently, one barrel costs an average of MMK 350,000. However, Ma Nge does not think so.
“When the whole country is in trouble and starving, I don’t want to be great alone,” she said.
If the SAC coup had not happened, Ko Naing Win and his wife would have been a family that was economically comfortable and peaceful. However, after the junta SAC forcibly seized the power of the government, which was elected by the people’s vote, claiming that there was vote fraud, the peaceful family life also became chaotic.
Ko Naing Win remembers that day. Early in the morning, the phone lines were cut off. However, he did not pay attention. He had to go down to the village to buy the necessary equipment for the oil well. When he arrived in the village, he went to the tea shop first.
As soon as he entered, an acquaintance said, ” Have you heard, Ko Naing Win? The military has seized power” Almost everyone in the tea shop was whispering to each other about the news that Min Aung Hlaing had seized power.
Ko Naing Win muttered, “What! What the h*ll is happening?” At that time, he couldn’t stand the person who was talking happily about the military coup, saying, “The NLD is vote fraud, and so the Tatmadaw took power.” He said, “What did you say?” and challenged that person by throwing a hot water bottle.
The people inside the tea shop stared incomprehensibly at his anger and behavior. The people inside the shop calmed down the person who was happy about the military coup to go back. Naing Win couldn’t buy the necessary equipment that day. He spent the whole day without doing any work and thinking about it. Those thoughts were even the questions of “What am I gonna do?”
“At that time, my place was large. There were many workers there. I built it large so that they could stay free. I hung the NLD flag on the top of the hut with a pole,” he said.
Naing Win recalled the hut they lived in before, which had been burned down by the SAC soldiers. Just as the oil wells were running low, there were no workers due to COVID-19, and only Naing Win and his family were left in the hut. After about three days, he knew what to do.
Public protests began in major cities of Myanmar. At that time, protests also began in Pakokku Town. Naing Win took his wife on a motorcycle and the couple rode up to Pakukku to protest that the Junta SAC was not wanted. When the protests started in Myaing, they went to Myaing every day to protest. When Naing Win and his wife went to protest in Myaig Town, they were not the only two. People who were close to him gathered together. Even Naing Win and his wife paid for the motorcycle fuel.
“On that day, I felt like I wanted to be sick and I thought I would not go for it.”
That day was March 11, 2021. He received a phone call saying that the SAC had arrested the young men from the Myaing Strike Drum and Fife Band. Ma Nge told Naing Win to stay if he was not feeling well and said that she would go by herself with the others. However, he could not stay. The SAC was violently shooting down protesters in various cities across the country. Ko Naing Win put the slingshot on the hut in his cloth bag and came to Myaing Town with Ma Nge despite being ill.
When they arrived in Myaing Town, on the top of Ah Swe Taw Hill, where the police station is located, shield guards and police from the SAC came up to violently break up the protestors. However, the protesting public on the other hand did not retreat from fear. They overwhelmingly demanded the release of those arrested in the police station.
In Myaing Town, people like Naing Win from the village were coming steadily. The people were coming more and more. The crowd gave the shouts and gradually moved forward. Therefore, the shields on the side of the SAC gradually retreated, and then the gunshots were heard continuously. The situation became complicated.
A civilian was hit by a bullet and immediately sent to the hospital. Then Naing Win heard that he died in the hospital. However, the public did not back down and continued to move forward. The public faced the SAC’s bullets with slingshots and broken bricks. The public tried to raid the police station.
The SAC side started to brutally shoot and kill the public. Even in front of Naing Win, a civilian was hit again. Naing Win and other people tried to go and drag him, but the SAC shot at those who tried. Then an ambulance stopped between the affected person and the SAC and took the patient away. On that day, the SAC shot and killed six people. Those who were arrested were not released.
After witnessing those events, Naing Win made a decision. He realized that he could no longer ask the junta SAC like this.
“After that, I started looking for a gun,” he said.
He went to buy five percussion lock guns from the Yaw area at a rate of MMK 60,000 each. Naing Win and like-minded people began to gather together. Naing Win kept one gun in his hut as a charm and gave four to others. When revolutionary forces were formed in different areas, the forces also appeared in the township of Naing Win.
“The young people told Ko Naing Win that they wanted to do the production (weapons). They said they don’t know where to do it in terms of security, so you guys come and do it in my hut, and I will handle whatever happens,” he said.
At that time, there were supporters and informers of the Army in the village. There was also a police station in the nearby village. Therefore, young people cannot do it freely. But, Naing Win has generators, cutting machines, welding machines, and iron pipes that are used in oil wells. Therefore, in order to produce mines and percussion lock guns for the revolution, they started production at his hut.
The young revolutionary soldiers were living in his hut. Later, the hut of Naing Win was crowded with young people again. Ma Nge also had to cook more food. She was not tired or stingy about it. She was enthusiastic about the revolution.
It was a period of competition between the SAC and the revolutionary forces in the villages. It was the period when the SAC was selecting and appointing the village administrators, so the informants of the SAC were also in his village. They also knew that the revolutionary force was making production in his hut. They came to investigate near the tent.
Naing Win said, “I don’t accept the Dalan (informants on SAC) killing in this village.”
Naing Win himself went to the village governor appointed by the SAC. He told the governor appointed by the SAC not to work and to hand over the stamps.
When he said, “If you don’t do anything, no one will do anything. You have my words. We would continue the revolution even if the Indra (Sakka in Burmese terms) came down here to stop.” When Naing Win said, he handed over the stamps to him. After that, 10 influential elders in the village were chosen to rule the village.
When the war of resistance and revolution started to be vigorously waged in various regions, the SAC began marching around the area of Naing Win.
Naing Win sent his wife and three children to a safe place. One day, the SAC column came in towards his hut. Naing Win told everyone to stay safe and set up 12 mines around the hut. After that, he stayed behind the slope of the rock hill and waited for the soldiers to attack.
“As soon as they enter, I would explode the mines and run down the ravine. They can’t follow. I can escape alone,” he continued.
At that time, a phone call came to him. It was from Ma Nge. Ma Ngeworriedly called (Daw) Hnin Yi (name changed) because she was sick and could not run, she knew that the soldiers were already in her (Hnin Yi) tent, so she called to warn Naing Win again. The soldiers were already on the hill to the south of Naing Win’s hut. Hnin Yi, who could not run from the top of the hill because she was sick, had also been arrested. Anyway, if the soldiers came inside his hut, he had decided that he would explode mines.
However, the soldiers did not arrive. Only the monk of the mountain monastery came to negotiate that Hnin Yi had been arrested. The monk made a phone call to Naing Win again. First, he asked Naing Win to withdraw. Then the soldiers received an order from above to burn the tents and oil wells, so they demanded 15 lakhs as road expenses so that they would not be destroyed by fire.
Ko Naing Win replied, “I knew there were soldiers, so I told the monk. When they came, they came on foot. They just came back on foot. Otherwise, they would go back to Mandalay or Russia. I would pass them a ticket, but I wouldn’t be able to give money to them. They could do whatever they wanted,” Naing Win replied. Then a call came from the revolutionary youth to Ko Naing Win to withdraw.
They warned Naing Win that the soldiers might come up to him. So, Ko Naing Win retreated. The soldiers also burned all of his hut, oil wells, working machines for oil wells, and welding machines. Looking up at the sky where smoke was coming out, he was not sorry for the damage. He could not be satisfied that the soldiers were not attacked with mines.
After that, SAC columns frequently raided his township. He began to participate with revolutionary soldiers in production activities and battles in the Pale Mountain Area. Family matters were completely forgotten. Thus, the early 2022 arrived.
His 16-year-old daughter, who is separated from him, said, “I want to work, Daddy.” Then he remembered his family’s responsibility. He realized the difficulties of his family. Therefore, he returned to his area where the area was being cleared and decided to stay with his family. However, he said that he would participate in a corner of the revolution.
He said, “First we had to repair the burnt oil wells and extract the oil. Then we had to pull out the iron pipes from the old oil wells.”
An oil well that produced good oil was repaired, and he worked to produce oil for his family by himself. On the other hand, iron pipes were taken out of the old wells and sent to the revolutionary forces to fabricate mines. When kerosene price rose, he was able to support the revolutionary organizations every month. He was able to donate to help those internally displaced people to have a comfortable living. He was able to organize the necessary military training for the revolutionary soldiers even in his hut so that they could attend the training without even worries about food. In order to obtain funds for the revolutionary forces, he led the drilling of oil wells in the oil industry, which he was skilled at.
Now, he does not fight in front of the revolution by himself, but he still participates in occasional nearby battles. During the non-combat period, he is still working in the oil industry and providing support for what is needed in the rear.
“In any case, if the battle comes to Myaing Town, I will fight it on my own,” said Naing Win, looking somewhere far away. The revolution needs many people like Naing Win. The urban battles expected by Naing Win have also gradually arrived. He said that he will never forget the blood spots of the people who were shot by the SAC at the top of Ah Swe Taw Hill in Myaing Town. After that, Ko Naing Win spoke proudly about the revolution.
“This time, it’s their turn. …”