We’re taking up
a frontline position. I need five volunteers, the best
among you. Take the M4 rifles. We’re advancing slowly to make
sure our mission succeeds. Let's go! Commander Sang Uk Thang is
leading his unit to the frontlines. They’re fighting a war in the
mountains and plains of Myanmar... out of sight from
the rest of the world. Go in! Go, go, go! The 30-year-old
commander studied theology before taking up
arms to fight the junta. The military has been in power in
Myanmar since the coup
in February 2021. Sang Uk Thang now leads a
battalion of nearly 600 people. Get in position and
fire if you need to. The junta troops are about
400 meters away from us. Over there, in those buildings. If the military soldiers, the
junta sees us, we will be shot at. We need to run, OK? You’re
ready? Come on. Go, go, go. After 28 days of
intense fighting, the commander and his unit managed
to take this police station from the junta. Here in the destroyed town of Thantlang,
only 200 meters separate
the two armies. If the junta will come, it’s not
clear. But if they come, we will shoot. We will kill them. We are
ready to die for Thantlang. This is our town. This is where we
grew up. We will fight for democracy. Journalists reporting
on this “forgotten war” have to drive many hours
through the mountains. And foreign reporters are
not welcome in Myanmar. Entering the country requires taking
detours to avoid military checkpoints, and crossing this river. On this side is India,
a country at pe
ace. And this is Myanmar,
a country in chaos. Hello. Welcome to
Chinland. Welcome to Burma. An impoverished, remote mountainous
region on the border between India and Bangladesh, Chin state is
home to some 500,000 Chin people. They are one of the 135 ethnic
groups that were officially recognized after the country gained
independence from British colonial rule. Chin people began converting to
Christianity in the late 19th century, during the colonial era, and
have long been marginalized. Ninety p
ercent of Myanmar's
population is Buddhist. Chin state has struggled to gain
greater autonomy for more than 30 years. Here in the middle of the jungle,
the Chin have set up a camp. This is the headquarters of their
political and military campaign against the military regime. The coup on February 1, 2021, put an end to ten years of
democratic transition in Myanmar. The Chin subsequently broke
the nationwide ceasefire agreement and took up arms
against the junta. Within a few weeks, hundreds of
yo
ung people answered the call to arms, and joined the CNA,
the Chin National Army. Look down! Sing! Before the coup, the CNA
numbered just a few hundred soldiers. Today it has over 2,000 - mostly young people who
grew up in a peaceful Myanmar. Both men and
women don the uniform to take part in what
they call a revolution. First Officer. Personal ID number? When was this? Is
there an ID number? On the day the military seized power,
I didn't realize what was happening. Communications networks and
t
elevision stations were cut off. I felt like my life was
sinking into darkness. At first, we protested. We took to the streets and
shouted slogans at demonstrations. But you can't end a
coup with protest alone. If you want to defeat the
junta, you have to take up arms. Grace Sui Hlawn Tial works at the
War Department at Camp Victoria, the headquarters of
the Chin National Army. The 25-year-old gave up her
law studies to join the resistance. Grace shares a room with another
female recruit, the sa
me age as her. Life in the camp isn’t easy
for this young city woman. There's no running
water or internet, and there’s only electricity
for a few hours a day. To be honest, I miss my home...
but I don't have a home anymore. The junta destroyed my house. Sometimes I want
to stop and run away. But if our small group of
resistance fighters gives up, there will be no more revolution.
The situation will stay the same, and the people of this
country will never live in peace. Young people who
believe
in democracy aren’t the only ones
who joined the resistance. After the coup, a few
soldiers from the Tatmadaw, Myanmar's all-powerful
army, also enlisted. They’re part of the
Chin ethnic minority, and would rather be deserters than
wage war against their own people. After 20 years in
the Myanmar Navy, corporal Aung Ko Ko Win
now serves in the CNA. He trains new recruits in the
use and maintenance of weapons. Hold on, it still
needs to be oiled. The CNA soldiers only have
these old machine guns f
or combat. They get them from
other ethnic rebel groups or take them off dead soldiers
who served the Myanmar junta. The junta has a whole arsenal
of weapons. It’s not an even fight. When I was in the regular army,
our heavy weapons, cannons, and ships came from China. We
bought smaller arms from North Korea. We also had some
weapons from Russia. If the CNA could make
or get better weapons, I think this war would
be over much sooner. But old weapons
are all the CNA has. The soldiers here face an
enemy
that’s better armed and better trained. Taking inspiration
from Ukrainian fighters, the Chin are modifying civilian
drones to launch air strikes. Their targets are the tanks and supply
convoys of Myanmar’s armed forces. In return, the junta
has targeted Thantlang, a town once home to 12,000 people.
The CNA has set up a command post here. The town has seen the fiercest
fighting since the civil war began. The junta has bombed the town more
than a hundred times in recent months. It’s despera
te to recapture
this strategically important area. But after winning a battle
at the Thantlang hospital, the CNA now controls more
than 70 percent of the town. I’m sad because I lost
friends here. And I’m angry. But I don’t want vengeance - I want
to defend my country and my people. Even if some of us have to die. We are all willing to sacrifice
our lives to defend this place. We’ll fight ‘til the end. We’ll fight on. After more than two years of civil
war and almost daily bombardments, Thantlan
g is now a ghost town. But recently, former residents have started
venturing back to the liberated areas. Nun Cung, his wife, and their daughter are returning to
their neighborhood for the first time. The family left the town in August
2021, six months after the coup. That’s when the military regime began attacking the area
and its civilian population. Two years later, Thantlang is
still deeply scarred by the war. Since the coup, more than
one-and-a-half million people in Myanmar have been force
d
to flee their homes. They now live as refugees
in their own country. A third of Chin state's
population has been displaced. About 100 families from Thantlang
now live here, a four-hour drive away. Tial Tin Dim used to run a
small grocery store in Thantlang. Nun Cung worked as a farmer
in the fields outside the town. But there’s no work
in the refugee camp. The family can only get by
with the help of small NGOs. Come and eat! Sit down! Have you washed your hands? Lord, your grace is so precious
. You created darkness, but
you guide us by your light. We thank you, God, our Lord. We will eat and
thank you for this meal. Lord, we ask for your glory and
goodness. In the name of Christ, amen. Their meals are always the same:
white rice, fermented shrimp paste, and occasionally some cabbage leaves
from the neighbor's vegetable patch. We rarely eat meat. Once or twice a year, animals are
slaughtered to mark religious holidays. Our children have a protein deficiency,
because they hardly ever e
at meat. Some of the 100,000 displaced Chin are
playing important roles in the struggle, even if they aren’t fighting. When I see you in the hall, you
look well. But here you look sick. What should I do with you? Dr. Amos and his
wife Rebecca, a nurse, run the only hospital in
this Chin-controlled region. After taking part in
anti-regime demonstrations, they had to leave their
jobs at a state-run facility. They then took over a pharmacy, funded by donations from the
diaspora in the United States
. I’m fortunate to work with my wife.
Everything is easier as a couple. If I had to do it all by myself, I
would just be stressed and depressed. But we support each other. If one of us has a bad day,
the other steps up. We rely on each other. Dr. Amos only graduated from medical
school three weeks before the coup. Working here has
been baptism by fire. Every day, he has to be a surgeon,
anesthesiologist, pediatrician, and gynecologist
all rolled into one. Does that hurt? Strange ... Film this! S
ee this here? That's a
fetal heartbeat. That's a baby! Look! There's something moving to
the right. That's the baby's heartbeat! See the movement? I’ve had to learn to interpret
x-rays and ultrasounds. I taught myself by
watching YouTube videos! A little over a year ago, Dr. Amos and his wife became
parents themselves to a baby boy. Pick out a toy, and we'll
play in the living room. With the ball! Well done, you hit the ball! In times of war, such peaceful family
moments are all too often short-
lived. The message comes from one of
our pastors. To stay careful tonight. Because it is not safe
tonight. There may be a strike. I have no regrets
about having our son, but my heart aches for
him because of this civil war. I can’t do anything for him and feel responsible for
bringing him into this chaos. The hospital was
spared that night. Junta fighter planes,
supplied by Russia, shelled another village
with 100 residents. The junta dropped two heavy
bombs on houses in this village far from th
e front line. Almost all
the people who live here are farmers. Miraculously, most of the
residents survived the attack. But two people died. The community buried a
60-year-old retired teacher and a 37-year-old farmer. At least 6,000 civilians have
died since the coup in Myanmar. As the junta loses the
battle on the ground, it’s taken to the skies,
increasing air strikes. The threat is never-ending.
Grace and her friends now spend nights in bunkers at
CNA headquarters at Camp Victoria. What will
you do
after the revolution? When schools reopen,
I’ll continue my studies. And after that, I’ll
continue to serve our cause. And what about you, Tanda?
Chanchan says she wants to get married! Do you have a boyfriend? Not yet! Starting
tomorrow, I'll try to find one! Before I came here, I dreamed
of becoming a businesswoman. But I'm not sure I have
the necessary skills. Sherry, do you know the words? One of our officers. This is the grave
of Sui Len Par. She was 24 years old. She died when
the c
amp was bombed on January 10, 2023. Even here, at this
refuge in the jungle - a long way from the
fighting and the frontline - some young CNA
recruits have lost their lives. She died on January 10 when
they dropped bombs on us. On January 10, 2023, Camp
Victoria was bombed for the first time. Five rebel fighters were killed. More than 300 Chin soldiers
have died since the civil war began. They were young, intelligent,
and educated - mostly students. They gave up everything
for the cause and join
ed us because they opposed
the military dictatorship. They believed in freedom
and were willing to fight for it. I have great respect for them
and pay tribute to them every day. Several hundred young people
have been left injured or maimed. Those who survive the battles are treated at this makeshift
clinic at Camp Victoria. Was it a mine?
Did you step on it? I was trying to recover
the bodies of two friends. You are not alone.
You must be strong. We have to do amputation. In this month,
we have
done six people’s amputations. Our civilians, soldiers... there so
many young people, men and women, without legs and arms. I want to
cease this war as soon as possible. At 19, Sam Sung is the youngest
of the injured soldiers here. He was hit during his
first frontline deployment. A mine killed several
of his comrades. I lost a leg, but I have no regrets
because I lost it fighting the junta, fighting for my country and
for my people. I have no regrets. I can’t return to the front, but
I’ll conti
nue the fight from here. I’ll fight in this war as long
as the junta is in power. These young resistance
fighters may no longer be on the National
Chin Army’s frontline, but they remain committed
to their revolution.
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