Throughout
Myanmar's month-long demonstrations against the resumption of military rule, artists have helped shape how the protests are expressed visually, from moving illustrations of demonstrators who have died, to huge murals, roadside artworks and satirical protest signs mocking coup leader General Min Aung Hlaing. But the most permanent form of protest is, perhaps, the tattoo.
From big cities like Yangon and Mandalay, to Shan state's Nyaung Shwe, a small town near the popular tourist spot of Inle Lake, protesters are getting inked for democracy.
"Tattoos are a lasting memory for your whole life, and a way to express our dreams. They can't be removed and therefore it shows our solidarity. It unites us protesters," said Htun Htun, a resident of Nyaung Shwe, originally from Yangon.
Htun Htun was one of about 70 people who took part in a tattoo protest event in Nyaung Shwe on Friday.
The event, organized by a local youth group from the Intha ethnic minority, invited residents to get a protest tattoo to raise funds for the civil disobedience movement, or CDM. The movement has seen thousands of white- and blue-collar workers, from medics, bankers and lawyers to teachers, engineers and factory workers, leave their jobs as a form of resistance against the February 1 military coup.
Eight tattooists inked dozens of participants who were each asked for a minimum donation of $2. Each tattoo took about 20 minutes to complete and, for speed, participants were given a choice of four styles: the face of ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi, the words "Spring revolution," the phrase "Kabar Ma Kyay Bu" (which references a protest song and means "we will not forget until the end of the world") and the ubiquitous "three-finger salute," from "The Hunger Games" movies, that has become a symbol of resistance at protests in Myanmar and neighboring Thailand.
The most popular design? An outline of Suu Kyi's face.
"I got a tattoo because I love Aung San Suu Kyi and admire people who stand up and suffer under a dictatorship. To get a tattoo is painful but it's nothing compared to the pain of our hearts (caused by the coup). I want our freedom back," said Moh Moh, a 26-year-old participant who did not want to provide her full name for security reasons.
Suu Kyi, whose National League for Democracy Party won a landslide in November 2020 elections, has been held under house arrest since the military seized power, along with the ousted President and other government officials.
"The tattoo campaign was our own idea -- it's a group of tattooists who are using the event to support the CDM. What's happening right now with the protests is more worrying than Covid," said organizer Nyi Nyi Lwin.
He said the event was marred by recent deadly crackdowns on peaceful protesters by Myanmar's security forces, with some people fearful of a rumor that police would arrive to arrest attendees.
