“Once the two years are over, I can go home. I’m waiting for the day those two years end.”
These were the heartfelt words of Min A Hein, a Mon youth who had been forcibly recruited into the military and was recently killed in a battle.
Following the military coup, as life became increasingly difficult, 23-year-old Min A Hein left for Malaysia through an illegal route in 2022 to work and support his family’s livelihood.
Upon arriving in Malaysia, he found a job at a restaurant and used his earnings to help support his family.
After nearly two years of working amid many hardships, he eventually decided to move closer to his hometown and work in Thailand, entering the country again through an illegal route.
In Thailand, Min A Hein took whatever work he could find to survive and continue supporting his family.
More than a year after arriving in Thailand, a day that could be described as the beginning of his misfortune arrived.
He became one of those arrested during a crackdown by the Thai government on undocumented migrant workers.
Min A Hein was detained and spent three months in a Thai detention center. While waiting for his release, he hoped that once he was free he could continue working in Thailand to support his family.
However, things didn’t go as he had hoped.
Instead, the Thai authorities transferred detainees whose sentences had ended to the Myanmar military authorities at the Ranong border.
When Min A Hein was sent to the Myanmar side, he felt secretly happy, believing that he would soon be able to return home. Instead, the military junta took him directly to a military recruitment center.
“When I arrived on the Myanmar side, the soldiers were already waiting. They immediately arrested me and sent me to the recruitment center in Kawthaung,” Min A Hein reportedly told a friend before his death.
After he was taken to the recruitment center, the military contacted his parents and demanded that they pay 10 million kyats to secure his release.
His parents tried to gather the money to rescue their son from what they described as a “military hell,” but due to many difficulties they were unable to do so. As a result, Min A Hein was sent to a military training camp at an artillery battalion in Thanbyuzayat Township, Wae Kali.
Even after he arrived at the training camp, the military again told his family that they could retrieve him. This time, however, they demanded not only the 10 million kyats, but also a replacement person to take his place.
“The army told us that A Hein had already become a soldier, so someone else would have to replace him if we wanted him released. There was nothing we could do,” his older brother said.
Min A Hein, who had little understanding of politics or military affairs and only cared about supporting his family, endured three months of military training amid verbal abuse, mistreatment, and deception by the military authorities.
After completing the three-month training, the military sent him to serve at a frontline position near Ye Township.
According to what Min A Hein told a friend, the military said he would be allowed to return home after serving for two years.
While waiting for those two years to pass, Min A Hein spent eight months stationed at the front line.
During those eight months, he never experienced a battle and had never even fired a gun. When speaking with his friend on the phone, he said he prayed every day that he would never have to face combat or fire his weapon.
But his prayer was not answered.
Just as he reached his eighth month on the front line, he encountered his first battle—and fired his gun for the first time.
This occurred during a clash on February 22 near Kyaung Ywar village in Ye Township between junta forces and the Ye Belu resistance group.
Min A Hein was killed in that battle.
He died in his very first combat experience.
Like Min A Hein, many others arrested in Thailand have ended up in the military junta’s training camps. Some have disappeared without any news, while others escaped and joined resistance groups. Many others, like Min A Hein, have died in battles while waiting for the end of their service.
“It’s extremely heartbreaking. There are so many cases like A Hein’s along that border,” his brother said while recounting the tragic story.
