Myanmar rebels are opening universities

The medical student was showering near his bedroom in the jungles of eastern Myanmar when he listened to military planes flying. Dress only with shorts, he ran to an anti -aircraft shelter. But there he faced another danger: a black snake. Grabbing a stick, he killed him before he could bite him.

“It was terrifying,” said Khuu Nay Reh Win, 21, who was inspired to become a surgeon after working as a doctor of the Rebel Army. “The fear of dying for a snake bite is as real as the fear of bombs.”

This is student life in Karenni Medical College, a school founded two years ago in territory controlled by rebel forces. The campus, with classrooms and bedrooms made of bamboo with straw roof, was built deep in the jungle by the teachers and students themselves.

It is one of the 18 small universities, schools and academies established in territory controlled by the rebels in the four years since the myanmar army overthrew the civil leaders of the country and took power through a coup d’etat, according to anti- joint in five regions of the country. They lack funds for the equipment and supplies that they need so much and their facilities are simple. But the hope is that these schools can help create the bases for a new democratic society in the country.

“We opened without waiting for the revolution to end because we were concerned that if young people were excluded from education for too long, they could change course, face delays in their learning and lose opportunities for higher education,” said Dr. Myo. Khant Ko Ko, founder and president of Karenni Medical College.

Myanmar’s civil war has destroyed the rhythms of life in the country. Thousands of people have been killed by the military. Tens of thousands have been imprisoned. Millions of people have become refugees in their own country. And the economy is in ruins.

The anti-joy forces are a flexible alliance of disparate groups of armed ethnic minorities that have fought against the army for years, and more recently formed units from the ranks of protesters in favor of democracy.

In the last 15 months, ethnic rebel forces have obtained numerous victories in the countryside, and anti-junction forces now claim control of more than half of the country’s territory, which generates optimism among its supporters.

But the Board retains the control of the main cities of Myanmar and the capital, Naypyidaw, as well as most of the country’s wealth and aerial power. A clear victory is still difficult for the rebels, who lack significant international support, a constant flow of ammunition and, most importantly, a unified command structure, said Anthony Davis, security analyst based in Bangkok of the publications group of the group of publications Janes military.

The 18 schools, all of them in rebel ethnic territory, are recognized by the Government of National Unity in the Shadow, said its Deputy Minister of Education, Sai Khaing Myo Tun. Students pay little or nothing to attend.

Educators are also trying to establish a school system for primary and secondary students, many of whom live in fields for displaced people.

Universities and faculties, with populations of students who range from dozen to hundreds, offer titles in sciences, liberal arts, agriculture, law, technology, nursing and music, among others. Some have links with foreign universities and have sent students abroad to study.

To avoid air attacks, schools remain as hidden as possible. Some have taken buildings partially damaged by fighting. Others are hidden in residential or hidden areas under the jungle canopy.

Some students travel to the campus from the refugee fields where they live with their parents and brothers. Others have enlisted in the rebel forces and attend classes when they are not fighting.

A school, the Ta’ang Academy of Arts in the state of Shan, is dedicated to ethnic culture and music. Its first promotion has 27 students. The director, Owm SA Ngarr, said he hoped to preserve the local culture while using music “as a means to cure the psychological trauma faced by people who live in conflict areas.”

The biggest challenge, administrators said, was the lack of funds to buy equipment, pay salaries and improve the facilities.

But everyone lives with fear of the planes and drones of the Board.

“Every day we teach under the constant concern of aerial bombardments, carefully listening to the sound of the airplanes and anxiously observing the skies,” said Baby Hsan Chit su, founder (and professor of chemistry in) the Phanshaw University in the state of Karenni , a liberal arts faculty that opened its doors in March.

In the days after the 2021 coup, the doctors of Mandalay led strikes that promoted a movement of civil disobedience nationwide. Now, some of them are leading efforts to establish medical schools in territory controlled by the rebels.

Khin Maung Lwin, who resigned from his position as rector of the prestigious University of Medicine of Mandalay in protest, founded the Faculty of Medical Sciences in the state of Kachin in 2023 and recruited professors who participated in the Civil Disobedience Movement.

The school, with about 100 students, was forced to close twice when bombs began to fall nearby. Teachers and students temporarily moved to a safer area near the border with China, where they helped take care of the injured.

“Many of these students have acquired an important practical experience in the treatment of traumas,” said Dr. Khin Maung Lwin.

Nelly Phoe, 22, who plans to become a surgeon, is an example of many students of the Karenni State Medicine, the second to open.

His family’s house was destroyed by the artillery of the Board. His mother and younger brother live in a refugee camp. Two older brothers are soldiers of the defense forces of Karenni nationalities.

But his life is not easy in the Jungle Medicine School.

Once, a giant snake slipped near his pillow while sleeping. Sometimes, due to inappropriate facilities, it bathes in a pond where cows drink. When drones and airplanes fly over, they quickly interrupt their studies, turn off the light and flee to an anti -aircraft shelter.

And if snakes and air attacks were not enough, she and other students must face the local cattle that wanders on the campus and eat their clothes. A veterinarian in the region said that cows may have developed an appetite for soap because their diet lacks salt.

Mr. Khuu Nay Reh Win, the student who found the snake in the anti -aircraft shelter, said the cows had eaten everything but a shirt and their medical robe provided by the school.

“I’ve lost more than 10 t -shirts because of cows,” he said.