Kyal Sin (Burmese: ကြယ်စင်), also known as Angel or by her Chinese name, Deng Jiaxi (邓家希),[1] was a 19-year-old woman from Mandalay who was killed on 3 March 2021 during the 2021 Burmese protests.[2] Kyal Sin emerged as an early martyr and symbol of resistance against the military junta's use of violence to suppress the protest movement.[3][4][5][6][7] She was one of several teenagers and young adults who gave up their lives in the protests.[8][9][10][11][12] As of 13 March, around 60 civilians had lost their lives; more than a third of the dead are teenagers.[13]

Kyal Sin at the Protests

Personal background

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Kyal Sin was born to a Kokang Chinese mother and a Yunnanese father from Mainland China.[14] She voted for the first time in November 2020.[15]

Kyal Sin was a taekwondo instructor and champion,[16] and worked as a singer and dancer.[17]

Protest and death

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During the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, Kyal Sin began to express her support online for arrested civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and the ruling National League for Democracy.[18]

On 3 March 2021, she participated in a protest in Mandalay wearing a black T-shirt emblazoned with Everything will be OK. A photograph of her wearing the T-shirt has become iconic.[19]

During the protest, she is reported to have broken open a water pipe to allow protestors to wash tear gas from their eyes, thrown a tear gas canister back at police, and encouraged protestors to take cover when live rounds were fired.[17]

While she was on the front line of the protest she was shot dead.[20][17] Prior to the event, she had made a Facebook post stating her blood type in case she was injured and her wish for her organs to be donated should she die during the protest.[21]

Her funeral on 4 March 2021 was attended by several thousands of protesters.[22][23]

The next day, authorities went to the cemetery where her remains were buried and exhumed the body for autopsy.[24][25]

References

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  1. ^ "缅甸政变:民众上街悼念被枪杀的华裔女子邓家希". Radio Free Asia (in Chinese). Retrieved 2021-05-18.
  2. ^ Beech, Hannah (4 March 2021). "'She Is a Hero': In Myanmar's Protests, Women Are on the Front Lines". The New York Times.
  3. ^ "Grave of slain protester disturbed in Myanmar". Bangkok Post. 6 March 2021.
  4. ^ "'We will not run!': 19-year-old's death inspires Myanmar protesters — and inflames crisis". Los Angeles Times. 4 March 2021.
  5. ^ "'She is a hero': In Myanmar's protests, women are on the frontlines". www.businesstimes.com.sg. 5 March 2021.
  6. ^ "Myanmar mourns killing of anti-coup 'angel'". TRT World. 5 March 2021.
  7. ^ "Myanmar army violates grave shot dead resistance hero Angel (19) | Abroad". Netherlands News Live. 6 March 2021. Archived from the original on 6 March 2021. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  8. ^ "Myanmar coup: 'Everything will be OK' teenage protester mourned". BBC News. March 4, 2021.
  9. ^ "Myanmar coup: Kyal Sin alias Angel knew everything will not be OK". www.telegraphindia.com.
  10. ^ "မတ်လ ၃ ရက် ကြွေလွင့်ကြယ်စင်". BBC News မြန်မာ. March 4, 2021.
  11. ^ "Teen among victims after Myanmar's 'bloodiest day'". NewsComAu. March 3, 2021.
  12. ^ "ONE's Aung La mourns death of protesting Burmese taekwondo champ, 19". South China Morning Post. March 4, 2021.
  13. ^ "Myanmar's generals have not thought their coup through". The Economist. 2021-03-13. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 2021-03-13.
  14. ^ "19岁华裔少女之死". news.ifeng.com (in Chinese). Retrieved 2021-09-04.
  15. ^ "'Everything will be OK': slain Myanmar teen's T-shirt slogan spurs defiance". Reuters. 2021-03-04. Retrieved 2021-09-04.
  16. ^ "ONE's Aung La mourns death of protesting Burmese taekwondo champ, 19". South China Morning Post. 2021-03-04. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
  17. ^ a b c "'Everything will be OK': slain Myanmar teen's T-shirt slogan spurs defiance". Reuters. 2021-03-04. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
  18. ^ Theint, Nandi; Smith, Nicola (6 March 2021). "From first vote to bullet in the head: Death of Myanmar teenager crystallises bloody protests movement". The Telegraph.
  19. ^ "Myanmar exhumes Angel only to find police 'innocent' of killing teen". independent. 7 March 2021.
  20. ^ "Military Regime Can't Defeat Myanmar's Brave Hearts". The Irrawaddy. 5 March 2021.
  21. ^ "Opinion: Death Of A Teenage Protester in Myanmar". NPR.org. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
  22. ^ "မကြယ်စင်(၁၉ နှစ်) နာရေး". Radio Free Asia (in Burmese). 4 March 2021.
  23. ^ "Shooting Death, Raid of Protester's Grave Spark Anger in Myanmar's Mandalay". Radio Free Asia. 5 March 2021.
  24. ^ "恐怖挖墳影片曝光!緬甸19歲正妹遭爆頭 網瘋傳軍警「盜墓偷屍」 | ETtoday國際新聞 | ETtoday新聞雲". www.ettoday.net (in Traditional Chinese). 6 March 2021. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
  25. ^ "緬甸19歲少女中槍亡 當局被指起棺驗屍再回葬 (20:52) - 20210306 - 國際". 明報新聞網 - 即時新聞 instant news (in Traditional Chinese). Retrieved 2021-03-28.