Before a Myanmar student descends into a classroom entombed in a concrete bunker, she prays for compassion and her community’s safety, knowing her appeal will go unanswered.
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“May the fighter jets not come. May the pilots show kindness to us. May the bombs not explode,” 18-year-old Phyo Phyo said, recalling her unspoken wishes.
She is enrolled in a class of around a dozen at the subterranean academy, founded in June after a junta strike obliterated a nearby school and killed at least 20 pupils and two teachers, according to witnesses.
“Our school days used to be free and full of fun,” said Phyo Phyo, a pseudonym used for security reasons. “Ever since the air strikes started, we’ve lost our happiness. The students have grown quiet.”
Myanmar’s military has increased air strikes every year since it triggered a civil war with a 2021 coup, conflict monitors say – a response to guerrilla factions opposed to junta rule besieging its ground forces.
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