r/myanmar

These ppl gotta be kidding me

Are you an asian autistic adult?

Your voice can help this online research.

Hello, I am Chai Tze Ru, a Master’s student in Clinical Psychology at HELP University, Malaysia. 

I am doing a study on autistic traits, social camouflaging, and anxiety in Asian autistic adults. 

Why is this research important?

• Improve understanding of autistic adults’ experiences
• Support future research
• Make mental health support for autistic adults better

You may join if you:

• are 18 or above
• are Asian
• identify as autistic (formally diagnosed or self-diagnosed)
• can read and answer questions in English

The survey is:

• anonymous
• online
• takes about 15 to 35 minutes

Survey link:
https://help.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_5dRBUZ93cMaMKtU

If you know other autistic adults in Asia who may be interested, you are welcome to share this study with them. 

Recently, I've been seeing this trend where it involves Burmese teens stepping in a YBS bus only to then run away from it. What are your opinions on this trend?

Video Credit: k_power_3

The Human Rights Watch report titled “Skeletons and Skulls Scattered Everywhere” documents a devastating mass killing perpetrated by the Arakan Army (AA) against Rohingya Muslim civilians on May 2, 2024, in the village of Hoyyar Siri, Myanmar. As the ethnic Rakhine armed group AA advanced on nearby military junta bases, fighters opened fire on fleeing, unarmed villagers, some of whom were waving white flags, and lined others up near a mosque to be summarily executed.

The report compiled a list of at least 170 dead or missing villagers, including approximately 90 children, though the actual death toll is believed to be much higher. Beyond the immediate slaughter, the Arakan Army systematically burned the village to the ground, looted property, used electric shocks to torture detainees, abducted women, and later forced survivors into a makeshift camp where they face restricted movement, forced labor, and severe deprivation.

While the Arakan Army denies targeting civilians, by staging witness interviews and showing skeletal remains of junta soldiers at different grave sites, testimonies gathered from survivors who escaped to Bangladesh and Malaysia expose their severe war crimes. The Rohingya remain trapped in a brutal cycle of ethnic violence, facing immense atrocities from regional rebel forces with virtually no international protection or accountability.

A Myanmar migrant worker in Thailand and a translator, Mr. Thar Thar, who was subjected to a brutal five-hour torture ordeal by his Chinese employers in Rayong province, Thailand, after being lured from his construction camp under the false pretence of receiving 12,000 baht in unpaid back wages after working underpaid for months.

The attack was carried out by a group of eight individuals, including six Chinese nationals, an interpreter, and two Thai-speaking men, who accused Mr. Thar Thar of encouraging a mass resignation of over 200 unpaid migrant workers at a Chon Buri construction site, an accusation he denied, explaining that the workers left voluntarily due to chronic wage delays.

During the brutal torture, which began when a Chinese woman struck him first, Mr. Tata was beaten with metal rods and a golf club, forced face-down, and scalded with hot water, leaving him with severe burns after he blocked the attackers from pouring boiling water into his mouth. The perpetrators further subjected him to psychological terror by showing him mobile phone videos of people being electrocuted and dismembered, and attempted to pull out his fingernails with pliers before he ultimately managed to escape when their guard was lowered. Despite his injuries, he managed to run to a security post for help before walking more than 10 kilometres.

Meme from 2019-2020

Source: မေမြို့မိုးကြည်၏မြန်မာ့စစ်ပညာ and မြန်မာ့စွယ်စုံကျမ်း အတွဲ ၁၀
For more info: မြန်မာ့ စစ်ပညာ | PDF

Myanmar's battlefield success relied on good officers maintaining discipline and being smart since Myanmar's army is primarily composed of conscripted peasants (not much has changed lol)
Historically, due to civil wars, Myanmar tends to have veteran commanders and soldiers which made a very martial and aggressive empire.
(Eg. A strategist like Maha Thiha Thura. Some of his greatest feats include almost defeating Taksin's Thonburi with an undermanned army and encircling a bigger Chinese army)

Scorched earth tactics(မီးထင်းတိုက်) were and are still used to this day.
War elephants are also used as heavy shock troops and artillery (sort of like tanks). They equipped them with mortars(စိန်ပြောင်း) and small caliber cannons.
Elephants were protected by soldiers called ဆင်ခြေဖုံး (literally means covering elephant's legs).

In terms of weapons, you'd see ဓား sword, အဲမောင်းလှံ spear, bamboo spear(တင်ကျည်း), javelins, matchlocks, flintlocks, rectangular and circular shield.
Most common armor is the wavy iconic chest plate(ဗာလည်ကွေး). Some leather armor and a type of scale armor was used but no standardized equipment for normal troops. Some temple murals show armor that looks like Tibetan lamellar armor.

These are some wacky formations though. If anyone has more info on ancient tactics, please tell.