2 Myanmar protesters killed by police fire, reports say
MANDALAY, MYANMAR » Two anti-coup protesters were shot dead by riot police who fired live rounds Saturday in Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city, local media reported.
One of the victims was shot in the head and died at the scene, according to Frontier Myanmar, a news and business magazine based in Yangon, the country’s largest city. Another was shot in the chest and died en route to the hospital.
Several other serious injuries were also reported. The shootings occurred near Mandalay’s Yadanabon dock, where tear gas and rubber bullets were used on protesters earlier in the day.
The Irrawaddy news website also confirmed the deaths on social media.
Security forces had been increasing their pressure against anti-coup protesters earlier Saturday, using water cannons, tear gas, slingshots and rubber bullets against demonstrators and striking dock workers in Mandalay.
Injuries
At least five people were injured by rubber bullets and had to be carried away in ambulances, according to an Associated Press journalist who witnessed the violence.
Some 500 police and soldiers descended on the area near Yadanabon dock after dock workers joined the national civil disobedience movement, refusing to work until the military junta that seized power in a Feb. 1 coup reinstates the democratically elected government.
Protesters and residents were forced to flee the neighborhood amid the violence, as security forces chased after them.
There were reports of sounds that resembled gunfire. A group of journalists was forced to flee after being hit with tear gas and slingshot projectiles.
Earlier in the week in Mandalay, security forces cracked down on state railway workers in a similar fashion after they joined the civil disobedience movement.
Less than an hour after the 8 p.m. curfew started on Wednesday, gunshots were heard as more than two dozen police officers with shields and helmets marched past railway workers’ housing. Numerous videos posted on social media showed muzzle flashes as shots were heard, and some police shot slingshots and threw rocks at the buildings. Marching chants of “left, right, left, right” could be heard along with shouts of “shoot, shoot.”
Also Saturday, anti-coup protesters in Myanmar’s two largest cities paid tribute to a young woman who died a day earlier after being shot by police during a rally against the military takeover.
An impromptu memorial created under an elevated roadway in Yangon attracted around 1,000 protesters. A wreath of bright yellow flowers was hung beneath a photograph of Mya Thwet Thwet Khine, who
was shot in the capital, Naypyitaw, on Feb. 9, two days before her 20th birthday.
Her death on Friday, announced by her family, was the first confirmed fatality among thousands of protesters who have faced off against security forces since top military commander Min Aung Hlaing took power in the coup.
Protesters at the memorial chanted and held up signs that read “End the dictatorship in Myanmar” and “You will be remembered Mya Thwet Thwet Khine.” The supporters also laid roses and rose petals on images of the woman.
Shooting
Video from the day she was shot show her sheltering from water cannons and suddenly dropping to the ground after a bullet penetrated the motorcycle helmet she was wearing. She had been on life support in a hospital for more than a week with what doctors said was no chance of recovery.
U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price offered his government’s condolences Friday and reiterated calls on the military
to refrain from violence against peaceful protesters.
In Mandalay on Saturday, a protest led by medical university students drew more than 1,000 people, many of whom also carried flowers and images of Mya Thwet Thwet Khine.
Others held signs saying “CDM,” referring to the nationwide civil disobedience movement that has encouraged doctors, engineers and others to protest the coup by refusing to work.
Across the country, protests showed no signs of slowing down despite recent crackdowns by the military government — including a sixth consecutive night in which the internet was cut for many hours.
Demonstrators also gathered elsewhere in Yangon, chanting and holding placards and images of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, whose democratically elected government was overthrown.
Aerial images taken Friday showed streets in Yangon painted with the words “The military dictatorship must fall” in Burmese, and “We want democracy” and “Free our leaders” in English.
PHOENIX » Peniella Irakoze is cold calling a list of 1,001 fellow students who didn’t return to Phoenix College this semester, checking on how they’re managing during the coronavirus pandemic.
The calls have become a regular part of her job at a community college like others across the U.S. that have experienced significant enrollment declines as students face challenges with finances, family life and virtual learning.
“I didn’t know that so many people were struggling,” said Irakoze, 20, who studies medical laboratory science and works part-time for the college. “So many students aren’t coming back.”
Nationwide, enrollment at community colleges — which offer two-year degrees and vocational training and often attract older students looking to learn new skills — dropped 10% from fall 2019 to fall 2020, according to the National Student Clearinghouse.
Hit hard
They were hit the hardest amid all colleges and four-year universities experienced only slight declines, beating many predictions that the outcome would be worse.
While it was no surprise that fewer freshmen enrolled at four-year and community colleges, delaying studies until campuses fully reopen, the pandemic took a much heavier toll on older adult students who frequently choose the community college route. Many lost jobs or have no time for their own schooling as they supervise their children’s online classes.
“The majority of them are working, many of them in industries that have been decimated by the pandemic,” said Martha Parham, a senior vice president for the American Association of Community Colleges. “Trying to navigate that and take classes is a very daunting challenge at this time.”
Depression and anxiety also disrupted the academic careers of community college students, including Stephanie Cruz Vazquez.
Anxiety
She said her severe anxiety was amplified so much by her virus concerns that she decided last year to take a year off from fashion design classes at Mesa Community College near Phoenix.
“The pandemic really pushed me over the edge,” said Cruz Vazquez, 20.
She ended up infected with COVID-19 along with her parents. They all recovered and Cruz Vazquez now works for a local city council race campaign with plans to return to college this year.
Unusual time
More Americans typically turn to community college education amid economic downturns, seeking to learn new job skills or change careers. But the depth of the pandemic’s downturn, which kept many people homebound, seems to have upended usual trends, education experts said.
That troubles advocates and policy makers who cite community colleges as important options for low-income Americans. At a Senate hearing this month, Miguel Cardona, President Joe Biden’s pick for education secretary, called for federal financial support to help hurting community colleges, calling them “this nation’s best-kept secret.”
Even in good economic times, many community college students struggle to stay in school while juggling the demands of supporting families, paying rent and covering tuition.
The added challenge of the pandemic was too much for many students, said Ralph Thompson, interim dean of students at Phoenix College.
Its enrollment was at 10,978 in the fall of 2019 but dropped to 9,446 a year later, a decline of 14%, according to the Maricopa County Community College District, which counts Phoenix College among its 10 community colleges.
Thompson assigned Irakoze to call fellow students to see how they are coping, saying they “need to feel engaged” during their isolation.
“The students need to hear that someone understands what they are going through,” Thompson said.