Bryan Dickie

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A few weeks back I got interviewed by The Hoser about my book Peoples Defence Force, click on the link below to take a read. Special shout-out to Nick Lachance for bringing this to life and making me sound way better than I actually do.

The Hoser | Photographing the People's Defence Force of Myanmar An interview with photojournalist Bryan Dickie

A proud member of the NLD, Yar Zar was elated to see his party win three hundred and ninety-six of the four hundred and ninety-eight contested seats in the parliament, the most the NLD had won in history. Ready to leave politics behind, Yar Zar was excited to spend the rest of his life as a happy family man. After the coup took place, Yar Zar’s dreams of a peaceful family life were broken. Now he cries when talking about the wife he divorced to come to the jungle and fight.

Q: What were your dreams for the future as a child?

A: My dream was very simple. I wanted to have a happy family. I never gave a damn about politics but now, due to the situation in the country, I have to be involved in this.

Q: What is your opinion of the NLD?

A: I have been a member of the NLD since 2012.

Q: When the NLD took power in 2015 did you notice any change in your country?

A: When the NLD took over, they started to change the education system because the previous military regime had let it collapse over the past 60 years. So, they started to change the education system from the primary schools. Things like giving students free education, school uniforms and textbooks. There were huge upgrades in public transportation. During the five years of the NLD rule, there were huge developments compared to the era when the power of the military regime was at its peak.

Q: What are your thoughts on Aung San Suu Kyi?

A: She is my maternal role model. She is very nice to talk to since we can talk civilly, even if we disagree with each other’s ideas.

Q: What was your life like before the coup?

A: I was a sailor. Before the election, I worked for the NLD party. I was planning to go on with my life as a sailor after the NLD won the election, but the current situation happened due to the regime.

Q: You said that you divorced your wife for this, can you tell me why?

A: I divorced her for her safety because I was a member of the fundraising team in the PDF. There are many photos of me online. Since they can’t arrest me, they might put my family in danger. So, I divorced her.

Q: How did you feel and what were your first reactions after learning of the coup?

A: I was angry, and I couldn’t believe what happened. I discussed it with other members, and they said that there was nothing we could do for seventy-two hours. After we took to the streets, I joined the protests and marched every single day. I was in every peaceful protest until they killed the first demonstrator in Mandalay.

Q: You mentioned you were arrested. Can you tell me the story?

A: I was working as a medic and was in the ambulance because the police, who were armed, forcefully broke the protest in the LhaTan district. So, we had to go there by ambulance to help those protestors. The first two times were okay, but I got arrested the third time. But I was released after only two days.

Q: What made you decide to join the PDF?

A: It’s very simple. I want to fight against the military regime because those people shouldn’t walk on earth.

Q: What is your biggest fear in life?

A: Dictatorship. It’s not only in Myanmar. Everyone hates dictatorship; everyone loves peace and human rights. Everybody is the same.

Q: What is your life like as a PDF soldier?

A: It’s very difficult. To be honest, I can stay comfortable with my family. After I joined the PDF, there were a lot of changes and I have never experienced training. Also, there were some days that we only received one meal, and I injured myself during the training.

Q: What do you want to do with the rest of your life after this is over?

A: After this, I want to live peacefully with my family.

Q: What would you like to say to the world?

A: I just want to say please help Myanmar. Every PDF soldier wants to fight but there are not enough weapons for us to use in the fight against the military regime. So, I just want to say, please help our country to attain peace and democracy.

As a new husband and the eldest of four brothers in a household without a father, Phoe Tae had a lot of responsibility resting on his shoulders. When the coup occurred on February 1st, he and his three brothers, along with his ageing mother, all agreed that fighting the new military government was the only conscious thing to do. Phoe Tae’s wife and her family were not as enthusiastic about him leaving to fight a war and felt he should stay home to provide for his new family. He saw freedom in his country as the seed of progress for future generations, so Phoe Tae had to make one of the hardest decisions of his life. Lying to his wife, telling her that he was travelling to his mother, Phoe Tae and his three younger brothers made their way to the secret jungle camps that train civilians into revolutionary soldiers.

Q: As a child, what were your dreams for the future?

A: I used to have a dream of becoming a soldier, but I don’t want to be one anymore. The military harms the country because officers in top tier positions brutalize the people.

Q: What was your life like before the coup?

A: I have my own family and lived peacefully in my village before the coup.

Q: What was your first reaction on February 1st?

A: There were many things happening in my brain. There was no one who liked the dictatorship. Therefore, there are many people who are participating in the protests. Although I didn’t get a chance to participate in any protests, I had this thought in my mind that I have to fight to get freedom for my country, so I joined here.

Q: What was the first thing you did after you heard of the coup?

A: I started researching ethnic organizations that are fighting the dictatorship.

Q: Why did you decide to join the PDF?

A: I want to fight until the end to gain back the freedom we lost. That’s why I joined the PDF.

Q: How did you and your three brothers decide to join the PDF?

A: All of my family members don’t like the dictatorship in our country. So, there was no hesitation. My three brothers are even more eager than me to fight against the military. My mom even wanted to join the PDF as well, I told her she must stay back since she is too old to fight, but she never missed a protest.

Q: Are any of your brothers in the same camp as you?

A: No, they are in different camps for now.

Q: What was your friend’s and family’s reaction to you joining the PDF?

A: My mother is very supportive but there was some hesitation about joining from my wife’s side of the family because they want me to stay with my family and live peacefully. I can’t even contact my wife anymore.

Q: When is the last time that you spoke with them?

A: They don’t even know that I’m here. I don’t remember when the last time was that I was in contact with them. Since they don’t agree with my decision, I had to tell her a lie - I was going back to my mother’s place since she was sick.

Q: So, you don’t know what your relationship with your wife is?

A: No.

Q: What is your biggest fear in life?

A: The biggest fear is living far away from my family and loved ones.

Q: What is life like being a PDF soldier?

A: I am very proud of myself for becoming a PDF soldier. There are many struggles when I joined the PDF and I had to be independent to build my life around the idea of becoming a soldier.

Q: What do you want to do with the rest of your life after victory and the war is over?

A: I want to live peacefully with my family and will try to console my wife to keep our family happy and safe.

Q: Do you have anything you would like to say to the world?

A: I have many things I would like to say, but the only important thing is that I want peace for everyone.

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One of the most famous quotes from Sun Tzu’s Art of War states: “He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight”, which describes asymmetric warfare or guerilla tactics. In a fight between two unequal opponents, the weaker competitor can always level the playing field by applying ideas such as hit and run, surprise ambushes, or boobie traps, which are all forms of guerilla tactics. During Myanmar’s seventy-four years of ongoing warfare, the EAOs fighting the state military have become experts in the craft of asymmetric warfare and regularly punch above their weight. These EAOs are responsible for training the many different PDF groups that have formulated across the country. Recruits who make their way to the secret camps have two options for training. The first is a traditional three-month basic training program and resembles soldier training in most places of the world, including weapons training, orienteering, basic survival etc. The second option is an express two-week course that focuses solely on explosives training. Both programs are rooted in guerilla tactics and train the cadets how to fight a much larger force using fewer men and equipment. The three-month program is mainly used to create uniformed soldiers who operate under a commander from an EAO and fight in rural areas. The cadets that graduate the two-week explosives program are set up to create autonomous splinter cell groups that travel back to the city centres to carry out targeted assassinations. The cadets who return to the cities are known as the Urban Guerillas, who then plan and execute their own operations. The Urban Guerillas don’t fight battles, but rather carry out executions by secretly placing bombs or by simply walking up and shooting their target. Cell phone footage of these assassinations are all over social media, drawing much debate from the citizens of Myanmar. On one hand, citizens don’t like seeing bombs go off or mafia-style assassinations in their cities however, it is acknowledged by the same people that these tactics might just be necessary if they ever want to see a free Myanmar again. Sun Tzu certainly understood this when he wrote: “In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity.”