On the evening of 10 March, Daniel joined around 20 people in a silent vigil in Kuala Lumpur, holding candles to commemorate the lives of hundreds of civilians killed by Myanmar’s military junta since its 1 February coup. One of their banners said “Thou shalt not kill”.
“We wanted [people in Myanmar] to know that even though we are not in the country, we feel the same way as them,” says Daniel, a refugee in his 20s from Myanmar who requested New Naratif use his nickname.
It was the second time Daniel had protested in front of the Myanmar embassy in Malaysia’s capital, despite lacking legal status in a country which does not recognise the United Nations refugee convention and considers refugees to be undocumented immigrants. Both times, Malaysian authorities dispersed the protests and photographed Daniel’s UN refugee card, which serves as his main form of identification. But he remains undeterred.
Members only
Log in or
Join New Naratif as a member to continue reading
We are independent, ad-free and pro-democracy. Our operations are member-funded. Membership starts from just US$5/month! Alternatively, write to sponsorship@newnaratif.com to request a free sponsored membership. As a member, you are supporting fair payment of freelancers, and a movement for democracy and transnational community building in Southeast Asia.
