Why are young people in Myanmar leaving their country so quickly?

The fight in Myanmar has intensified dramatically in the last few months, necessitating coordinated action from the international community. Several young people in Myanmar are planning escape routes to avoid being caught in the mandatory conscription law for all young men and women.

Due to ongoing tensions, the now troubled region of Myanmar which is in Southeast Asia is no longer what it used to be when it was bustling with markets, numerous parks and lakes.

The facts

The military dictatorship in Myanmar is struggling to combat a widespread armed insurgency on several fronts throughout the Southeast Asian country, three years after its brutal coup in February 2021. This is the largest threat to the junta’s precarious hold on power.

In order to sustain its control, the newest law by the military junta says that all men between the ages of 18 and 35 and women between the ages of 18 and 27 are mandated by law to serve for a maximum of two years under military leadership. Doctors and other specialists up to the age of 45 are required to serve for three years.

For instance, conscription evasion carries a fine and a sentence of three to five years in jail.

The arguments

Following the imposition by Myanmar’s military government, many citizens have thronged the Thai Embassy in Yangon for a chance to flee the country. Others have said they will choose alternative routes, even if illegal, to escape.

According to a report by CNN, the human rights minister for the shadow government in exile, Aung Myo Min, said several military personnel have abandoned the army and defected to the junta’s strongest nemesis, the People’s Defense Forces.
Min said the soldiers complained of not having enough food and “they are forced to take up a position to fight against civilians.”

Aung Myo Min further added that some of those former soldiers told the National Unity Government the military’s power had weakened, and it desperately needed recruits.

The tensions in the region have left many homes in disarray after the military junta on February 10 2024 issued an order seeking to mandate its citizens, both men and women for conscription.

Since the coup erupted in the region, Myanmar’s military junta has become a threat to many civilians and their human rights.

The military in Myanmar, reports say, is notorious for employing civilians as human shields and enlisting them against their will to serve as porters, who transport military equipment to and from the front lines, or land mine clearers, who take great risks when clearing land mines from fields.

The possibility that the military will utilize the law to legitimize this practice is a serious worry.

Meanwhile, the United National Security Human Rights office has called for stronger international action to protect increasingly vulnerable populations particularly in Myanmar.

Special Rapporteur at the UNHR office, Tom Andrews recently urged countries to adopt and strengthen measures aimed at reducing the military junta’s access to weapons and financing to avert continuous attacks on the citizens of Myanmar.

“Make no mistake, signs of desperation, such as the imposition of a draft, are not indications that the junta and its forces are less of a threat to the people of Myanmar. In fact, many are facing even greater dangers,” Andrew said.

Other human rights activists and analysts are of the view that conscription is a tool to dismantle the potent democratic resistance movement, which has only grown stronger since the coup, rather than merely increasing the number of soldiers in the military.

Critics say the legislation that is likely to start in April smells of corruption, that crime rates are rising, that extortion is on the rise, and that there is a steep decrease in brain drain as more young people flee the new law’s consequences.

Myanmar needs help; one that is quick to prevent an awaiting catastrophe.