Myanmar Spring Chronicle – February 5 Perspective
MoeMaKa, February 6, 2025
The Lives of Youth Trying to Escape the Country Due to Forced Conscription
The law mandating military service, originally enacted in 2010, was revived overnight as a means to forcibly recruit citizens into the ongoing civil war—a war that resulted from a military coup rather than any legitimate national defense purpose. With battles and massacres occurring daily across the country, being conscripted into the military means facing an extremely high risk of death. For those who stand for justice and fairness, such forced service is not just a risk to their lives but also a death sentence for their dignity.
Even those who previously had no political interest are now unwilling to fight for the notorious coup regime. Those who oppose military rule, support democracy, or respect the self-determination of ethnic minorities will do whatever they can to avoid being drafted into the junta’s army.
Nearly a year after the conscription law was reactivated, approximately 40,000 new recruits have been forcibly gathered and sent to the most intense battle zones, such as Rakhine and northern Shan State. Many of these conscripts have already lost their lives or been captured.
At the same time, those who cannot accept being forced into the military are either joining the People’s Defense Forces (PDF) and ethnic armed groups or fleeing to neighboring countries—legally or illegally.
Reports are emerging of widespread forced recruitment through abductions, extortion, and corruption. While the law states that the conscription process should occur through official neighborhood and village lists, authorities have been ignoring these procedures. Instead, soldiers and police conduct nightly raids in cities, abducting young men on the streets, in transit between towns, or even those deported from neighboring countries, demanding large bribes for their release. Those unable to pay are forcibly sent to military camps.
In Yangon, the number of people going out after 7 p.m. has drastically decreased due to fear. Young men across many townships face arrests and extortion. If they cannot pay, they are sent to military units. These operations involve not only junta forces but also local administrators and pro-military militia groups, who profit from bribes paid to evade conscription. Those who cannot afford to pay often end up imprisoned under vague charges.
The dire situation in Yangon, Mandalay, and other major cities has left families with no choice but to urge their sons to flee the country. Most escape to Thailand, while others attempt to reach Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam, or other countries with fewer visa restrictions and better job opportunities. Wealthier individuals leave legally by plane, but the majority, who cannot afford such routes, cross borders illegally. Recent news reports indicate that authorities intercepted 169 Myanmar nationals crammed into a truck and later apprehended another group attempting a similar escape.
Even for those who manage to flee, Thailand’s immigration laws pose a serious risk. Many are arrested and imprisoned for months before being deported back to Myanmar, where they face immediate conscription into the junta’s army.
The harshest impact of these oppressive laws falls on the most vulnerable in society—the poor, those without connections to powerful circles, and the rural youth. Children of low-income workers, laborers, and civil servants bear the heaviest burden.
For those who can neither stay nor leave safely, the reality is bleak. If caught abroad, they face imprisonment and deportation. If captured within Myanmar, they are forcibly sent to the battlefield, where death is almost inevitable. Parents across the country live with the heartbreaking fear that their children’s futures will be stolen by a war they never chose to fight.