The
iconic photo in which medical student Win Zaw (L) and house surgeon Dr
Saw Lwin carry 16-year-old pro-democracy protestor Win Maw Oo to an
ambulance after she was fatally shot on September 18, 1988. (Photo: S.
Lehman / Visions)
RANGOON — Twenty five years ago, the streets of Rangoon swelled with
hundreds of thousands of protestors demanding an end to Burma’s military
dictatorship. After government troops opened fire on them, hundreds
were seriously injured. Many would have died if it had not been for Dr
Myat Htoo Razak and Dr Win Zaw.
Like many doctors and nurses, the young house surgeon and medical
student worked around the clock to save the lives of injured protestors
during the hectic days of the 8888 Uprising.
Myat Htoo Rrazak recalled the unforgettable scenes that he witnessed
on August 9, 1988, one day after popular, nationwide pro-democracy
demonstrations started in Rangoon and other cities across Burma.
“Some of them were shot in their chests, arms and legs,” he said in a
recent interview with The Irrawaddy. “Two of them were seriously
injured; one was shot in his head and another one shot in his eye.”
Dr Myat Htoo Razak, 49, recalls saving the lives of injured 8888 demonstrators. (Photo: Jpaing / The Irrawaddy)
The then 24-year-old house surgeon and his team had arrived at the
Maternal and Child Welfare Association in Rangoon’s North Okkalapa
Township shortly before troops began to fire on crowds of peaceful
demonstrators, who had gathered nearby.
One monk who made a speech urging protestors to keep marching was
fatally shot. Many protestors ran into the building to flee the gunfire,
some were bleeding from bullet wounds in their torsos, arms and legs.
The medical team, which came from North Okkalapa Hospital, had
already prepared emergency treatment facilities as they feared that
authorities might launch a violent crackdown on the demonstrations. Myat
Htoo Razak and three other house surgeons (young doctors who are still
undergoing practical training) and nurses started treating the many
wounded.
But soon, soldiers surrounded the Maternal and Child Welfare
Association and two captains entered building to intimidate the
demonstrators. “We just used rubber bullets. Or else, you would have all
been dead,” one of them said looking at injured protestors.
The captain’s heartless words infuriated Myat Htoo Razak but he tried
to cope with his anger for the sake of his patients. The would-be
doctor then asked the officers to transport two seriously wounded
patients to North Okkalapa Hospital.
In the meantime, more injured people were coming into the building.
Myat Htoo Razak and his small team kept treating the injured until late
afternoon. When he got back to North Okkalapa Hospital, the troops were
shooting right in front of the building.
“We didn’t even need to go too far to carry patients as they were
shooting in front of the hospital. The injured people were just carried
into the hospital. Inside, we treated many of the injured people,” he
said.
While the doctors like Myat Htoo Razak worked ceaselessly to operate
on the many wounded, pools of blood covered the hospital floors and
numerous bodies arrived at the mortuary. “It was a tragic scene to see
the dead bodies of our brothers and sisters,” he said.
For 10 days, government violence continued and wounded pro-democracy
demonstrators filled the wards of hospitals and clinics in Rangoon and
across Burma.
When Dr Maung Maung, a civilian, became interim president on August
19 the shootings ended and people from all walks of life joined the
demonstrations, which had now spread nationwide, from Burma’s big cities
to tiny villages throughout the country.
On September 18, the military staged a coup d’état and the crackdown
worsened. Troops shot down many more demonstrators, including
schoolchildren, students, civil servants and housewives. An estimated
total of 3,000 people were killed and many more protestors were injured
in August and September of 1988.
For the injured, doctors, nurses and house surgeons like Myat Htoo
Razak, provided life-saving care at a critical moment in the country’s
history.
The 88’ pro-democracy movement was the biggest people power uprising
that Burma had seen since gaining independence from Britain in 1948. It
toppled the country’s oppressive authoritarian regime of military
strongman Ne Win and his Burma Socialist Programme Party, which had
ruled the country for 26 years.
The military coup and subsequent crackdown on the 8888 Uprising, however, would leave the army in charge for two more decades.
Another medical student who helped treat Burma’s brave protestors at the time was Win Zaw.
Doctors, nurses and medical staffs not only treated the injured, but
also took part in the demonstrations, and 23-year-old Win Zaw joined a
group of medical students who staged a hunger strike on September 18 at
Rangoon’s University of Medicine.
After the army staged a coup at 4 pm that day, it announced that all
demonstrators should disperse and leave their camps and the streets.
Dr. Win Zaw, 48, treated numerous injured protestors in 1988. (Photo: Jpaing / The Irrawaddy)
Win Zaw and his fellow students went to Rangoon General Hospital and
spent the night helping doctors in treating hundreds of demonstrators
who had been shot by troops as they tried to clear the streets of
Rangoon.
The next morning, at about 10:30 am, Win Zaw and doctors got news
that the troops had again opened fire on protestors. Win Zaw quickly
joined a small team that included a surgeon named Win Ko, two doctors
and another house surgeon by the name of Dr Saw Lwin.
They drove through the streets collecting the wounded, putting as
many as 15 patients into their small ambulance. After two runs to pick
up the victims, they heard that shots had been fired at a demonstration
near Sule Pagoda in central Rangoon
As they reached the pagoda, it became clear that the troops had committed a massacre.
“It is a scene that I can never forget for the rest of life. There
were a lot of bodies and injured people on street,” Win Zaw recalled in
an interview. “A photo of our Bogyoke [Aung San] was on the street, our
fighting peacock flag [the symbol of students’ movement] was also down,
sandals were scattered and pools of blood were everywhere.”
As they looked among the numerous bodies for protestors who were
still alive, Win Zaw noticed one young girl who was breathing faintly.
He approached and heard her murmur, “Brother, help me.”
Win Zaw lifted the girl by her arms while house surgeon Saw Lwin held
her legs. Wearing white physician duty coats, they carried her to the
nearby ambulance. At that time, he noticed a flash of a camera and heard
one of the soldiers bellowing: “Don’t take pictures! Or else, we’ll
shoot!”
At that time, Win Zaw had no idea the picture would become an
internationally well-known, historic picture that symbolized just how
brutal the army’s crackdown on innocent protestors had been. Later, he
found out that the young girl’s name was Win Maw Oo, a 16-year-old high
school student.
On that dark day, September 19, 1988, Win Zaw’s team made seven runs
to collect the wounded from Rangoon’s blood-covered streets. Another
ambulance team of Rangoon General Hospital conducted a similar number of
emergency rescues.
By the evening, he learned Win Maw Oo was being treated at the
intensive care unit and that she was still alive after having suffered
gunshot wounds in one arm, one leg and a lung. At 5:35 pm, however, she
died.
The medical staff also risked their lives by going out and collecting
wounded protestors from Rangoon’s streets. Myat Htoo Razak remembers
that at least one medical student was shot and killed, while another
required a life-saving operation.
Myat Htoo Razak and a senior surgeon, Dr Kyaw Myint Naing, operated
on final-year medical student Moe Thu Win for six and a half hours after
a bullet had shredded the main artery in his arm. The doctors thought
they might have to amputate the limb, but eventually the operation was
successful.
During 10 days of bloody repression in 1988, the doctors continuously
treated injured protestors, although some of the wounded didn’t dare to
come to hospitals out of fear that the military would arrest them
there.
For some medical staff, their work would have repercussions later.
The military had taken note of Win Zaw and Saw Lwin after the photo of
their rescue of the young girl Win Maw Oo became famous the world over.
Four years later, the notorious Military Intelligence’s unit-6,
better known as MI-6, detained Dr Win Zaw for five days and asked him
about the details of the events of that day.
For his colleague Dr Saw Lwin the consequences would be far greater,
however. The military authorities forced Saw Lwin’s father to retire
from his position as the director of a government department. This
pressure on his family caused Saw Lwin to sink into a deep depression.
Years later, he committed suicide.
Until this day, Win Zaw said, Saw Lwin’s family cannot bear to watch the tragic picture of their rescue attempt.
For both Dr Win Zaw and Dr Myat Htoo Razak the events of 1988 were
life defining moments, and all these years later both say they are still
dedicated to establishing genuine democracy in Burma.
“The 88 uprising shaped our lives,” said Myat Htoo Razak, who now
lives in the United States and has worked on HIV/Aids research and
strengthening health care systems in Asia and Africa.
Win Zaw, who is now secretary of the Myanmar Medical Association’s
General Practitioners Society, said, “In fact, we are still waiting to
get what we demanded 25 years ago.”
