New soldiers for the Eighth Battalion of the Karenni Nationalities Defence Force on parade during their graduation ceremony in southern Karenni State, in Myanmar— ©2024 The New York Times Company
THE night Suu Kyi thought she would die of her wounds on the front lines of a forgotten war, a crescent moon hung overhead. A pendant of the Virgin Mary dangled around her neck. Maybe those augurs saved her. Or maybe, she said, it was not yet time for her to die.
“When I joined the revolution, I knew my chances of surviving were 50-50,” Suu Kyi, 21, said of her decision to enlist as a rebel soldier, fighting to overthrow the junta that returned Myanmar to military dictatorship three years ago.
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