All eyes around the world have turned to Myanmar, where the military have staged a coup d’état, upending the country’s transition to democracy. Yet amid all the worrying developments, there appeared to be room for some respite from politics in the form of a woman who inadvertently recorded the coup in the background of her workout video.
Related — Why Myanmar’s aerobics dancer didn’t miss a step despite the coup behind her (Video)
And in Myanmar too, apparently.
Una mujer hizo su clase de aerobic sin darse cuenta de que estaban dando el golpe de Estado en Myanmar. Y pues puede verse como el convoy de militares llega al parlamento. pic.twitter.com/fmFUzhawRe
— Àngel Marrades (@VonKoutli) February 1, 2021
The woman, who, according to her Facebook profile, is named Khing Hnin Wai and identifies as a PE teacher at the Ministry of Education, regularly records workout videos near the parliament building in Naypyidaw. The above was one of her latest videos, posted yesterday, which shows a convoy of military vehicles whizzing towards the parliament building while she kept pumping to Ampun Bang Jago.
As Khing Hnin Wai danced, the military staged a coup and arrested State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and other leaders of the country’s democratically elected government. The military has alleged, without proof, fraud in last November’s elections and has seized control of Myanmar from the civilian government.
Ampun Bang Jago playing amid a military coup is quite fitting, considering that the song is about bowing to the titular Bang Jago, which translates to a figure of authority, before the downtrodden rises up through perseverance.
Is the song foreshadowing another civilian revolution in Myanmar? If that’s going to be the case, we can’t imagine a better anthem than Ampun Bang Jago.
