Kantarawaddy Times
“The child has been traumatized. Don’t dare to enter the school compound. Even when we ask her to go and fetch water, she refuses. The trauma has been very severe,” said the father of 12-year-old schoolgirl Maw Oo Myar.
Every morning, Maw Oo Myar used to have breakfast, sling her small schoolbag over her shoulder, and go to school as usual. But now, she is too afraid to even set foot inside the school compound.
It all began with an airstrike carried out by the military junta on October 31 in the eastern part of Loikaw Township, Karenni State, where Maw Oo Myar and her family live.
On that day, the school where Maw Oo Myar was studying was attacked by an Y-12 aircraft, which dropped more than 20 bombs on the school.
The attack destroyed two school buildings and killed three students instantly, including one boy and two girls, who were attending classes.
There were also five other students with serious injuries, including four girls and one boy. They are between 10 and 16 years old.
Among the injured children, one child whose condition was critical had to be transported to neighbouring Thailand for medical treatment.
“We have already sent that child all the way to Thailand for treatment. I think the child is doing better now. The other four are no longer in critical condition and are recovering,” Maw Oo Myar’s father said.
Maw Oo Myar was also among those injured in the attack, with minor abrasions to her head and face.
Currently, her injuries have improved, and she has been discharged from the hospital, according to her father.
On November 2, the Karenni Human Rights Group (KnHRG) issued a statement strongly urging international partners to ensure accountability for those responsible for the military junta’s airstrikes and crimes against humanity.
The statement also said that the junta is deliberately targeting schools and civilians areas through aerial attacks.
Such attacks not only violate children’s rights but also create an environment where attending school is no longer safe.
Children like Maw Oo Myar, who personally experienced the attack, have suffered not only visible physical injuries but also invisible psychological trauma that is difficult to heal.
Moreover, some other children who fled and hid during the bombing have become so afraid that they were unable to come out of their hiding places. Parents had to bring them out. According to parents, some children become so frightened that they don’t even dare to walk past the front of the school.
Currently, the school that was attacked has not been able to reopen yet. Following that incident, some nearby schools have also been temporarily closed due to fears of further airstrikes.
“I just want the pain the children have experienced to disappear as soon as possible. I want to see them healthy and smiling again like before,” one parent expressed her wish.
Although the school buildings destroyed by the airstrike can be rebuilt within a very short time, the fear and trauma left in the children’s hearts will not disappear so easily.
For children who once went to school happily, a school was just a place to learn. But, now, it has become a place they are afraid to return to.
