As activists under the military government of Myanmar, I spent most of the 1990s in more than a year in solitary confinement confinement inclusive. 23 hours and 40 minutes a day have been held in a small, 8-by-12-foot cell with a carpet, a toilet and a bowl to eat from my family. I could not use a pillow because it was considered a luxury. I only saw my family for 15 minutes every two weeks. Most days passed slowly without seeing another human being. I was bored. I felt alone. But they survived. Now that the 19-COVID pandemic, many people around the world, even those who have never experienced the iron fist of the military regime have long periods of time in quarantine or self-isolation. More than a third of the world is now under some form of lock, while in some places the soldiers patrolling the roads and curfews are implemented to enforce the social distances. The crown knows no national boundaries, no religion, no ideology. It affects us all. That will remain in the comfort of your own home is very different set behind bars handcuffed and thrown. Today we have smartphones, Facebook, Netflix, podcasts, and deliveries of groceries online. I had virtually no contact with the outside world. I was not even allowed to read or write. But there are still many similarities, especially if you are in quarantine or isolate itself indefinitely, including the fear of not knowing how long the situation and everyday afraid to ask if you will survive the test. If you lose your freedom, you feel the fear, despair and inability to be useful. It feels as if you do not protect your family, your loved ones or even yourself. Then you can lose confidence. Here are some basic tips and advice I can offer my experience due. Accept your reality did not live alone in a prison cell, but I had no choice. The military regime has wanted to break my spirit, keeping me confined and isolated. But they could not stop coming with my projects and my activities. Once I accepted that I would be in jail for a long time, I made a decision to study English. The prisoner in the next cell could speak, so that when the guards went off, I would ask him to call one or two sentences to me. I would like to scribble the words to concrete and remember them. Finally, I approached a sympathetic prison guard and asked him to smuggle in a dictionary one hand at a time. He did, but to store the side, I had the paper to avoid detection to eat. Over time I have eaten many pages of this dictionary. Some of my friends wrote songs, poems, novels and articles on the concrete floors of their cells before storing and deleting them then. Sign up for our daily newsletter crown by clicking on this link, and send any tips, leads and [email protected] stories. Stay awake When I was in prison, I do not think about my release date, because it was one of those things out of my control. But I try to be in good health. I went up and down my cell phone for many hours a day. Trust: Exercise will help your physical and mental health. Exercise! If you can, go at least 6,000 steps a day. to do if you are not in a position that is thought to remain active in a different way. try to practice meditation or yoga. Stay positive Most people use the Internet are able to achieve to use family and friends. But the ease of Internet access which we did not jail a double-edged sword because you will be bombarded with terrible news. While staying informed is important to try to read something positive rather to create a balance. Instead of news, you try to call a friend. Do something productive, whether small or large. Dress up your home. Cook a meal. Maintain perspective I am sure that even if we find the difficult situation, there are many people around the world, whose suffering is much worse than ours: sold Victims of domestic violence, refugees, people from their homes, political prisoners and consciousness political prisoner. This is true in my country. Although Myanmar has undergone many positive political changes of recent years, there is much pain and suffering. While many countries have released prisoners during the Myanmar crisis crown she has yet to do the same. Instead, the authorities continue to arrest and imprison people’s human rights defenders, journalists and activists simply for speaking out. We should think about it all the time, take advantage of what others are going through and try to help raise awareness of their situation. Photo copyright by Tom Stoddart-Getty Images
I spent eight years in a Myanmar prison. This is what I learned about the survival confinement
