A special three-part podcast series by Waso’s Ideas, which hears from people who have experienced love and found relationships amid Myanmar’s conflict since the 2021 military coup. This podcast is one of the 25 winners of the 2026 Gwen Robinson Fellowship.
Welcome to War and Love: Stories of Love in Times of Conflict, Episode 3
I’m Waso, your host. This is a special three-episode series where we hear from people who have experienced love and relationships amid the conflict in Myanmar.
In this episode, you will hear Lin Lin and Aung Zay Ya’s story. They are a married couple. You’ll hear about their relationship, challenges, choices, hopes, and their revolutionary life.
Thank you for joining us. Let’s begin.
Aung Zay Ya: I told her that at any moment, I could end up disabled—or even lose my life.
Lin Lin: We can’t sleep soundly most of the time. So, when I have nightmares, most of my nightmares are about the military’s airstrikes, mines, and shootings.
Linn Lin and Aung Zay Ya are a married couple currently living in Karenni State. Lin Lin is working as a member of the freelance volunteer Myanmar humanitarian assistance group. Aung Zay Ya is a humanitarian aid worker and an emergency medical assistant with the Free Burma Rangers.
Aung Zay Ya: We’ve friends since 2019. We met each other in the Technological University (TU) internship program in Pyin Oo Lwin. I am from Sagaing, and she is from Lwaing Kaw Technological University. We became very close friends there. After we graduated from the university, she worked at one of the NGOs in Yangon, and I worked as an engineer in Yangon. We met again in Yangon and kept in touch regularly. After the 2021 coup, we both joined the TU student protest group. We protested together and fell in love with each other.
Following the 2021 military coup, life became very dangerous for activists in Yangon. The military violently suppressed the anti-coup protests. So, the NGO where she worked suspended its operations for security reasons. So, she went back home to Karenni, and Aung Zay Ya stayed behind in Yangon.
Lin Lin: The political situation in Karenni was not really good at that time. The military cracked down on the protesters in Karenni too. Around May 2021, I went to Yangon again to make handover process for my work. At that time in Karenni, the military launched an offensive into the villages in Demoso. The fighting between the resistance groups in Karenni and the Myanmar military started. People had to flee from their houses. My mother told me not to return home at the moment. Aung Zay Ya and my friends asked me about the detailed situation in Karenni, and they told me they wanted to help. There were many internally displaced people (IDP’s). They carried nothing from their home, and they were hiding in the forest. So, Aung Zay and my friends, all together four people from TU University, went along with me when I went back to Karenni, carrying humanitarian assistance. They couldn’t go back to Yangon because of security reasons since then, and we founded the “Freelance Volunteer Myanmar” (FVM) humanitarian assistance group.
When her team went to give humanitarian assistance, they had to travel from village to village in Karenni due to an ongoing military offensive, and there were many airstrikes. They moved their office nearly 20 times. Once they found a safe area to set up operations, they couldn’t get too comfortable because the military kept advancing.
Lin Lin, Aung Zay Ya, and two members from FVM joined the Free Burma Rangers (FBR) training in 2023. We married in December 2023. Since we got married, the fighting in Karenni State has been nonstop. So, most of the time he was away from home. I think we didn’t even get to spend five months together, even though we have been married for more than 2 years.
Free Burma Rangers (FBR) is a multi-ethnic humanitarian service organization founded by Dave Eubank. It provides emergency medical care, food, and human rights documentation to people trapped in active war zones. After the FBR training, Aung Zay Ya worked as a ranger. When there was fighting between the military and the Karenni resistance forces, he had to provide first aid to the injured fighters on the battlefield.
Aung Zay Ya: I told her that at any moment, I could end up disabled—or even lose my life. So, I let her do most of her work alone without me. But I do worry about her, especially when she went to the IDP camps for the whole day to give humanitarian assistance. Usually, the Myanmar military conducts airstrikes and shoots with arbitrary weapons on IDP camps. They don’t care whether you are old, young, or just an ordinary civilian living in the camp. So, I need to check with her where she’s going so I can follow her if anything happens.
Airstrikes occurred frequently, and artillery landed nearby. Aung Zay Ya was living on the front line. But Lin Lin stayed somewhere relatively safe with her NGO to assist the displaced people.
Aung Zay Ya: She is a strong, independent woman. She can survive herself in every situation. She is the closest family member I have now. Only God and she know very well about me. She is the priceless gift that God has given to me. I love her more than my own life. Without her patience, her understanding, and her sacrifices, I couldn’t walk on my revolutionary way. I can’t even describe in words how she is precious and priceless to me.
Living here is not really easy. We can’t sleep soundly most of the time. So, when I have nightmares, most of my nightmares are about the military’s airstrikes, mines, and shootings. When there were airstrikes, I was really scared, and I missed him. I feel lonely sometimes. I love him; that’s why we got married, but we don’t have a married life. I want to be together with him. Sometimes I want to get angry, but I have to hold it in because he is on the front line. But I told him when I am not really Ok at all. At that time, he always listened to me. We’re going through everything together with mutual understanding, trust, and love. Also, by praying to God.
Over these three episodes, we’ve heard different voices, different experiences, and different perspectives on love and relationships during conflict.
There is no single story of love. Every person experiences it differently, and these conversations remind me that even in difficult times, love and human connection can remain deeply meaningful.
Thank you to everyone who listened to this three-episode series.
Take care and stay safe. See you, bye-bye. Peace be upon you.
