Struggling through the darkness: The plight of morning market vendors in Myitkyina

Written by: Theresa In the early morning, when the surroundings are silent and darkness prevails, middle-aged Daw Kaw Mai begins preparing for her daily battle. She wakes up around 2:00 AM, before her family is awake, to prepare for her work. Traveling in the middle of the night to reach her destination on time is not easy for a woman. Due to the current situation, where robberies and thefts occur on the streets at any time of day or night, commuting has become a major challenge for morning market vendors. For a vendor like Daw Kaw Mai, this is a daily gamble with her life. "I have to risk my life to go," she says. Regardless, she puts aside her fear, packs the seasonal produce she prepared the evening before onto the back of her motorcycle, and sets off on her usual route. She lives in a village along the Myitkyina-Myitsone road in Myitkyina, Kachin State, and it takes about half an hour by motorcycle to reach the Myitkyina Central Market. In Myitkyina, robberies, thefts, and murders occur almost daily, both day and night. There is no security, and it is not easy to even ask for help. While ordinary housewives can go to the market around 6:00 AM, vendors like her must go to the Myitkyina Central Market first to buy fresh produce to sell in time. For morning market vendors, there is no choice between danger and making a living. Throughout the journey to the market, she travels with a pounding heart and fear, and news of robberies has become commonplace. Daw Kaw Mai is not afraid without reason; she says she has personally experienced being robbed at knifepoint. The robbers made her stop her motorcycle and stole not only her money but also her new motorcycle, which she had bought only a week prior. "It's a feeling that only those who have experienced it can understand," Daw Kaw Mai says of her fear. When choosing work to survive, she chooses to work in the city because it is too dangerous to go to the outskirts, but she says she still has to be careful and anxious. "I worry about when I might be stabbed. If I see a group of people in front of me, I avoid them," she says. There are many morning market vendors selling in the wards and villages of Myitkyina. They wake up early and go to the big market to buy meat, fish, and vegetables by tricycle or motorcycle. Some also sell seasonal produce from their own villages back at the market. They repack the goods bought from the market into small bundles and provide a service by selling them right in front of the houses so that the residents do not have to go to the market themselves. They also resell goods to those selling in village markets. Residents of Myitkyina know that around 6:30 AM, they can hear the voices of motorcycle or tricycle vendors from inside their homes. The morning market vendors who arrive at their doorsteps with the call of "Vendor! " are people who have come through life-threatening situations. For morning market vendors, there is another concern besides robbery. A curfew has been imposed in Myitkyina from 10:00 PM to 4:00 AM. They worry about this because they could be arrested or shot at any time. According to another vendor who requested anonymity for security reasons, some vendors have even been stopped by military patrols on their way early in the morning and forced to sign pledges. Although she would like to bring her husband along when going to the market early in the morning, she says she usually goes alone because of the concern that men might be at greater risk on the road in the current situation. "Many people tell me not to do such a scary job. But I don't have the skills to switch to another job," the vendor said. Most housewives in villages far from the city say that buying from morning market vendors saves them time. "If they (the morning market vendors) didn't go to the market, we wouldn't have anything to buy and eat," one housewife said. Myitkyina is the capital of Kachin State. Since the coup, robberies and thefts have worsened, and in addition to being robbed, people are being beaten, stabbed, and even killed. Because the relevant local authorities do not take effective action, there is no rule of law and a lack of security. In this era where criminals easily take advantage of the political situation, an environment where people can travel safely is needed. Daw Kaw Mai, who has been working as a morning market vendor for a decade, surely misses the days when she could work freely. However, in a situation she cannot control, waking up early every morning, carrying the burden of fear and insecurity, and heading out into the darkness on a motorcycle to feed her family is the current reality. — The name Daw Kaw Mai has been changed for security reasons.