Ko Jimmy (Kyaw Min Yu)

Ko Jimmy was born on February 13, 1969, in the state of Shanland in Myanmar. During his early years, the military regime ruled over the country and popular discontent was slowly accumulating, especially among the youth. Ko Jimmy was only a 19-year-old physics student at Rangoon University when the 8888 Uprising began, and yet he would eventually become one of the leaders of this “88 Generation” of student democracy activists. Before then, however, he was arrested just like any other protestor and sentenced to fifteen years in Insein Prison. 

Ko Jimmy felt incredible fury at his treatment, becoming completely miserable while in jail. However, his perspective on the world started to change when he began to interact with a Buddhist monk who became his cellmate. The monk taught him about “vipassana meditation,” a form of Indian meditation that was meant to teach its practitioners to “see things as they really are.” Ko Jimmy’s temper calmed, and he even started to feel sympathy for the guards around him, seeing them not as enemies but as fellow victims of the system. He would use his compassion to his advantage, leveraging it to cease the endless beatings and to even allow himself the requisite paper and pens needed to start writing. During his prison sentence, Ko Jimmy wrote many poems and stories, most of which revolved around heroes that fought for freedom, though he would also do work in translating “The Da Vinci Code” using an English dictionary.

Writing and meditation were not the only pastimes that Ko Jimmy engaged in while in prison. He formed a close bond with a fellow inmate named Nilar Thein, who had also been a protestor during the 8888 Uprising. They exchanged notes with one another, discussing political ideals and famous thinkers. Two years after meeting, Ko Jimmy proposed to Nilar Thein After being released from prison in 2003, they would marry. They eventually had a daughter named Nay Chi Min Yu, meaning ‘sunshine,’ in hopes that she would see a brighter future for Myanmar. Even after being released from prison after fifteen years of confinement, Ko Jimmy and his wife continued their work to bring about a more democratic Myanmar. In 2007, they were arrested again for helping lead the Saffron Revolution, though this time they were kept in separate prisons. 

Upon being released in a mass pardon in 2012, Ko Jimmy reunited with his family and continued his work as an activist, with Ko Jimmy and Nilar Thein helping found the non-profit “88 Generation Peace and Open Society.” These pleasant times would not last, as Ko Jimmy became one of the many targets of the military regime following the coup in 2021. Ko Jimmy was arrested for planning terrorist attacks on schools and government buildings, an accusation many have disputed. Ko Jimmy was executed on July 23, 2022, sparking immense outrage in Myanmar and across the world.