Empty streets devoid of any human activity have long been a striking sight. Powerful vista’s that contextualise the backdrop to the latest post-apocalyptic Hollywood blockbuster; emotive scenes from news reels reporting on the streets of the latest war-torn tragedy; or the emblematic view of life under lockdown in the early outbreaks of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.
There’s no escaping the impact of seemingly uninhabited towns and cities. It somehow jars with the construct of human civilisation that we have evolved over centuries; it strikes an unsettling chord that resonates.
Such desolate streets have also been the sight emanating from Myanmar this week, as the country marked one year since the military coups that increasingly threaten to define it. A ‘silent strike’ reportedly saw streets deserted and shops abandoned across many of the country’s towns and cities on Monday (31st January), on the eve of the coup’s first anniversary.
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