Walking the world is sometimes desolating as well as beautiful.

@PaulSalopek was in #Yangon during the military coup. He + Burmese partners mapped a 10-mile path through the city in the aftermath. This thread is a small sample of what they saw. 1/

Map: https://bit.ly/2QQlLqj 

After the February 1 coup, Yangon swirled with raucous pro-democracy protests. Then it became a battlefield between ruthless security forces and unarmed activists. Now, it is a ghost town on the threshold of possible civil war. 2/

Sule pagoda downtown was ground zero for Yangon's biggest protests, drawing hundreds of thousands of people. The junta used brutal force to clear it. It's mostly empty today. 3/

This is a shrine for Khant Nyar Hein, a 17-year-old protester and medical student, built by his neighbors. Hein was shot dead by security forces on March 16, 2021. 4/

Barricades are the new architecture of Yangon. When the police bulldoze them away, they are built again. 5/

Burmese folk tradition holds that feminine items drain masculine power. Protesters have weaponized this irrational fear by draping their barricades with sanitary pads. 6/

This “Lennon wall” of freedom messages—adopted from Hong Kong's democracy movement—was scrubbed by police. 7/

This protest placard maps the life cycle of Myanmar’s long military dictatorship: Economic interests funding oppression. The poster singles out Myanmar Brewery and Mandalay Brewery, companies co-owned by the army, for boycotts. 8/

"We Want Democracy" Street. Where does it lead? 9/

General Min Aung Hlaing makes an appearance on the streets of Yangon. 10/

Throughout history, Shwedagon Pagoda has been looted by Portuguese mercenaries, defiled by British colonial troops who used it as a military fort, and cracked by earthquakes. Today, it is silent. 11/

Most ATMs in Yangon are empty. Bank employees have boycotted work as part of the civil disobedience campaign. A few operational machines dispense only 50,000 kyat, about $35. 12/

“Coup or no coup,” says a Burmese walking partner, “Chinatown always goes about its business.” 13/

“We either change the entire system or we lose everything,” says one young pro-democracy activist. 14/

To be free in a military locked-down city, look up. 15/

This thread shows only a few moments from the 10-mile path through the streets of #Yangon. Learn more & explore the full multimedia map below. #EdenWalk /end https://www.nationalgeographic.org/projects/out-of-eden-walk/articles/2021-04-walking-yangon/