Kyal Sin (Burmese: ကြယ်စင်), also known as Angel or by her Chinese name, Deng Jiaxi (邓家希),[1] was a 19-year-old woman from Mandalay who was killed on 3 March 2021 during the 2021 Burmese protests.[2] Kyal Sin emerged as an early martyr and symbol of resistance against the military junta's use of violence to suppress the protest movement.[3][4][5][6][7] She was one of several teenagers and young adults who gave up their lives in the protests.[8][9][10][11][12] As of 13 March, around 60 civilians had lost their lives; more than a third of the dead are teenagers.[13]
Personal background
Kyal Sin was born to a Kokang Chinese mother and a Yunnanese father from Mainland China.[14] She voted for the first time in November 2020.[15]
Kyal Sin was a taekwondo instructor and champion,[16] and worked as a singer and dancer.[17]
On 3 March 2021, she participated in a protest in Mandalay wearing a black T-shirt emblazoned with Everything will be OK. A photograph of her wearing the T-shirt has become iconic.[19]
During the protest, she is reported to have broken open a water pipe to allow protestors to wash tear gas from their eyes, thrown a tear gas canister back at police, and encouraged protestors to take cover when live rounds were fired.[17]
While she was on the front line of the protest she was shot dead.[20][17] Prior to the event, she had made a Facebook post stating her blood type in case she was injured and her wish for her organs to be donated should she die during the protest.[21]
Her funeral on 4 March 2021 was attended by several thousands of protesters.[22][23]
The next day, authorities went to the cemetery where her remains were buried and exhumed the body for autopsy.[24][25]
