OSAKA Aung Myat Win, a refugee from Myanmar who lives in Japan, repeatedly told a tearful young man via smartphone: “I will rescue you from danger for sure. Don’t worry.”
Ben Dooley and Hisako Ueno, The New York Times
Published: 04 Jul 2021 10:56 AM BdST
Updated: 04 Jul 2021 10:56 AM BdST Ko Pyae Lyan Aung, a professional soccer player, on a practice field in Osaka, Japan, June 26, 2021. After defying Myanmar’s military rulers at a soccer match, Pyae Lyan Aung decided to seek asylum. But he was being watched. (Shiho Fukada/The New York Times)
The soccer player’s plane was at the gate. Ahead of him stood his last chance at safety. );
}
The athlete, Ko Pyae Lyan Aung, had come to Japan with Myanmar’s national team. On the field, before the first match, he had flashed a gesture of defiance the three-finger salute made famous by “The Hunger Games” against the military junta that had ousted his country’s elected government. He was now afraid of what might happen if he returned home.