Their signs say it all: Myanmar's ruling junta is worse than an ex-boyfriend, fouler than fish curry, rejected by millions and more painful than a period.

As they flood streets across the country in opposition to last week's military coup, a younger generation of Myanmar protesters are cracking jokes at the military's expense and winning fans on social media with their colourful, witty and often explicit signage.

The situation is so bad, "even the introverts are here", as one demonstrator's poster put it.

"My ex is bad, but Myanmar military is worse," said another.

Scorn has particularly been heaped on army chief Min Aung Hlaing, now in charge after the coup deposed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

"Our dreams are higher than MAL's height," read a handwritten cardboard sign — a reference to the commander-in-chief's diminutive stature.

"Min Aung Hlaing I hate you more than my periods," said another held out a car window.

Photos of the relatable, sly remarks have been shared thousands of times on social media, with retweets and comments from users in Hong Kong, the United States and elsewhere.

This social media savvy campaign "is a new, creative type of protesting for Myanmar," said Htaike Htaike Aung, executive director of Myanmar ICT for Development, a Yangon-based digital rights group.

"The younger generation… are on Facebook, TikTok, Instagram and Discord mobilizing other young people," she told AFP.

Unlike previous generations largely cut off from the world during the 49 years of military rule, these younger Myanmar protesters came of age plugged into the internet zeitgeist.

And they are very online.

In one widely shared sign, a woman reinterpreted "WAP" – Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion's sexually-explicit summer hit – to mean "We Are Protesting Peacefully".

Many of the signs are in English, highlighting the desire to appeal to an international audience.

Social media has not only spread their message, but also connected Myanmar protesters to Hong Kong and Thai users who have swapped tips on how to stay safe during demonstrations.

Hard hats – essential gear during Hong Kong's unrest — are also becoming a signature of this movement.

– Coming online –

None of this would have been possible a decade ago.

Before Myanmar began its democratic transition in 2011, cyber cafes dotted major cities, but Skype, Gmail and Facebook were restricted under the military-imposed isolation.

Despite smartphone usage exploding around the world, only North Korea had fewer mobile phones than Myanmar, where SIM cards cost thousands of dollars.

That changed in 2013, when the government ended the state monopoly on telecommunications and SIM prices plummeted while cheap, Chinese smartphones — with Facebook preloaded — became widely available.

Eager to connect after years in the dark, the country came online virtually overnight and was soon inundated with ride hailing apps, food delivery services and money transfer platforms in an internet gold rush.

Pulling the plug on all this connectivity will be hard, if not impossible, said Htaike Htaike Aung, the digital rights campaigner.

The military has already tried to put a chokehold on the country's internet, but users circumvented a nationwide blackout as well as social media restrictions with VPNs, foreign SIM cards and other measures before access was restored.

As one of the tongue-in-cheek signs proliferating across the country put it, the military "has messed with the wrong generation".

'Can't stay quiet': Thailand's Myanmar migrants rise up against coup back home
Samut Prakan, Thailand (AFP) Feb 9, 2021 –

Organising protests, gathering supporters and distributing posters of their beloved leader Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar workers in Thailand are adding to a chorus of dissent against a coup that has upended their home country.

Thailand's economy is reliant on millions of low-wage labourers — mostly from neighbouring Myanmar — who largely toil behind the scenes to keep the kingdom's industries humming.

They live a precarious existence and largely distrust Thai authorities, due to widespread discrimination and frequent crackdowns against illegal workers, and usually keep to themselves.

But a military coup that deposed Suu Kyi has sent shockwaves through the normally quiet community, who have begun staging near daily protests across Bangkok.

"We Burmese who live abroad can't stay quiet. We all need to go demand justice in front of our embassy and stage protests," said Kyaw Thu Ya, a worker living in Samut Prakan province, an hour south of the capital.

"I feel uncomfortable because I'm not living in my country and I understand my limits," he said.

"If I were in Myanmar right now, I'd go out and protest everyday."

– 'No chance to live' –

For now, they do what they can.

In a small house, Kyaw Thu Ya gathers with friends to plan a protest in front of the UN office, preparing posters of Suu Kyi, and also some of coup leader General Min Aung Hlaing — superimposed with a large "X" across his face.

"Min Aung Hlaing doesn't know the word 'enough'," said Pu, a Myanmar street vendor who told AFP she hasn't been able to sleep or eat properly since she learned of the putsch.

Myanmar endured nearly five decades of military rule until beginning an uneasy move towards democracy in 2011, and the 48-year-old said access to education was limited when she was growing up.

"The military didn't give us a chance to live… so I made up my mind and moved (to Thailand)," she said.

She said the fact that millions move to Thailand to seek work and better lives was an indictment of military rule, under which the country's economy sharply declined.

"Myanmar has never had a chance to progress due to all the military's interference," she said.

"Now that this coup has happened again, I'd fight all the way against it."

– 'The coup ruined everything' –

In the protest outside the United Nations building over the weekend, the Myanmar workers sang an old revolutionary song, "Kabar Ma Kyay Bu", or "We Won't Forget Until the End of the World".

The song was popularised during a 1988 uprising against army rule, which came to a brutal end when the military gunned down thousands of people in the streets.

The waves of protests now taking place across the country, with some drawing hundreds of thousands in major cities like Yangon, bring back the same fears for the Burmese community.

"When the National League for Democracy (Suu Kyi's party) won the election, I had hoped that I might be able to go back to Myanmar and start some kind of business of my own," said Kyaw Thu Ya.

"But the coup has ruined everything. Our future in Myanmar is no longer safe."