Myia, who before the coup was in the process of applying to work in the UK – as many doctors do for a short spell – struggled to leave the country. 

“The airport was like a zombie movie,” she said. “Only a few counters were open. It was hot and dark. People were queuing outside the airport. I couldn’t say goodbye to my family. Normally we would be waving until the plane took off.”

Since arriving in the UK, Myia has been working with Covid and pneumonia patients on the Medical Support Worker programme. It was introduced during the pandemic to plug NHS staffing shortages and help doctors whose visas were due to expire but were unable to travel home. 

Medical support workers mirror junior doctors – completing tasks like cannulation and taking a patient’s history – under the supervision of senior doctors. Myia has since completed the exams required to practise medicine in the UK, and will do so when the programme ends in March. 

Myia worries she will not be able to return to Myanmar until democracy is restored. She fears her role as a doctor holds a death sentence.

“Once they find out that I’m a doctor, they can arrest and investigate me for no reason,” she said. Sitting in blue scrubs in her hospital accommodation, Myia looked down at her hands, and added: “If I return and I am killed, my family would have no way to report it. When the soldiers are the police, and all authority, who could they speak to?”