A nun adorned in white robes went down on her knees in front of Myanmar police and begged them to shoot her instead of a group of children.
Sister Ann Rose Nu Tawng has gone viral as a result of her selfless gesture, where she can be seen pleading with police to kill her in exchange for them avoiding shooting and torturing local children.
The 45-year-old nun, along with two of her fellow sisters, pleaded with police cracking down on a street protest in the city of Myitkyina to leave them be.
'The police were chasing [them] to arrest them and I was worried for the children,' she explained to AFP.
A Myanmar nun, Sister Ann Rose Nu Tawng, kneeled before police officers in the city of Myitkyina to ask security forces to refrain from violence against children and residents https://t.co/ojnACSHY1I pic.twitter.com/eKSd7XM7se
— Reuters (@Reuters) March 9, 2021
She then described how, when police opened fire on the crowd, the children panicked and ran to the front.
'I couldn't do anything but I was praying for God to save and help the children,' she added.
It appears that her words struck a chord with some of the soldiers, who also knelt down and began praying.
Sister Ann Rose also said that she saw a man get shot in the head and die in front of her at the protest, and also experienced the painful effects of tear gas.
She has also claimed that she was prepared to die if it meant saving others from the wrath of Myanmar's violent police force.
Online users were deeply touched by her compassion, as well as the harrowing events she and the local children had to experience:
Remarkable courage in Myanmar. Sister Ann Rose Nu Tawng: “I knelt down … begging them not to shoot and torture the children, but to shoot me and kill me instead,” https://t.co/tdBNmen2HY pic.twitter.com/YKbrL3sGkb
— Kenneth Roth (@KenRoth) March 10, 2021
We are honored to Sister Ann Rose Nu Tawng, who sacrificed her life to protect the people with the world's the most powerful weapons of love on mark's International Women's Day. May God be with Sister 🙏 pic.twitter.com/DN1r7GKleD
— Ko Aung (@koaung88) March 8, 2021
A sister namely Ann Rose Nu Tawng stood firm in front of the people of Myitkyina strike. We all rise up regardless the race, religion, age or sexual orientation.
— Hanna Yuri (유리) (@hannayuri_twt) March 8, 2021
STOP SIEGE#WhatsHappeningInMyanmar #Mar8Coup pic.twitter.com/1hFQMnrlNT
A Catholic Sister Ann Rose Nu Tawng in #Myitkyina #Kachin in northern #Myanmar seen again pleading with police officers to stop attacks against protesters. She had done the same last month & was quoted as saying she was prepared to die (local media pics) #WhatsHappeningInMyanmar pic.twitter.com/vVbFab52m5
— May Wong (@MayWongCNA) March 8, 2021
It's sad to see such images, where law protectors and religious elders are grinded between bad state policies and political agendas.
— Naveed Akhter (@eozdarkside) March 9, 2021
The world in 2021 was to walk into a new age beyond the age of I.T
But this is not what I imagined the age would look like. 😓
Powerful photo
— RESISTER SISTER3131🇫🇷🇺🇸🇸🇩🏳️🌈🌊 (@RSister3131) March 9, 2021
Remember when the Wall of Moms did this, and police shot them anyway?
— Douglas Adams tourguide (@kvghopper) March 9, 2021
The entire world is fighting fascism again, and IDK how the hell we got here.
Sister Ann Rose has since said that while she is afraid, she cannot stand and watch [the violence taking place in Myanmar] without doing anything.'
If anything can be taken away from this story, it is that while war and other forms of civil unrest can bring out the worst in some people (such as the executions of nuns by the Soviet Red Army in World War II), it can, likewise, also bring out the best in people.