Reporting from behind shifting front lines in Myanmar’s civil war

On a emblematic day, Mai Rupa travels done his autochthonal Shan State, successful eastbound Myanmar, documenting the interaction of war.

A video writer with the online quality outlet Shwe Phee Myay, helium travels to distant towns and villages, collecting footage and conducting interviews connected stories ranging from conflict updates to the concern for section civilians surviving successful a warfare zone.

His occupation is fraught with risks. Roads are strewn with landmines and determination are times erstwhile helium has taken screen from aerial bombing and artillery shelling.

“I person witnessed countless radical being injured and civilians dying successful beforehand of me,” Mai Rupa said.

“These heartbreaking experiences profoundly affected me,” helium told Al Jazeera, “at times, starring to superior affectional distress.”

Mai Rupa is 1 of a tiny fig of brave, autarkic journalists inactive reporting connected the crushed successful Myanmar, wherever a 2021 subject coup shattered the country’s fragile modulation to ideology and obliterated media freedoms.

Like his colleagues astatine Shwe Phee Myay – a sanction which refers to Shan State’s affluent past of beverage cultivation – Mai Rupa prefers to spell by a pen sanction owed to the risks of publically identifying arsenic a newsman with 1 of the past remaining autarkic media outlets inactive operating wrong the country.

Most journalists fled Myanmar successful the aftermath of the military’s takeover and the expanding civilian war. Some proceed their sum by making cross-border trips from enactment bases successful neighbouring Thailand and India.

But unit astatine Shwe Phee Myay – a Burmese-language outlet, with roots successful Shan State’s taste Ta’ang assemblage – proceed reporting from connected the ground, covering a portion of Myanmar wherever respective taste equipped groups person for decades fought against the subject and astatine times clashed with each other.

Ta’ang National Liberation service officers march during an lawsuit to people the 52nd Ta’ang gyration time successful Mar-Wong, Ta’ang self-governing area, bluish Shan State, Myanmar, successful 2015 [File: Gemunu Amarasinghe/AP]

Fighting to support the nationalist informed

After Myanmar’s subject launched a coup successful February 2021, Shwe Phee Myay’s journalists faced caller risks.

In March that year, 2 reporters with the outlet narrowly escaped apprehension portion covering pro-democracy protests. When soldiers and constabulary raided their bureau successful the Shan State superior of Lashio 2 months later, the full squad had already gone into hiding.

That September, the subject arrested the organisation’s video reporter, Lway M Phuong, for alleged incitement and dissemination of “false news”. She served astir 2 years successful prison. The remainder of the 10-person Shwe Phee Myay squad scattered pursuing her arrest, which came amid the Myanmar military’s wider crackdown connected the media.

Spread retired crossed bluish Shan State successful the eastbound of the country, the quality squad initially struggled to proceed their work. They chose to debar municipality areas wherever they mightiness brushwood the military. Every time was a conflict to proceed reporting.

“We couldn’t question connected main roads, lone backmost roads,” recounted Hlar Nyiem, an adjunct exertion with Shwe Phee Myay.

“Sometimes, we mislaid 4 oregon 5 enactment days successful a week,” she said.

Police apprehension Myanmar Now writer Kay Zon Nwe successful Yangon successful February 2021, arsenic protesters took portion successful a objection against the subject coup [Ye Aung Thu/AFP]

Despite the dangers, Shwe Phee Myay’s reporters continued with their clandestine enactment to support the nationalist informed.

When a magnitude 7.7 earthquake deed cardinal Myanmar connected March 28, sidesplitting much than 3,800 people, Shwe Phee Myay’s journalists were among the fewer capable to papers the aftermath from wrong the country.

The subject blocked astir planetary media outlets from accessing earthquake-affected areas, citing difficulties with question and accommodation, and the fewer section reporters inactive moving secretly successful the state took large risks to get accusation to the extracurricular world.

“These journalists proceed to uncover truths and marque people’s voices heard that the subject authorities is hopeless to silence,” said Thu Thu Aung, a nationalist argumentation student astatine the University of Oxford who has conducted probe connected Myanmar’s post-coup media landscape.

Journalists with Shwe Phee Myay behaviour a video interrogation successful Shan State, Myanmar, successful September 2024 [Courtesy of Shwe Phee Myay]

On apical of the civilian warfare and threats posed by Myanmar’s subject regime, Myanmar’s journalists person encountered a caller threat.

In January, the medication of US President Donald Trump and his billionaire confidante Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) began dismantling the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

USAID had allocated much than $268m towards supporting autarkic media and the escaped travel of accusation successful much than 30 countries astir the satellite – from Ukraine to Myanmar, according to journalism advocacy radical Reporters Without Borders.

In February, The Guardian reported connected the freezing of USAID funds, creating an “existential crisis” for exiled Myanmar journalists operating from the municipality of Mae Sot, connected the country’s borderline with Thailand.

The concern worsened further successful mid-March, erstwhile the White House declared plans for the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM) to trim operations to the bare minimum. USAGM oversees – among others – the Voice of America and Radio Free Asia, which were some starring providers of quality connected Myanmar.

Last week, RFA announced it was laying disconnected 90 percent of its unit and ceasing to nutrient quality successful the Tibetan, Burmese, Uighur and Lao languages. VOA has faced a akin situation.

Tin Tin Nyo, managing manager of Burma News International, a web of 16 local, autarkic media organisations based wrong and extracurricular Myanmar, said the nonaccomplishment of the Burmese-language services provided by VOA and RFA created a “troubling accusation vacuum”.

Myanmar’s autarkic media assemblage besides relied heavy connected planetary assistance, which had already been dwindling, Tin Tin Nyo said.

Many section Myanmar quality outlets were already “struggling to proceed producing reliable information”, arsenic a effect of the USAID backing cuts brought successful by Trump and executed by Musk’s DOGE, she said.

Some had laid disconnected staff, reduced their programming oregon suspended operations.

“The downsizing of autarkic media has decreased the capableness to show [false] narratives, supply aboriginal warnings, and antagonistic propaganda, yet weakening the pro-democracy movement,” Tin Tin Nyo said.

“When autarkic media neglect to nutrient news, policymakers astir the satellite volition beryllium unaware of the existent concern successful Myanmar,” she added.

‘Constant fearfulness of apprehension oregon adjacent death’

Currently, 35 journalists stay imprisoned successful Myanmar, making it the world’s third-worst jailer of journalists aft China and Israel, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

The state is ranked 169th retired of 180 countries connected Reporters Without Borders’ World Press Freedom Index.

“Journalists connected the crushed indispensable enactment nether the changeless fearfulness of apprehension oregon adjacent death,” Tin Tin Nyo said.

“The subject junta treats the media and journalists arsenic criminals, specifically targeting them to soundlessness entree to information.”

Myanmar journalists, wearing T-shirts that accidental “Stop Killing Press”, signifier a soundless protestation for 5 writer colleagues who were jailed for 10 years successful 2014 [File: Soe Than Win/AFP]

Despite the dangers, Shwe Phee Myay continues to people quality connected events wrong Myanmar.

With a cardinal followers connected Facebook – the integer level wherever astir radical successful Myanmar get their quality – Shwe Phee Myay’s sum has go adjacent much captious since the subject coup successful 2021 and the widening civilian war.

Established successful 2019 successful Lashio, Shwe Phee Myay was 1 of dozens of autarkic media outlets which emerged successful Myanmar during a decade-long governmental opening, which began successful 2011 with the country’s emergence from a half-century of comparative planetary isolation nether authoritarian subject rule.

Pre-publication censorship ended successful 2012 amid a wider acceptable of argumentation reforms arsenic the subject agreed to let greater governmental freedom. Journalists who had lived and worked successful exile for media outlets specified arsenic the Democratic Voice of Burma, The Irrawaddy and Mizzima News began cautiously returning home.

However, the country’s nascent property freedoms came under strain during the word of Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy government, which came to powerfulness successful 2016 arsenic a effect of the military’s governmental reforms.

Aung San Suu Kyi’s authorities jailed journalists and blocked autarkic media entree to politically delicate areas including Rakhine State, wherever the subject committed a brutal run of taste cleansing against the Rohingya assemblage and for which it present faces planetary charges of genocide.

But the concern for autarkic journalists dramatically worsened pursuing the 2021 coup. As the subject violently cracked down connected peaceful protests against the generals seizing power, it restricted the internet, revoked media licences and arrested dozens of journalists. That unit triggered an equipped uprising crossed Myanmar.

‘If we stop, who volition proceed addressing these issues?’

Shwe Phee Myay concisely considered relocating to Thailand arsenic the concern deteriorated aft the coup, but those moving the quality tract decided to stay successful the country.

“Our volition was to enactment connected our ain land,” said Mai Naw Dang, who until precocious served arsenic the exertion of Burmese-to-English translations.

“Our position was that to stitchery the quality and cod footage, we needed to beryllium here.”

Their enactment past took connected caller strength successful October 2023, erstwhile an confederation of taste equipped organisations launched a surprise attack connected subject outposts successful Shan State adjacent the borderline with China.

The violative marked a large escalation successful the Myanmar conflict; the military, which mislaid important territory arsenic a result, retaliated with aerial strikes, clump munitions and shelling. Within 2 months, much than 500,000 radical had been displaced owed to the fighting.

With fewer extracurricular journalists capable to entree bluish Shan State, Shwe Phee Myay was uniquely positioned to screen the crisis.

Then successful January this year, Shwe Phee Myay besides received announcement that USAID funds approved successful November were nary longer coming and it has since reduced tract reporting, cancelled grooming and scaled backmost video quality production.

“We’re taking risks to study connected however radical are impacted by the war, yet our efforts look unrecognised,” editor-in-chief Mai Rukaw said.

“Even though we person a beardown quality assets basal connected the ground, we’re facing important challenges successful securing backing to proceed our work.”

During unit meetings, Mai Rukaw has raised the anticipation of shutting down Shwe Phee Myay with his colleagues.

Their response, helium said, was to support going adjacent if the wealth dries up.

“We ever inquire ourselves: if we stop, who volition proceed addressing these issues?” helium said.

“That question keeps america moving forward.”