What Lies Beneath

What Lies Beneath

Episode #466: Jonathan Moss, a Free Burma Rangers (FBR) volunteer and former U.S. Explosive Ordnance Disposal officer, speaks on the topic of landmines. He notes that the Burma Army routinely employs these devices around military camps, along roads and trails, and in villages. After the military takes a village, often accompanied by widespread looting and arson, it routinely seeds the ground with landmines near homes, places of worship and transit routes. Displaced villagers returning home face a stark choice: conduct ad hoc demining now or live with constant danger.

“Mines are being laid, not only for defense, but to target civilians,” Moss says. “IDP routes, food paths, water access points – they’re increasingly contaminated.” Mines have been found at church entrances and home doorways, deliberately targeting civilians, in violation of international humanitarian law.

More than 1,600 mine and UXO casualties were recorded in Myanmar in 2024 – the worst in the world for the second year running. Beyond deaths and injuries, contamination creates fear and economic hardship for communities.

“Demining, it’s already happening with or without international support,” Moss says. “People just really can’t wait. They’re clearing paths to farms, water sources, medical clinics and schools out of necessity.”

In partnership with communities, FBR is working to establish an Explosive Hazard Mitigation Center that would support existing efforts and upholding International Mine Action Standards as much as possible. In the midst of the uncertain conflict and a shortfall of international support at the local level, demining efforts face considerable challenges but also solutions that are in sight.

Jaksot(540)

On the Threshold

On the Threshold

Episode #510: “I'm not an activist,” says Bart Was Not Here, a Burmese artist whose politically oriented work reflects a life shaped by dictatorship and displacement. He argues that art creates a spac...

30 Maalis 2h 9min

Reality Bites

Reality Bites

Episode #509: “I don’t have hope. But I think that this is something that I should accept. It is reality.” Chalida Tajaroensuk, a longtime advocate of democratic reform and human rights across the Sou...

27 Maalis 1h 48min

The Justice League

The Justice League

Episode #508: Damian Lilly, a veteran humanitarian and human-rights specialist, who has worked in conflict zones across the world, believes assistance must be joined with protection and accountability...

26 Maalis 1h 40min

Terra Incognita

Terra Incognita

Episode #507: “It’s a process of learning and unlearning, and understanding that knowledge exists in many places and is everywhere, not just in the academy,” says Davina Quinlivan, an Anglo-Burmese wr...

24 Maalis 1h 19min

Never Again

Never Again

Episode #506: “I think the toll of doing dedicated work even as we grow older is so small compared to that of so many brave Myanmar activists. I can support the cause, but I can also choose not to con...

23 Maalis 2h 6min

Conflict Takes Root

Conflict Takes Root

Episode #505: In February, Timor-Leste opened judicial proceedings against Myanmar’s military regime, marking the first time one ASEAN member has initiated legal action against another. Supporting the...

20 Maalis 2h 2min

Holding the Line

Holding the Line

Episode #504: Michael Sladnick, an American activist who has lived and worked near the Thai–Myanmar border since the 2021 military coup, joins the podcast a second time to argue that the most conseque...

19 Maalis 2h 36min

In the Name of the Sāsana

In the Name of the Sāsana

Episode #503: Alicia Turner shows that Burmese Buddhists were not passive subjects of British colonialism, but active agents who reimagined Buddhist responsibility, authority, and identity through the...

17 Maalis 2h 39min

Suosittua kategoriassa Politiikka ja uutiset

uutiscast
aikalisa
ootsa-kuullut-tasta-2
politiikan-puskaradio
rss-ootsa-kuullut-tasta
tervo-halme
viisupodi
rss-podme-livebox
rss-vaalirankkurit-podcast
rss-pinnalla
otetaan-yhdet
the-ulkopolitist
aihe
rss-ulkopoditiikkaa
rss-raha-talous-ja-politiikka
rss-asiastudio
rss-girls-finish-f1rst
et-sa-noin-voi-sanoo-esittaa
rss-tasta-on-kyse-ivan-puopolo-verkkouutiset
rss-vain-talouselamaa