A Risk-Taker at Risk

Episode #392: Landmines and explosive remnants of war are taking a devastating toll on civilians, as armed groups on many sides continue to use the deadly and indiscriminate weapons. Mine Free Myanmar, a country-focused campaign of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, runs an annual art contest documenting survivors’ stories and the ever-present threat experienced by communities.The contest, now in its third year, attracts submissions from both adults and children, opening a window on survivors’ experiences. One woman who was injured while fetching water was later abandoned by her husband because she was disabled. Last year’s prize winner from Rakhine State shows a boy playing football who runs into a mine in front of the village signboard.From anecdotal evidence, including survivor stories collected by volunteers, there was a surge in landmine incidents following Operation 1027 launched by several EAOs in October 2023. The most recent Landmine Monitor report published in November 2024 concluded that Myanmar suffered the most recorded casualties from landmine and explosive remnants of war of any country in the world in 2023.The campaign’s nationwide coordinator, who spoke to Insight Myanmar under the pseudonym of Webster, believes many incidents go unreported. “We just collect the impact stories of those who survived. There are many people who are being killed by the landmines in the community.” The role of the international community, he says, is to support multilateral engagement and advocacy to make that ban a reality, although he admits that amid the immediate conflict, reductions in landmine use and more awareness by armed actors might be the best that can be hoped. In the meantime, Webster urges international partners providing victim assistance to focus not just on the immediate injuries and provision of prostheses, to encompass the reality of a person’s life after an injury and the need for vocational training and sustainable livelihoods.“If we don’t talk about banning landmines, we have to support the survivor every decade, every generation,” Webster says. “It will never end.”

8 Sep 1h 42min

Episode #391: A key figure at Article 19 for the Asia Pacific region, Lana exposes a dilemma: the tense dynamic between an accelerating tech industry and authoritarian governments' increasing digital control. Lana's background informs her examination of how tech operations affect human rights in countries such as Myanmar, Vietnam, and China.Authorities in oppressive Asian nations are increasingly delegating enforcement of their restrictive policies to private tech firms. In Myanmar, post-2021 coup, new legislation forces telecom and IT companies to comply with the cybersecurity law. Lana clarifies that Myanmar's military isn't just removing content directly; it's using laws to transfer censorship and surveillance responsibilities to the tech sector. This puts companies in an untenable position, forced to obey unconstitutional mandates while operating in a worsening economy, with internet shutdowns and conflict further complicating matters.There is also the inconsistent nature of content moderation. She suggests moderation policies often reflect “public opinion in Western countries and public pressure,” rather than consistent ethics. Moreover, weak or absent data protection laws leave users vulnerable, enabling companies to collect vast amounts of information.Despite these hurdles, Lana stresses civil society's essential role in ensuring digital rights. She advocates for a human rights-first approach, urging companies to conduct thorough impact assessments. “We want the private sector to be more transparent and responsive when things are flagged by ​​civil society, and solve those issues together without a fear of being given to their authorities,” she emphasizes.While a universal policy is impractical, international human rights standards are important. “We should not stop and do nothing as a civil society just because it's complicated,” she stresses, placing accountability on both companies and users to ensure a safe, free online environment.

5 Sep 1h 27min

Episode #390: The exhibition Fragmentation, hosted earlier this year at Bangkok Art and Culture Center and co-organized by SEA Junction and A New Burma, presented haunting photographs of displaced teachers and students in Karenni State, capturing both devastation and resilience in the midst of war. Through a series of interviews, curators and participants reflected on the deeper meanings of these images.Tim, the co-curator and graphic designer, explained the deliberate effort to avoid sensationalizing suffering, instead showing both the grief of loss and the ordinariness of children still learning. He recalls how the sound of school bells had come to double as an airstrike siren, a chilling metaphor for the normalization of fear.Nicola Edwards, an education researcher, highlights how schools and health facilities have become deliberate military targets. Yet she notes that this destruction has catalyzed new, community-driven education systems, from jungle classrooms to mother-tongue curricula, where untrained but dedicated volunteers sustain children’s learning and safety.Patrick, a frontline doctor in Karenni, describes the direct targeting of hospitals and the horrific injuries he treats daily, many of them children. Though he has survived airstrikes and seen atrocities firsthand, he emphasized solidarity among medical workers and the determination to continue serving despite trauma.Mya Hein, a Muslim student unionist, reflects on his political awakening, the discrimination he faced, and how the revolution has brought fleeting moments of solidarity alongside lingering structural inequalities. He urged that minority rights must be central to any genuine future for Myanmar.Finally, artist and organizer MCP spoke of the revolution’s impact on art, where creativity has become both a tool of survival and a means of political dialogue. For him, art conveys truths and emotions beyond statistics, keeping Myanmar’s suffering—and hope—visible to the world.Together, their voices reveal a portrait of education, health, identity, and creativity as intertwined acts of resistance.

4 Sep 1h 37min

Episode #389: Mie Mie Wynn Bird, a retired U.S. Army officer and defense strategist runs leadership and capacity-building workshops for Myanmar’s pro-democracy movement. In this episode, she argues that morale—and not weapons or resources—is the decisive factor in war. She is guided by this principle: “people first, mission always”: leaders must train, protect, and respect their teams while keeping the mission in focus, building trust that cannot be fabricated in crisis. In Myanmar, morale among the resistance groups continues to be high, with the people believing they are fighting for a righteous cause. In contrast, the morale of the military’s conscripts deteriorates by the day, and a vibrant Burmese-language media ecosystem also mocks and undermines the regime, boosting opposition confidence. She estimates the junta holds just 20% of the country despite the huge material and weapons imbalances in its favor. Mie Mie Wynn Bird also highlights language use as part of the struggle. She calls out Western media for framing the struggle in “both sides” platitudes, and for using words that distort perception of the conflict, like “insurgents” instead of “revolutionary forces.” She urges the international community to frame the resistance in Myanmar as a story of ingenuity and determination, because winning the narrative is part of sustaining morale. Praising the diaspora’s critical and selfless contributions, which further boosts morale, she notes that the increased participation of women in all facets of the struggle does as well, as diversity strengthens problem-solving and resilience. She does, however, note the beginnings of a decline in women’s participation because of lingering cultural norms, which she views as both avoidable but also harmful to the cause. In the end, Mie Mie Wynn Bird says, “The Myanmar story is not a story of victims. It is a story of ingenuity, adaptability, and determination.”

2 Sep 1h 10min

Episode #388: “Every day in Myanmar, people are living in constant fear, fear of air strike, fear of artillery, fear of arbitrary arrest, fear of extra judicial killing. As long as the military is in power, the country will not be in peace,” says Alex, a Burmese activist-in-exile about Myanmar's brutal reality under military rule. His believes that the military’s planned, upcoming elections are in his words “a sham,” just a strategy to consolidate power and a deceptive charade to gain international legitimacy. Because they already hold 25% of the Parliamentary seats under the fraudulent 2008 Constitution, which sets the minimum limit of 33% of the total seats as the threshold for being able to form a government, they just need 8% more. This leads Alex to conclude that the junta will easily be able to manipulate the results to achieve whatever outcome they want. “They are trying to lie to the world, to the country, that’s what they have been doing since day one.”The second guest is Wunna, and he describes how on the morning of February 1, 2021, he recalls an eerie silence. The internet was down and phone lines had been cut. Wunna and a friend drove to Naypyidaw to see what was happening – they observed MPs being held under house arrest, guarded by soldiers. “I couldn’t even describe how I felt that day. It was really powerless and hopeless on the first day.” This direct experience at Ground Zero propelled him into action. He joined the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM), arranging safe houses and transportation for civil servants. But his bank account was subsequently frozen, and the escalating risk finally forced him to reluctantly make the agonizing decision to leave Myanmar, joining countless exiles.Despite his personal sacrifice, Wunna clings to a powerful conviction. He believes the revolution, built from nothing, still has the opportunity to prevail. To avoid despair, he just focuses on what is within his power to do. He acknowledges international skepticism to the resistance but affirms its strength. He advocates for constructive criticism, but says that it should be accompanied by practical suggestions, and not just empty theorizing. His final message is a call to global solidarity: “I just want to request, be part of our history in defending and nurturing democracy.”

1 Sep 1h 16min

Episode #387: “I think vipassana has always been a response to crisis, not just a quest for spiritual purity,” says Gustaaf Houtman, anthropologist and author of Traditions of Buddhist Practice in Burma and Mental Culture in Burmese Crisis Politics. Drawing on decades of research and immersion in the culture, Houtman connects meditation, language, politics, and cultural history, revealing a view of Burma’s Buddhist traditions that resists Western simplifications. Houtman contrasts Western notions of religion—rooted in belief in abstract doctrines and separated from culture—with the Burmese concept of sāsana, the Buddha’s dispensation, which is integrally embedded in historical and social life. He juxtaposes sāsana with bodha-batha, a term coined by the 19th century American missionary Adoniram Judson, which reframed Buddhism as a belief-based “-ism,” comparable to Christianity. This, Houtman argues, was not simply linguistic but ideological as well. In response, Burmese reformers emphasized Pāḷi terms like sāsana to defend Buddhism’s historical and cultural depth, turning language into “a site of resistance” against Western cultural hegemony. This framework illuminates the importance of lineage in Burmese meditation. Unlike monastic ordination, which is formally documented, meditation instruction is informal and personal, requiring validation from respected teachers— and it rarely goes in a straight line. U Ba Khin’s reliance on Webu Sayadaw’s endorsement exemplifies how Burmese meditation culture depends on networks of trust and recognition. Houtman contrasts this complexity with S. N. Goenka’s simplified lineage narrative, which, while pedagogically effective, erases the historical crises— British colonialism, military dictatorship, and cultural reform— that gave rise to vipassana. He links this history to Ledi Sayadaw, whose reforms empowered laypeople to sustain Buddhism during colonial rule, paving the way for later teachers like Mahasi Sayadaw and U Ba Khin. Meditation in Burma, Houtman emphasizes, has long been entwined with social and cultural life, politics, and survival, and is a source of cultural pride. Today, he supports exiled Burmese scholars through what he calls “academic activism,” insisting that understanding Burma requires joining its ongoing historical struggle. “If you stay with it, you will be drawn in. And if you’re drawn in, you stay for the long haul.”

30 Aug 3h 6min

Episode #386: Maw Htun, Deputy Minister for Electricity and Energy in Myanmar's National Unity Government (NUG), has navigated a path defined by personal tribulation and transformation since the 2021 coup. His journey began with joining the NUG to fulfill a lifelong dream of systemic change, but was soon overshadowed by a battle with cancer. With his critical illness and having to endure a series of complex medical procedures, Maw Htun faced an existential crisis. This harrowing experience, including a miraculous recovery linked to a burgeoning meditation practice, radically reshaped his worldview and even his political outlook.Previously driven by achievements, he found a deeper humility, recognizing the fragility of life and the illusion of fixed identities. Though recognizing his Kachin and Christian identities, his experience of suffering led him to perceive social identities as “constructs,” advocating for a politics focused on shared humanity. He advocates for a federal democracy that genuinely ensures “making life better no matter who you are.”Maw Htun's role in the NUG is central to this vision. He describes the body as a legitimate government and a revolutionary force, battling resource constraints and public expectations. He asserts its essential role in rallying support and establishing defense forces, arguing that the junta's brutal aerial attacks prove “the NUG mechanism is working.” While acknowledging valid criticisms regarding efficiency and representation, he stresses the NUG's dedication to human rights and its non-static, evolving nature– a resilience that fuels his resolve to fight for a future Myanmar free from discrimination.

28 Aug 2h 19min

Episode #385: Minna Fredriksson, human rights advisor at the Swedish development organization Diakonia, describes her humanitarian work and critiques the humanitarian aid field based on her years of work in Southeast Asia. Fredriksson managed humanitarian efforts in refugee camps along the Thai-Myanmar border in 2013. This was at the start of the democratic transition, and when donor governments such as the U.S., Sweden, Germany, and Japan were urging refugees to return to Myanmar despite persistent insecurity. She observed firsthand the disconnect between donor timelines and refugee realities. Later, inside Myanmar, Fredriksson found that decades of repression had shaped how people communicated even in safe settings, highlighting the need for culturally-sensitive modes of communication and trust-building. She stresses that aid responses must be trauma-informed, participatory, and led by communities themselves, and offers examples of successful local initiatives. However, she cautions against overromanticizing societies, including traditional societies, noting that all exhibit inequalities and prejudices of some kind or other. “Those need to be addressed,” she says firmly. She also warns of the global trend of aid retrenchment, especially Sweden’s shift toward nationalist priorities, which undermines those on-the-ground gains. “It breaks my heart when I hear that people say, ‘It’s like the world doesn’t care,’” she says. In closing, Fredriksson highlights the damaging effects of information repression inside Myanmar, which she calls a form of “soft violence,” as well as the international marginalization and erasure of Myanmar’s crisis. She affirms her commitment to amplifying Myanmar’s voices: “The motivation, of course, to continue to talk about Myanmar… and make sure that there is information about what’s happening.”

27 Aug 1h 54min