Almost 20,000 people have reportedly been killed since the military seized power in Myanmar in February 2021. Three Australian journalists take on three issues relating to the ongoing civil war in Myanmar today. From the crackdown on press freedoms to the influx of refugees in camps along the Thai/Myanmar border to those lucky enough to flee the conflict and resettle in a third country, this is….
As Myanmar Burns.
By Pranav Harish, Carly Chatfield and Paul Jones.
A ethnic Karen family sit at the front of their bamboo shack in Mae La refugee camp on the Thai/Myanmar border. Photo Paul Jones 2017.
Journalism under fire as junta renews its assault on democracy in Burma.
By Pranav Harish.
When Burma’s democratically elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi was ousted in a coup in February last year, the reign of military dictatorship that first gained ascendence back in 1962 returned once again after ceasing its hold on power in 2011. The stranglehold the junta currently has on Myanmar has meant Burmese journalists and citizens alike have had to take extraordinary measures to expose the brutality of their own government.
A recent ABC Four Corners report exposed just how ruthless and merciless the actions of army commander-in-chief General Min Aung Hlaing’s Tatmadaw (ruling military) are should anyone speak out against his government’s authority. The fear of persecution that often results in prosecution and death, has left many within the country fearful yet unrelenting in their pursuit of laying bare the depths of a civil war that has plunged Myanmar into a humanitarian disaster.
Despite such adversity, journalists in Myanmar continue to carry out their responsibility of holding power to account, even if this comes at the cost of their own lives. It’s no secret that journalism is a crime in Myanmar, and the very nature of a functioning fourth estate in the country is considered a form of sedition. Legislation such as section 505 (a) of Myanmar’s penal code configurated and enforced by the military has been designed to suppress the news media. This “law” has made the act of detaining and imprisoning journalists a routine exercise.
“There’s about 56 journalists in jail at the moment under that (Section 505 (a)) particular penal code.” Phil Thornton.
Since the military seized power in Myanmar in February 2021 a growing number of young people have left their regular jobs to train with established guerilla armies in the jungle. Photo Paul Jones 2017
Many reporters have fled the country, and some have even been tortured while imprisoned. General Hlaing’s government has gone as far as declaring journalism an act of terror and according to figures by the Committee to Protect Journalists, Myanmar is second only to China for the greatest number of reporters imprisoned. Journalism is under fire in Myanmar through a renewed assault on democracy by General Hlaing’s government. The gradual erosion of the news media in Myanmar has meant the Burmese people have been forced to coexist in a country besieged by the crippling weight of oppression.
“For journalists, it’s particularly difficult for the ones still working inside…reporting now comes with a jail sentence.” Phil Thornton.
The harsh realities of reporting in Myanmar have not spared foreign journalists. American reporter Danny Fenster spent time in prison in the country’s capital Yangon after being detained by security personnel on the 24th of May 2021. Japanese journalist Toru Kubota is also being held in the same Insein prison after he was arrested for covering a protest in Yangon. Kubota became the fifth foreign reporter to be arrested and is one among 122 journalists who have been arrested since the commencement of the coup.
“The Burmese military not only use violence and intimidation, but they also use a series of laws that aren’t really laws to give them an excuse that they’re under the law.” Phil Thornton.
The execution of four democracy activists justified the crucifixion of attempts at speaking out against the government. It marked the first time since 1988 that capital punishment was invoked in what was an unprecedented measure to stifle political adversaries of the ruling junta. Perhaps the greatest strength of the Tatmadaw is punishing attempts that are perceived as vilifying its regime. It’s only fueling the fire of the resistance against a government few want in power.
“It’s un-survivable. We have lost very…senior journalist[s]…they can’t work as a journalist anymore because it is too risky. You cannot be an independent journalist and still do your work in the country.” Saw Blacktown.
Reporting in Myanmar
Veteran journalist in South East Asia, Phil Thornton explains the issues of media freedom since the 2021 coup shattered the media landscape. The junta quickly issued a list of media outlets that were banned for being outspoken. These banned media outlets are now playing a fundamental role in providing the rest of the world with reliable reporting.
Children play inside their bamboo home in Mae La refugee camp on the Thai border with Myanmar. Most housing in the camps consist of a living space four meters by four meters. Photo Paul Jones 2017.
Living in Limbo.
By Paul Jones.
A mass of posters adorns the wall of the rustic bamboo shack. One poster, in particular, shows a white house complete with a garden of yellow, red and pink coloured tulips, with snow-capped mountain peaks and a lake in the background. My host points to the poster and asks in Burmese to my fixer. “Is this like the house he lives in?”
Welcome to Mae La refugee camp on the border of Thailand and Myanmar (formerly known as Burma). The camp was initially set up in 1984 and today houses over 50,0000 people, predominantly ethnic Burmese Karen. Mae La’s population is made up of a multitude of different backgrounds. There are political activists, union organisers, civil servants, journalists, and everyday citizens, all of whom have one thing in common. They have fled their homes in cities, towns, and villages because of persecution by the Myanmar military government.
Saw Blacktown, 39, fled the ongoing civil war in Myanmar to Mae La over 20 years ago. He says that since the latest military coup in February 2021, another new wave of civilians from the Karen State have now made their way to the Mae La refugee camp.
“I’m one of the lucky ones,” says Mr Blacktown, who has recently been given refugee status in Australia and now lives in Melbourne, Victoria. “When we lived in Mae La, there were constant fears the camp would be attacked or burnt down by the Burmese army. It wasn’t uncommon for the army to fire mortars into the camp.”
Mr Blacktown says that since Myanmar’s latest coup, the military dictatorship has attempted to purge the country of dissents and destroy any resistance to its rule. “The Thai border with Myanmar is now seeing an influx of refugees, and life in the refugee camps will only get more difficult. The refugees are not legally permitted to leave the camp to work and earn money. Officially, the refugees in the camp do not exist.”
Mae La refugee camp near the town of Mae Sot in Tak Province, north-west Thailand has grown into the largest of the nine refugee camps along the Thailand-Myanmar border. The decades-long conflict between Myanmar’s military and the country’s ethnic armed groups has turned Mae La into a bustling community of around 50,000 refugees, some of whom have spent their entire lives in the camp. Photo Paul Jones 2017.
In a recent report handed down by the Non-Government Organisation (NGO) Humanity and Inclusion, almost half of the population in Mae La are under 18. Approximately half of the adults suffer from mental illness, leading to a rising number of suicides, depression, and alcohol addiction. And most families rely heavily on weekly food distributions provided by international NGOs and community organisations.
Author and journalist Phil Thornton, who is based in the Thai/Myanmar border town of Mae Sot says the number of refugees fleeing the unrest in Myanmar into Thailand and India is only the tip of the iceberg.
“There are refugees, and then you have internally displaced persons or IDPs.Refugees have crossed international borders and are entitled to protection in a third country. On the other hand, IDPs are displaced within their own country. These people can’t get to an international border because of distance, logistics, or they may be refused entry into another country.” Says Thornton, who has been covering the ongoing problems of Myanmar for the past 23 years.
Myanmar’s IDPs are in a precarious situation, believes Thornton. “They are fleeing a conflict, and because they are fleeing, they have been deemed a threat to the state by the military. They are camping rough, living in makeshift villages without clean water or decent sanitary conditions, and they are at risk of diseases like Dengue fever, Malaria and Typhoid.”
Human Rights Watch claim that due to the latest stint of aerial bombing raids and ground attacks in Myanmar cities and towns around the country by the military, roughly 800,000 civilians have been displaced.
For decades, Myanmar has been a country that has produced large numbers of refugees. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), at the end of 2021, more than 1.2 million refugees and asylum seekers were living in refugee camps around the globe, making Myanmar the fourth-largest refugee population.
Saw Blacktown says, with the intensifying fighting and the civilian uprising against the military dictatorship more people will lose their lives. “Every aspect of life is getting worse and worse. If this war continues, it will be very hard for the people and hard to rebuild the country of Myanmar.”
Junta crackdowns on free media.
After taking power in the latest coup, the military Junta began raiding independent media offices and arresting journalists. Now, journalists in Myanmar brave daunting risks to carry out reporting the news. Journalist Pranav Harish looks at the issues of just what it means to be a journalist in Myanmar today.
Stranger in a Strange Land.
By Carly Chatfield
While Myanmar's citizens suffer the loss of their civil freedoms and democracy, the human cost to the country's civil war continues to spill over its borders.
Born in a rural village in central Karen State, Saw Blacktown lived as a refugee in the Mae La refugee camp on the Thai-Myanmar border for 20 years before he resettled in Australia in 2021.
With over one million refugees as of 2021, including a massive displacement of people on the shared borders of Thailand, China and India, Mr Blacktown considers himself one of the lucky ones. However, the transition into Australian life has not been without its challenges.
Mr Blacktown encountered his first hurdle before travelling to Australia. Despite having permission to resettle in Australia, Mr Blacktown and his wife still needed to come up with the funds to travel there.
Luckily, they had a sponsor help them out.
“It's like there's two options, whether you come with a government sponsor or you have your private or your own sponsor. So we come with our own sponsor. Someone who sponsored us, and later we have to pay back to our sponsor,” Mr Blacktown said.
That means, for refugees like Mr Blacktown who lack financial assistance from the Australian government to help them travel to Australia, they now have a debt hanging over their heads upon arrival.
Refugees are also faced with other hurdles when they arrive in Australia, like finding a place to live. While Mr Blacktown and his wife are lucky that their sponsor is assisting them with accomodation, other newly arrived refugees are not so fortunate.
“For many people, they cannot easily get housing when they arrive. They are given one month government free house, and then you're done, you need to find your place.”
Associate Professor Mary Anne Kenny from Murdoch University's School of Law says that the biggest hurdle for refugees like Mr Blacktown who have resettled in Australia is the cultural shock of navigating life in a new country.
“It's never easy because there is cultural shock, and you've got a background of trauma, so that's difficult,” Ms Kenny said.
Ms Kenny says that refugees also face challenges when looking for a job, and often need assistance to have their existing skills recognised.
“There is no restrictions on them getting a job, it's just about the culture shock of trying to find a job. You don't have the contacts that people normally have, that's a very common thing.”
Despite the obstacles that newly resettled refugees face, Ms Kenny says that the Australian government offers a range of settlement services to them, including access to Centrelink and English education.
“If they've come on a permanent visa and they've resettled here they are actually eligible for a range of settlement services. Australia does do that very well.”
For newly arrived refugees like Mr Blacktown, help can also be found in unexpected places. He credits the strong community support he received that helped him adjust to his new life in Australia.
“For me, I feel like I had a very very good community when I'm here. I settle in with community members who are really really supportive of getting things done.”
