‘I Don’t Have Arms, But I Can Run a Farm’

Admin 27 Nov 2023

“I was in despair after I lost my arms. I ate poison to kill myself. Doctors and nurses stopped me from killing myself several times. So, I could not commit suicide,” said Ko Aung Myat Tun.

Facing Transport Woes, Rural Buthidaung Communities Raise Healthcare Concerns

Admin 26 Jul 2023

Written By Myat Swe

A man was lying in a tiny room wrapped in several layers of blankets, moaning and groaning. Beside him was a woman crushing herbs with a pestle in a small mortar.

U Khine Maung Win, a man in his 50s, had been sick for a few days, and he had to treat himself at home as there is no healthcare facility in his village, Thalu Pya, upstream of Sai Tin Waterfall in Buthidaung Township. Thalu Pya is...

A Family Loses Their Home to the Sea

Admin 07 Jul 2023

The cyclone turned the fishing village of Thae Khon into a sandbank. The house of Daw Anu Ma and her two sons were swept away.

One for the Road

Admin 04 Mar 2023

U Maung Thar Ni has been building a road linking the two villages since 2012, for the convenience of villagers.

Baby Born During Mother’s Flight From Conflict Gets a Name Befitting His Times

18 Jan 2023

It is the wish of many pregnant women to have their husband or other close family members by their side when they give birth. But no one was around when Ma Than Than Nu, 29, delivered her baby. And it was not a hospital or healthcare facility of any kind where she delivered her baby. And she went into labour alone.

Monk on a Mission in Mrauk-U and Beyond  

Mrat Swe 31 Mar 2022

A Buddhist monk finds plenty to be done inside the Mratazaung camp for internally displaced people (IDPs) and an affiliated monastic education school near Shit Thaung Temple in Mrauk-U, the ancient abode of Arakanese kings .  

Finding Meaning in the Dirty Laundry

Maung May Yu (Buthidaung) 16 Feb 2022

Ma Chan Myae Khaing, 24, is the mother of four children. She is also Hindu, and thus a religious minority in Arakan State’s Buthidaung Township, where she works as a laundrywoman for houses in Ywama village. She lives in the west of Ywama village and her name means “peacefulness,” but her life is not peaceful. Nonetheless, she is undeniably strong, overcoming myriad challenges in her life to be a good mother for her children.

U Kay Tu’s Important Undertaking

Min Tun 31 Aug 2021

“Sometimes, because I had to dig in places where dead bodies were already buried, I saw corpses while digging new holes. I was frightened when I saw corpses that had not decomposed yet,” U Kay Tu recalled of his earliest work experiences, managing to smile in retrospect.

Fritters, a Mother and Adversity on the Streets of Sittwe

23 Aug 2021

“He left home for Yangon to seek a job when I was in the fifth month of pregnancy. It has been more than four years now. He hasn’t been seen or heard from since then. His whereabouts are still unknown,” she said.

A 14-day Battle With Covid-19

Rak Kha 21 Aug 2021

“At first, I didn’t know that I had been infected with Covid-19. … I didn’t know what had happened for a period of time. When I became conscious again, I was at the Covid-19 patient ward and was being supplied with oxygen. Then, I knew that I was infected,” Daw Pu Ni recalled. 

At One Sittwe Garbage Dump, Plastic Bottles Meet an Iron Spirit

Min Tun 29 Jun 2021

“When I told her not to collect empty bottles at the garbage dump, she responded to me that I alone should not try to get income for the family. She is also worried that she cannot donate rice at the monastery,” said Daw Mi Mi Kyaw, who earns money selling fried snacks.

Privacy for IDP females is scarce

Khin Tharaphy Oo 04 Nov 2019

There are only two bathrooms for over 1000 refugees who are taking shelter in the Janmai Kaung IDP camp, located in Myo Thit Gyi ward in Myitkyina Township, Kachin State. One is for men and another one is for women, but they are adjacent to each other. Sometimes men use the women’s bathrooms.

Devoted teacher still languishes behind bars

15 Jun 2019

Ko Tun Aye was arrested after the Reuters news agency reported on the killings of ten Muslim men from Inn Din village during the 2017 violence that erupted. Before that case, Ko Tun Aye’s father was killed by terrorists.

Ma Phyu’s Story: Living Life in Limbo

Pan Hla Aung 18 Aug 2018

She had four children with her Bengali husband. Again things turned for the worse for Ma Phyu when her husband took a second wife. With the arrival of the second wife, she said, her husband began treating her differently. “My husband was very good to me at the beginning. But then he brought home another wife when we already had four children. I didn’t want to live with him anymore. I also thought a lot about re-converting to Buddhism but I was really scared to do so because I was alone in the village.”

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