Emily Fishbein
@emilyfishbein11.bsky.social
Independent journalist focusing on Myanmar. Pulitzer Center Rainforest Investigations Network Fellow 2025
My latest piece, with Jauman Naw and a fully anonymous journalist, about rare earth mining in territory controlled by the United Wa State Army on Myanmar's eastern border with China. Supported by the @pulitzercenter.org's Rainforest Investigations Network (1/3)
e360.yale.edu/features/mya...
e360.yale.edu/features/mya...
In Myanmar, Illicit Rare Earth Mining Is Taking a Heavy Toll
As China has cut back on domestic extraction of rare earth minerals, uncontrolled mining in Myanmar has boomed in areas ruled by ethnic armies. New reporting in Wa territory reveals the activity is da...
e360.yale.edu
November 21, 2025 at 3:11 PM
My latest piece, with Jauman Naw and a fully anonymous journalist, about rare earth mining in territory controlled by the United Wa State Army on Myanmar's eastern border with China. Supported by the @pulitzercenter.org's Rainforest Investigations Network (1/3)
e360.yale.edu/features/mya...
e360.yale.edu/features/mya...
Reposted by Emily Fishbein
The @pulitzercenter.org’s Impact Initiative supports projects that drive tangible outcomes from investigative reporting.
Apply now to make your work go further: https://twp.ai/9PWmja
Apply now to make your work go further: https://twp.ai/9PWmja
November 5, 2025 at 9:31 AM
The @pulitzercenter.org’s Impact Initiative supports projects that drive tangible outcomes from investigative reporting.
Apply now to make your work go further: https://twp.ai/9PWmja
Apply now to make your work go further: https://twp.ai/9PWmja
Reposted by Emily Fishbein
The Pulitzer Center is eager to support U.S.-based staff and freelancers who want to report on critical global health issues.
This opportunity provides funds for overseas travel to cover critical health issues affecting communities around the world.
👉 bit.ly/PCgrantApp
This opportunity provides funds for overseas travel to cover critical health issues affecting communities around the world.
👉 bit.ly/PCgrantApp
November 5, 2025 at 2:38 PM
The Pulitzer Center is eager to support U.S.-based staff and freelancers who want to report on critical global health issues.
This opportunity provides funds for overseas travel to cover critical health issues affecting communities around the world.
👉 bit.ly/PCgrantApp
This opportunity provides funds for overseas travel to cover critical health issues affecting communities around the world.
👉 bit.ly/PCgrantApp
New song in Mizo language from Benjamin Sum, a former Myanmar Idol star who fled to Mizoram, India following the 2021 military coup.
In 2023, I wrote about Benjamin, and the ways music has shaped/ been shaped by history across this border & among the diaspora (1/2)
m.youtube.com/watch?v=juGC...
In 2023, I wrote about Benjamin, and the ways music has shaped/ been shaped by history across this border & among the diaspora (1/2)
m.youtube.com/watch?v=juGC...
BENJAMIN SUM - HNEMTU BAWI (OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO)
YouTube video by Benjamin Sum
m.youtube.com
November 3, 2025 at 3:02 PM
New song in Mizo language from Benjamin Sum, a former Myanmar Idol star who fled to Mizoram, India following the 2021 military coup.
In 2023, I wrote about Benjamin, and the ways music has shaped/ been shaped by history across this border & among the diaspora (1/2)
m.youtube.com/watch?v=juGC...
In 2023, I wrote about Benjamin, and the ways music has shaped/ been shaped by history across this border & among the diaspora (1/2)
m.youtube.com/watch?v=juGC...
Reposted by Emily Fishbein
The grim task of recovering thousands of bodies from the rubble of Gaza
The grim task of recovering thousands of bodies from the rubble of Gaza
Relatives and experts tell of the human and societal need to find and identify the dead, while images and data shed light on the scale of the job
www.theguardian.com
November 2, 2025 at 11:48 AM
The grim task of recovering thousands of bodies from the rubble of Gaza
Reposted by Emily Fishbein
Abortion carries a strong social stigma and is illegal in Myanmar, pushing many women to seek it in Thailand or, for those who cannot afford travelling to the neighbouring country, the use of dangerous pills bought on TikTok.
The perils of abortion for Myanmar women
Abortion carries a strong social stigma and is illegal in Myanmar, pushing many women to seek it in Thailand or, for those who cannot afford travelling to the neighbouring country, the use of dangerou...
www.frontiermyanmar.net
September 24, 2025 at 12:02 PM
Abortion carries a strong social stigma and is illegal in Myanmar, pushing many women to seek it in Thailand or, for those who cannot afford travelling to the neighbouring country, the use of dangerous pills bought on TikTok.
Reposted by Emily Fishbein
Women in Myanmar’s central plains are unable to travel for work due to security concerns in the midst of civil war, and those who do work are struggling to support their families as they receive lower pay than men.
Working for peanuts: The precarious lives of women in central Myanmar
Women in Myanmar’s central plains are unable to travel for work due to security concerns in the midst of civil war, and those who do work are struggling to support their families as they receive lower...
www.frontiermyanmar.net
October 3, 2025 at 8:13 AM
Women in Myanmar’s central plains are unable to travel for work due to security concerns in the midst of civil war, and those who do work are struggling to support their families as they receive lower pay than men.
Reposted by Emily Fishbein
The Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar are succumbing to an environmental nightmare of deforestation, landslides, flooding and fires – exacerbated by cuts in international aid that have halted most efforts to mitigate the effects of such disasters.
www.frontiermyanmar.net/en/living-in...
www.frontiermyanmar.net/en/living-in...
‘Living in fear of the sky’: Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh battle environmental crisis
The Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar are succumbing to an environmental nightmare of deforestation, landslides, flooding and fires – exacerbated by cuts in
www.frontiermyanmar.net
November 1, 2025 at 4:02 AM
The Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar are succumbing to an environmental nightmare of deforestation, landslides, flooding and fires – exacerbated by cuts in international aid that have halted most efforts to mitigate the effects of such disasters.
www.frontiermyanmar.net/en/living-in...
www.frontiermyanmar.net/en/living-in...
New painting by Cecilia, an artist from Kachin State, Myanmar. Kachin holds the world's largest jade mines and has seen a dramatic expansion of rare earth mining over the past decade.
Title: Lost
Caption: With the loss of natural resources, human resources are disappearing.
Title: Lost
Caption: With the loss of natural resources, human resources are disappearing.
October 30, 2025 at 4:27 PM
New painting by Cecilia, an artist from Kachin State, Myanmar. Kachin holds the world's largest jade mines and has seen a dramatic expansion of rare earth mining over the past decade.
Title: Lost
Caption: With the loss of natural resources, human resources are disappearing.
Title: Lost
Caption: With the loss of natural resources, human resources are disappearing.
Reposted by Emily Fishbein
The report raises concerns about unregulated mining by the China Investment Mining Company in an area jointly controlled by Myanmar’s junta and the UWSA
Read more:
myanmar-now.org/en/news/chin...
Read more:
myanmar-now.org/en/news/chin...
October 30, 2025 at 10:35 AM
The report raises concerns about unregulated mining by the China Investment Mining Company in an area jointly controlled by Myanmar’s junta and the UWSA
Read more:
myanmar-now.org/en/news/chin...
Read more:
myanmar-now.org/en/news/chin...
Reposted by Emily Fishbein
Breaking News: Radio Free Asia will shut down its operations for the first time since its founding in 1996, after being targeted by the Trump administration.
Radio Free Asia Will Halt News Operations Amid Shutdown
Until this month, Radio Free Asia had successfully resisted Trump officials who had tried to render it obsolete.
nyti.ms
October 29, 2025 at 11:38 AM
Breaking News: Radio Free Asia will shut down its operations for the first time since its founding in 1996, after being targeted by the Trump administration.
Must-read investigation👇
October 29, 2025 at 4:50 PM
Must-read investigation👇
Reposted by Emily Fishbein
For over a decade, warlord Zahkung Ting Ying and his allies exploited the rare earth mining boom in Kachin State, Myanmar.
@emilyfishbein11.bsky.social & Jauman Naw report, for @frontiermyanmar.bsky.social, on how they have continued doing business even after losing their territory. bit.ly/47JC0JB
@emilyfishbein11.bsky.social & Jauman Naw report, for @frontiermyanmar.bsky.social, on how they have continued doing business even after losing their territory. bit.ly/47JC0JB
Back in Business: Zahkung Ting Ying Tries To Rebuild His Empire
Over the past decade, the military-aligned warlord and his associates amassed wealth from Kachin State’s rare earth mining boom until the Kachin Independence Army took their territory last year, but.....
pulitzercenter.org
October 23, 2025 at 3:04 PM
For over a decade, warlord Zahkung Ting Ying and his allies exploited the rare earth mining boom in Kachin State, Myanmar.
@emilyfishbein11.bsky.social & Jauman Naw report, for @frontiermyanmar.bsky.social, on how they have continued doing business even after losing their territory. bit.ly/47JC0JB
@emilyfishbein11.bsky.social & Jauman Naw report, for @frontiermyanmar.bsky.social, on how they have continued doing business even after losing their territory. bit.ly/47JC0JB
Myanmar has faded from global attention, but its people continue to endure excruciating violence on a daily basis. Monday, the military junta conducted another round of deadly airstrikes, targeting a peaceful candlelight vigil on the Buddhist holiday of Thadingyut (1/2)
www.bbc.com/news/article...
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Myanmar: At least 24 killed as army paraglider bombs Buddhist festival
Locals tell the BBC the carnage has made it hard to identify victims of the military attack.
www.bbc.com
October 8, 2025 at 4:49 PM
Myanmar has faded from global attention, but its people continue to endure excruciating violence on a daily basis. Monday, the military junta conducted another round of deadly airstrikes, targeting a peaceful candlelight vigil on the Buddhist holiday of Thadingyut (1/2)
www.bbc.com/news/article...
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Reposted by Emily Fishbein
I wrote about how vicarious trauma can find you when you least expect it, through two experiences that I've had while working with images as an open source researcher.
Neither were graphic.
Both had a serious impact on me.
giancarlofiorella.com/2025/10/04/w...
Neither were graphic.
Both had a serious impact on me.
giancarlofiorella.com/2025/10/04/w...
When Trauma Finds You
Sometimes, trauma finds you while you’re waiting for it, when your body is tense anticipating its appearance. Your guard is up. Somehow, you soften its blows. Sometimes, though, trauma finds …
giancarlofiorella.com
October 4, 2025 at 9:29 PM
I wrote about how vicarious trauma can find you when you least expect it, through two experiences that I've had while working with images as an open source researcher.
Neither were graphic.
Both had a serious impact on me.
giancarlofiorella.com/2025/10/04/w...
Neither were graphic.
Both had a serious impact on me.
giancarlofiorella.com/2025/10/04/w...
Important piece from Abid Hussain at Al Jazeera on how access to critical minerals including rare earths is impacting diplomacy between the US and Pakistan (1/3).
www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/9/...
www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/9/...
‘Strategic handshake’: How Pakistan is wooing Trump with critical minerals
Minerals diplomacy opens doors, but questions linger over Pakistan’s capacity to benefit from the $500m deal.
www.aljazeera.com
September 28, 2025 at 4:25 PM
Important piece from Abid Hussain at Al Jazeera on how access to critical minerals including rare earths is impacting diplomacy between the US and Pakistan (1/3).
www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/9/...
www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/9/...
Reposted by Emily Fishbein
1. This (recent) History Thread is about Air Attacks in Myanmar (Burma.) Since Feb. 2021 coup, military regime has constantly deployed bombing & strafing by jet & helicopter, routinely against civilian targets. #WhatsHappeningInMyanmar
September 19, 2025 at 5:49 AM
1. This (recent) History Thread is about Air Attacks in Myanmar (Burma.) Since Feb. 2021 coup, military regime has constantly deployed bombing & strafing by jet & helicopter, routinely against civilian targets. #WhatsHappeningInMyanmar
Reposted by Emily Fishbein
Scammed into scamming: Across Southeast Asia, a multibillion-dollar fraud industry has emerged, staffed in part by victims of trafficking reut.rs/4mobjPE
They traveled to Thailand. They wound up cyber scam slaves in Myanmar.
A multibillion-dollar fraud industry has taken root across Southeast Asia, fueled partly by trafficking victims. In lawless zones along the Myanmar-Thai border, Chinese-run compounds force thousands t...
reut.rs
September 18, 2025 at 7:35 AM
Scammed into scamming: Across Southeast Asia, a multibillion-dollar fraud industry has emerged, staffed in part by victims of trafficking reut.rs/4mobjPE
Reposted by Emily Fishbein
Our investigation is now public.
It documents how, between Jan 2024 and July 2025, over 2,600 people seeking aid were killed and 14,576 others injured in Gaza.
That’s 4% of all deaths and nearly 10% of all wounded from Israel’s war in Gaza.
It documents how, between Jan 2024 and July 2025, over 2,600 people seeking aid were killed and 14,576 others injured in Gaza.
That’s 4% of all deaths and nearly 10% of all wounded from Israel’s war in Gaza.
EXCLUSIVE: Israel has killed nearly 3,000 Gaza aid seekers
Our interactive database shows nearly 200 attacks, and a sharp uptick since the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation began operations on 27 May.
buff.ly
September 15, 2025 at 12:42 PM
Our investigation is now public.
It documents how, between Jan 2024 and July 2025, over 2,600 people seeking aid were killed and 14,576 others injured in Gaza.
That’s 4% of all deaths and nearly 10% of all wounded from Israel’s war in Gaza.
It documents how, between Jan 2024 and July 2025, over 2,600 people seeking aid were killed and 14,576 others injured in Gaza.
That’s 4% of all deaths and nearly 10% of all wounded from Israel’s war in Gaza.
Reposted by Emily Fishbein
Military airstrike on schools in western Myanmar kills at least 18 people, most of them students
Military airstrike on schools in western Myanmar kills at least 18 people, most of them students
More than 20 others were injured in the night-time attack on the Thayet Thapin village in Kyauktaw township, an area controlled by the ethnic Arakan Army, said an armed group and local media reports.
www.channelnewsasia.com
September 13, 2025 at 2:03 AM
Military airstrike on schools in western Myanmar kills at least 18 people, most of them students
Reposted by Emily Fishbein
A warplane dropped two 500-pound bombs on a Kyauktaw Township high school as students slept, part of a wider campaign of air raids across Rakhine State
Read more:
myanmar-now.org/en/news/junt...
Read more:
myanmar-now.org/en/news/junt...
Junta airstrike on Rakhine school kills at least 22, mostly students
A warplane dropped two 500-pound bombs on a Kyauktaw Township high school as students slept, part of a wider campaign of air raids across Rakhine State
myanmar-now.org
September 12, 2025 at 9:17 AM
A warplane dropped two 500-pound bombs on a Kyauktaw Township high school as students slept, part of a wider campaign of air raids across Rakhine State
Read more:
myanmar-now.org/en/news/junt...
Read more:
myanmar-now.org/en/news/junt...
A few days late, sharing this moving rap video to commemmorare Rohingya genocide remembrance day.
8 Years without Justice
Song, lyrics, recording & vocals: Rohel Khan
Cinematography, editing & music management: Khin Maung Thein aka Abdullah Bawshur
youtu.be/nmJvYgT04g0?...
8 Years without Justice
Song, lyrics, recording & vocals: Rohel Khan
Cinematography, editing & music management: Khin Maung Thein aka Abdullah Bawshur
youtu.be/nmJvYgT04g0?...
8 Years Without Justice – A Tribute to the Rohingya | English Rap Song | Rohel Khan
YouTube video by Rohel Khan Rapper (Rohingya Music Video )
youtu.be
August 31, 2025 at 1:33 PM
A few days late, sharing this moving rap video to commemmorare Rohingya genocide remembrance day.
8 Years without Justice
Song, lyrics, recording & vocals: Rohel Khan
Cinematography, editing & music management: Khin Maung Thein aka Abdullah Bawshur
youtu.be/nmJvYgT04g0?...
8 Years without Justice
Song, lyrics, recording & vocals: Rohel Khan
Cinematography, editing & music management: Khin Maung Thein aka Abdullah Bawshur
youtu.be/nmJvYgT04g0?...
Another impressive history thread from Edith Mirante. Over the years, elephants have also come up from time to time in my reporting on Kachin. A few anecdotes here:
1. This History Thread is about the elephants of Burma (Myanmar) in war & peace. These highly intelligent, social animals have survived brutal interactions with humans, conflict zones & habitat loss. #WhatsHappeningInMyanmar 🐘🐘🐘 #elephants
August 28, 2025 at 7:20 PM
Another impressive history thread from Edith Mirante. Over the years, elephants have also come up from time to time in my reporting on Kachin. A few anecdotes here:
Reposted by Emily Fishbein
Brazil is serving shark meat in thousands of schools, hospitals, prisons and other institutions, raising serious concerns.
A report by #ORN Fellow @philjaco.bsky.social, #RIN Fellow @bykarlamendes.bsky.social, and Pulitzer Center's @kuangkeng.bsky.social for @mongabay.com.
👉 bit.ly/40EuQ6E
A report by #ORN Fellow @philjaco.bsky.social, #RIN Fellow @bykarlamendes.bsky.social, and Pulitzer Center's @kuangkeng.bsky.social for @mongabay.com.
👉 bit.ly/40EuQ6E
That ‘Fish’ on the Menu? In Brazil’s Schools and Prisons, It’s Often Shark
Brazil, the world’s top importer of shark meat, is feeding much of it to preschoolers, hospital patients, military staff, public workers and more via government procurements, Mongabay has found. This....
pulitzercenter.org
July 30, 2025 at 9:08 PM
Brazil is serving shark meat in thousands of schools, hospitals, prisons and other institutions, raising serious concerns.
A report by #ORN Fellow @philjaco.bsky.social, #RIN Fellow @bykarlamendes.bsky.social, and Pulitzer Center's @kuangkeng.bsky.social for @mongabay.com.
👉 bit.ly/40EuQ6E
A report by #ORN Fellow @philjaco.bsky.social, #RIN Fellow @bykarlamendes.bsky.social, and Pulitzer Center's @kuangkeng.bsky.social for @mongabay.com.
👉 bit.ly/40EuQ6E
Reposted by Emily Fishbein
Nurdles: less cute than they sound
Their name sounds like a cartoon character, + little balls of plastic seem harmless enough - but the ecological damage nurdles cause when they spill in the ocean can be immense - absorbing contaminants in the water, mistakenly eaten by fish, birds + animals.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Buoyant, the size of a lentil and almost impossible to recover: how nurdles are polluting the oceans
Millions of the tiny plastic pellets are being washed up on the coast of Kerala in India in the latest in a series of global spills, as plastic treaty talks continue in Geneva
www.theguardian.com
August 28, 2025 at 4:51 PM
Nurdles: less cute than they sound