Marching to the Beat of a Different Dictatorship: The Revolution Will Be Remembered

မြန်မာနိုင်ငံရှိ ပဋိပက္ခတွင် ပါဝင်ပတ်သက်နေသော လက်နက်ကိုင်အဖွဲ့များ၏ စနစ်တကျမရှိသော မြေမြှုပ်မိုင်း အသုံးပြုမှုများနှင့် ပေါက်ကွဲစေတတ်သော ခဲယမ်းပစ္စည်းများ၏ ချွတ်ယွင်းမှုများသည် အရပ်သားပြည်သူများကို အန...

Collective amnesia will never end a genocide.

The Path That Wasn’t There Before

Dictatorship in Action

The Price of Staying Human

The Messenger and the Movement

In post-coup Myanmar, where conventional aid channels with humanitarian intentions risk getting diverted and empowering the military junta, Blockchain technology presents a nuanced alternative. An anonymous Blockchain researcher, 7k, highlights both the promise and the pitfalls of digital solutions. He explains that “Blockchain is a fundamental technology that enables cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin to emerge or work,” offering a potential detour around junta-controlled centralized banks. However, he acknowledges that crypto is not without its own challenges and pitfalls: the risk of arrest, fraudulent schemes like money laundering, and practical obstacles such as limited accessibility, elevated costs, and the necessity for user-friendly interfaces. He notes that Blockchain offers a potential bypass to centralized banks controlled by the junta. Unlike centralized servers susceptible to control and surveillance, Blockchain functions as a distributed ledger, providing transparency coupled with pseudonymous transactions. This characteristic, according to 7k, could offer a layer of protection against the junta's oversight, enabling more secure operations for the people of Myanmar and aid organizations. Moreover, in a nation grappling with a rapidly depreciating kyat, cryptocurrencies offer a potentially more stable store of value. The technology's utility extends beyond finance, with initiatives exploring Blockchain-based digital identities for marginalized communities like the Rohingya, who have historically been denied recognition.

Defeat Into Victory, Again: Puri Theory and the Art of War

What Happens When Protection Ends

The Making of a Manufactured Mandate

A Modern Take on Ancient Wisdom

Collective amnesia will never end a genocide.

The Practice We Kept, The History We Lost

Between Asylum and Safe Zones

Beyond the Bamboo Curtain

The Long War Against Malaria: The Border Never Sleeps

Content Warning: This audio includes material and sound effects that some listeners may find distressing. Myanmar has recorded the world’s worst casualties from landmines and explosive ordnance for the first time, with over 1,000 casualties in 2024 alone, 29% of whom are children. The inaugural episode in our “Navigating a Minefield” series kicks off with Bekim Shala, a humanitarian mine action expert whose journey in the field began in his native Kosovo, heavily contaminated by landmines during the breakup of Yugoslavia. Witnessing the human toll there, he recognized the importance of mine action. “By being exposed to people who have been injured really quickly, it became clear how important this work is,” Shala says. His work has since taken him to numerous conflict and post-conflict zones, including Eritrea, Sri Lanka, Lebanon, and Vietnam before arriving in Myanmar in 2016. As a coordinator for humanitarian mine action in the country, Shala led a team contributing to explosive ordnance risk education (EORE) and secured permissions for surveys through engagement with Naypyidaw, while pushing for permission to conduct de-mining. Shala believes that “had COVID-19 not struck and the coup not unfolded, [they] would have been clearing landmines in Myanmar by now.” However, the 2021 coup worsened the situation, with landmines now pervasive across all states and regions, moving increasingly into residential zones. This shift, coupled with indiscriminate mining by less experienced parties, has led to an increasing threat to civilians that could take decades to defuse. Most landmines are factory-produced by the Myanmar military, although improvised explosive devices (IEDs) are also made by some ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) and People’s Defense Forces (PDFs). Systematic clearance is impossible given the conflict and lack of permissions. As Myanmar is not a signatory to the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty, Shala’s strategy focuses on engaging all parties to reduce landmine use, especially in civilian areas, looking ahead to a future where the country can be cleared of explosive ordnance. “Even small reductions, such as refraining from use in populated areas or encouraging basic record-keeping of where landmines are laid, can shave decades from the other end,” he says.

Between Idealism and Influence

Clear and Present Sanctions – How the U.S. Decides Who’s Out and Who’s In

The People in the Middle: What Happens When No One Listens

Lives Under Construction: Lessons From a Life Interrupted