After the 2021 coup, Myanmar’s junta targeted the independent media, pursuing and apprehending journalists under arbitrary charges.
But journalists strive to break free from authoritarianism while reporting news.
Female journalists face life-threatening risks and security concerns as family well-being has proven to be exceptionally challenging.
Ma Aye Mi San of the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) has been a video journalist for 15 years and is a mother of two. She tells The Irrawaddy how she navigates the challenges of family security and her children’s future while working under military rule.
Q: How did the coup make you feel?
A: It left me in shock. We heard rumors and people were speculating about it online.
I didn’t expect the military to stage a coup because they had the 2008 Constitution and the situation was stable. They didn’t need to do anything more. Little did we anticipate the audacity of the coup.
It left me in shock like my internal organs were pulled out. What was going to happen next? Having grown up under an authoritarian regime, we were familiar with all the hardships. Imagining the future was daunting. As journalists, we pondered our role in this new reality. I waited for the right moment to go out and document events.
Q: How difficult was the work?
A: Like many citizens, I had no choice but to leave my home, belongings and country. Immediately after the coup, the junta’s threats made it clear that they were coming after media groups like DVB and Myanmar Now.
It was a significant threat for us. They blocked our online publications and made us illegal. We were labeled as criminals. I’m a journalist so I couldn’t stop filming, considering the historic events. I couldn’t neglect it but I was concerned for my life. Nothing mattered more than that.
I no longer have a home to return to. Everything is long gone.
I started working as an underground journalist under General Than Shwe so life was never stable. It required me to restart my life repeatedly and we had to work discreetly.
After 2011 the democratic reforms meant a civilian government was due to be formed and some media groups returned to Myanmar.
I had to restart my life from scratch and then do it again after the 2021 coup.
I’m getting older and having to restart repeatedly makes me not even want to expect anything in the future.
There were a lot of challenges, especially when we were outlawed.
While I was reporting, I wasn’t sure if someone might stab me or hit me on the head. They specifically targeted, arrested and shot at us even when we were wearing helmets saying “press”. The risks were immense.
We reported on the junta detaining workers returning from Malaysia and immediately the junta called a press conference and issued an arrest warrant for our boss under Article 505.
We had to leave the country after that.
Q: Is it more difficult as a female journalist?
A: Yes, the experience for men and women differs, even as journalists. Having experienced this myself and with my daughters, the challenges were compounded. We had our children at a later stage in life as we were not able to build our lives in unstable conditions. The girls were so young. After being labeled as an illegal journalist, I had to avoid sleeping at home at night if I were to document the events during the day. My family was broken and scattered.
I went to the jungle after the junta issued an arrest warrant for me. I spent two months in a liberated area. I left my children with my parents in villages. It was a total chaos for our family. It was tough in the jungle knowing that.
The jungle was an inconvenient workplace for media production and it intensified my distress.
While we were reporting on the junta’s killings of citizens, my girls were left inside the country. My family was scattered and it was harrowing. It was a living hell for me. I cried often and couldn’t sleep in the jungle.
When I think back, the memories get refreshed and I still cry.
But as journalists, we did not complain because we interviewed people whose lives were often way worse than ours. Still we carry trauma and suffering with us.
Q: How did you overcome the hardships?
A: A journalist has to follow the news and people in the story. We are covering unpleasant news and events, in which people’s lives were lost and damaged.
We face extreme realities so we also don’t feel like complaining. I’d tell myself that if they can be so resilient, I must be stronger. But motivation comes and goes because the work is difficult. There are ups and downs.
We cover bloodshed, violence and deaths. We edit the footage, watching traumatic scenes repeatedly to make sure we represent them properly and it takes an emotional toll. It hurts my heart.
If they cried during filming, I’d cry too. We do the job out of passion. So what the citizens feel, we feel too.
I went to discussions and lectures about mental health. I looked for mental health support because there were extreme times when I felt like dying.
But I won’t stop working. Who else will take my place? They would suffer the same burdens. As journalists, we fight the revolution by working. I can’t afford to stop.
Q: Why do you work through so much trouble?
A: Journalists play a key role. I can’t afford to be demotivated during these turning points.
News media groups need a regular income. Journalism is marred by generations of interference by the authorities and it is known for its risks.
We knew it was unsafe.
We took these jobs because we wanted to record human rights violations and seek justice.
I can’t neglect these issues. I worry about my livelihood. But this revolution has stronger participation than in 1988, partly because media coverage has strengthened.
Different media groups amplified the voices of the people and presented unfolding events. I can’t stop. I have a mindset that I had to grow and develop for years. If I stop now, I lose. I will continue to work, especially during these historic turning points.
Q: What are your hopes as a journalist?
After the coup, things went backwards. Media freedom was maybe worse than in older times. First I wish for us to win the revolution. I live one day at a time. We can’t expect a future without a victorious revolution. Everyone’s future was stolen by the coup.
