Meet Myat Moe Thu, a woman journalist in Myanmar’s conflict zones
Source: Global Voices
Exile Hub is one of Global Voices’ partners in Southeast Asia, emerging in response to the 2021 coup in Myanmar, focusing on empowering journalists and human rights defenders. This edited article is republished under a content partnership agreement.
What you see in the frame is a woman holding a camera in a war zone.
What you don’t see is everything beyond it: the sound of military aircraft overhead, the fear of a second strike, and people running for safety.
While others fled, Myat Moe Thu, a recipient of Exile Hub’s Critical Voices Fellowship 2026, moved toward the scene.
A journalist reporting from the border areas between Shan and Kayah (Karenni) States, she documents the realities of war as they unfold. On the day this image was taken, a military jet had just dropped two 500-pound bombs on a civilian village. As residents fled, fearing another attack, she walked into the aftermath to gather the story.
There was no protective gear. No guarantee of safety. Only a decision to bear witness.
Exile Hub is one of Global Voices’ partners in Southeast Asia, emerging in response to the 2021 coup in Myanmar, focusing on empowering journalists and human rights defenders. This edited article is republished under a content partnership agreement.
What you see in the frame is a woman holding a camera in a war zone.
What you don’t see is everything beyond it: the sound of military aircraft overhead, the fear of a second strike, and people running for safety.
While others fled, Myat Moe Thu, a recipient of Exile Hub’s Critical Voices Fellowship 2026, moved toward the scene.
A journalist reporting from the border areas between Shan and Kayah (Karenni) States, she documents the realities of war as they unfold. On the day this image was taken, a military jet had just dropped two 500-pound bombs on a civilian village. As residents fled, fearing another attack, she walked into the aftermath to gather the story.
There was no protective gear. No guarantee of safety. Only a decision to bear witness.