A voice for the unheard in Myanmar: From the Rakhine coast to the frontlines of truth
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.
Nay Nay’s journey began not in a bustling newsroom, but on the serene Rakhine coast of Myanmar. Yet fate had a different path in store, one that led her into the heart of truth-telling during Myanmar’s darkest moments.
The military coup shattered Myanmar’s fragile peace in 2021. Journalists quickly became targets, and the danger of arrest grew impossible to ignore. As the risk to her partner, also a woman journalist, intensified, Nay Nay made the agonizing decision to flee their homeland together. They sought refuge along the Thai–Myanmar border, a place of safety from persecution. In exile, Nay Nay continues her work as a news presenter at Lay Waddyi FM and, above all, a storyteller.
When Nay Nay first applied for the Feminist Storytelling Grant under Exile Hub, they planned to tell a deeply personal story of a lesbian couple navigating journalism amid conflict and displacement. It was a story of love, survival, and resilience. But as conversations unfolded, a broader and more urgent truth emerged.
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.
Nay Nay’s journey began not in a bustling newsroom, but on the serene Rakhine coast of Myanmar. Yet fate had a different path in store, one that led her into the heart of truth-telling during Myanmar’s darkest moments.
The military coup shattered Myanmar’s fragile peace in 2021. Journalists quickly became targets, and the danger of arrest grew impossible to ignore. As the risk to her partner, also a woman journalist, intensified, Nay Nay made the agonizing decision to flee their homeland together. They sought refuge along the Thai–Myanmar border, a place of safety from persecution. In exile, Nay Nay continues her work as a news presenter at Lay Waddyi FM and, above all, a storyteller.
When Nay Nay first applied for the Feminist Storytelling Grant under Exile Hub, they planned to tell a deeply personal story of a lesbian couple navigating journalism amid conflict and displacement. It was a story of love, survival, and resilience. But as conversations unfolded, a broader and more urgent truth emerged.