| Title | “Myanmar Coup Refugees” |
| Author | Hendra Eka |
Honorable Mentions of the Visual Essay “Myanmar Coup Refugees” by Hendra Eka
“Myanmar Coup Refugees”
Resistance groups have been fighting the military junta in Myanmar for two years. In neighboring Thailand, wounded fighters are recovering from a civil war that is accompanied by increasingly brutal violence and is testing their endurance.
Resistance groups have been fighting the military junta in Myanmar for two years. In neighboring Thailand, wounded fighters are recovering from a civil war that is accompanied by increasingly brutal violence and is testing their endurance.
About 1.5 million people have been displaced in past years, with more than five million children in dire need of humanitarian aid in Myanmar, the UN said, a day before the completion of the second year of the military coup in the country.
On Feb. 1, 2021, Aung San Suu Kyi’s government was deposed in a military coup after her National League for Democracy party won national elections in November 2020.
According to UNICEF, the number of displaced people has risen to more than 1.5 million in the last two years.
“Over 1.5 million people in Myanmar have been displaced, with children forced to flee their homes and communities,” UNICEF tweeted, adding that more than five million children are in desperate need of humanitarian assistance.
Despite outcry from the international community and human rights groups, displacement of locals continues in some areas amid ongoing junta regime operations against the opponents.
In early 2023, around 20,000 civilians were displaced in Karen State during a battle between local resistance forces and the military near Kawkareik Township, local Myanmar Now news outlet reported.
According to a recent UN report, at least 2,890 people lost their lives at the hands of the military and those working with them, while 767 were initially taken into custody since the military took power.
Amnesty International in its report released last November stated that the number of displaced people exceeded over 1.4 million, while 12,839 are detained in inhumane conditions.
“At least 73 people remain on death row, and 7.8 million children are out of school. The Myanmar military has killed hundreds of protesters and bystanders, and thousands have died as a result of armed conflict across the country since the coup,” said the rights group.
On the country’s National Day last November, the military junta released 5,744 prisoners under amnesty, including former British Ambassador Vicky Bowman and her husband Ko Htein Lin, Japanese filmmaker Toru Kubota, and Sean Turnell, an Australian economist who served as an advisor to Suu Kyi when she was in government.
Other detainees, however, including Suu Kyi and other senior political leaders from her party, were not granted amnesty.
Myanmar Coup Refugees
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Biography:
Hendra Eka is a photojournalist based in Jakarta, Indonesia. He covers news, sports, and stories that focus on social topics.
His work has been recognized by Indonesian Photojournalist Award (APFI), Picture of The Year International (PoYI), Belfast photo festival, Helsinki photo festival, Head On photo Australia, Photoville New York, and Jakarta international photo festival (JIPFest). He is recipient of Erasmus Huis Fellowship to Amsterdam 2020, residency program from the Kingdom of the Netherlands with NOOR Images for one photojournalist from Indonesia.
Organizer:
SEA Junction, established under the Thai non-profit organization Foundation for Southeast Asia Studies (ForSEA), aims to foster understanding and appreciation of Southeast Asia in all its socio-cultural dimensions- from arts and lifestyles to economy and development. Conveniently located at Room 408 of the Bangkok Arts and Culture Center or BACC (across MBK, BTS National Stadium), SEA Junction facilitates public access to knowledge resources and exchanges among students, practitioners and Southeast Asia lovers. For more information see www.seajunction.org, join the Facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/groups/1693058870976440 and follow us on Twitter and Instagram @seajunction
In collaboration with:
The JFK Foundation in Thailand was founded by H.E. Dr. Thanat Khoman, the former Ambassador to the United States, with the purpose of commemorating President Kennedy’s principles.
