Insight Myanmar

Episode #367: In this episode, we hear from two compelling voices grappling with the human and political costs of authoritarianism in Southeast Asia. Raoul Manuel, the youngest elected member of the Philippine Congress, describes how his work on education reform and youth rights intersects with a broader transnational resistance against repressive leadership. He draws on his experience in grassroots organizing and progressive legislation to explain how state violence, economic injustice, and environmental crises are linked across borders. For Manuel, democratic engagement must be paired with community action, especially as governments increasingly retreat from human rights responsibilities. Looking ahead to the Philippines’ upcoming ASEAN chairmanship, he remains skeptical of official rhetoric and stresses that real accountability will come only through persistent pressure from civil society. Han Htoo Khant Paing, a former student activist turned educator, provides a sobering reflection on Myanmar’s ongoing crisis. Since fleeing the country after the 2021 coup, Han Htoo has helped displaced youth continue their education. But his outlook is grim: he sees no viable resolution in the near future and believes ASEAN’s Five-Point Consensus has been irrelevant from the start. He calls instead for pragmatic, human-centered approaches—reducing suffering, cutting arms flows, and documenting atrocities. Han Htoo also challenges the resistance to evolve, urging a move from radical means to sustainable strategies. In revisiting an earlier statement in which he welcomed the coup for exposing democratic illusions, he now expresses deep regret, acknowledging the overwhelming loss and trauma that has followed. “To give up is unthinkable,” he insists, even as sorrow and exhaustion weigh heavily on his words.

Episode #366: Sallo Polak, founder of the Philanthropy Connections Foundation (PCF), has spent decades building a grassroots approach to humanitarian aid in Thailand, Myanmar, and Cambodia. Motivated by a lifelong desire to address global inequality—first sparked by a formative journey to India at age 18—Polak established PCF in 2011 to serve under-resourced communities through trust, dignity, and local leadership. “I always wanted to do good, to help people,” he explains, a conviction that continues to guide the foundation’s work. PCF supports 25 to 30 projects annually, reaching over 15,000 people. Rather than implement projects itself, PCF partners with local groups who understand their community’s needs. “We do not implement any of the projects ourselves,” Polak notes. “We believe in the power of the local communities and local leadership.” The organization avoids formal application processes and instead actively seeks marginalized communities that lack access to other funding sources. Among its standout initiatives is a multilingual education program that helps children from ethnic minority groups transition into Thai-language instruction, enabling greater educational and economic opportunities. Though PCF operates a diverse fundraising strategy, including embassies, private donors, and corporate partners, financial limitations remain its biggest constraint. “I want to win the lottery,” Polak jokes ruefully. Then he adds, “Maybe it’s not winning the lottery, but if we can, through your podcast, get some more sponsors… that would be awesome!” 

Episode #365: “The Buddha lives and teaches for the welfare of the world, for the happiness of the world,” says Bhikkhu Bodhi. “He does live for the welfare and happiness of human beings. And so now, when we look at contemporary conditions, the question arises as Buddhists following in the footsteps of the Buddha, how do we live for the welfare and happiness of other human beings?” Bhikkhu Bodhi, a renowned Buddhist scholar and advocate of Engaged Buddhism, has dedicated his life to making Buddhist teachings accessible and relevant in contemporary society. His translations of the Pāḷi Canon have provided invaluable access to the Buddha’s words, bridging the gap between ancient wisdom and modern seekers. Beyond his scholarly contributions, he founded Buddhist Global Relief, an organization addressing hunger, poverty, and educational inequality, an embodiment of Buddhist ethics in action. He has consistently emphasized that Buddhist practice should extend beyond just meditation and personal transformation, the tenor it has taken on in the West, and address systemic suffering and injustice in the world as well. He critiques Western Buddhism’s tendency to focus on individual well-being while neglecting broader, ethical concerns as a “Buddhist Disneyland.” In discussing Myanmar’s crisis, he highlights the responsibility of Buddhists to engage with the harsh political and social realities of the Burmese people’s struggle for freedom, especially given the prominent place Burmese Buddhist traditions hold regarding the spread of mindfulness worldwide.  Reflecting on his legacy, Bhikkhu Bodhi sees his work as part of a larger movement to ensure that Buddhism remains a force for wisdom and compassion in the world. He calls for practitioners to apply Buddhist principles to real-world challenges, advocating for a flexible yet principled approach to the Dharma. “I came to see that it’s necessary to adopt adaptations of the Buddhist teachings... applying them in ways that deal very realistically and in a very even heads-on way with the challenges and problems and injustices that we're facing in today's world.”

Episode #364: Ben’s simple words resonate strongly: “If I could do something small for one person, why would I not?” This episode brings together Ben and a Burmese student who goes by the moniker Little Activist. Together, they discuss the profound impact of individual gestures and transnational solidarity. Ben, who worked briefly in Myanmar with a UN agency, was moved by an episode that Insight Myanmar Podcast aired last year, in which Little Activist described how he was documenting military atrocities and sharing online information. Compelled by Little Activist’s courage and the sacrifices he was making, Ben decided to offer a monthly donation to support him and his mission. For Ben, this act was more than charity; it was a way to honor the kindness he experienced in Myanmar and to inspire others to stand in solidarity with those aspiring for democracy. Little Activist’s response underscored the far-reaching effects of Ben’s generosity: to him, the donation was more than a lifeline, as it provided not only material support but also a morale boost. Not content to keep the fund for himself alone, Little Activist distributed portions of the donation to others in need, reflecting his enduring commitment to collective well-being. The conversation also addresses the worsening conditions in Myanmar under the junta, from economic and educational crises to escalating violence and airstrikes. Despite these challenges, Little Activist remains steadfast in his mission to document the junta’s atrocities and keep Myanmar’s plight visible to the world, despite censorship and surveillance. In closing, Little Activist expressed deep gratitude, emphasizing that even in the absence of robust international intervention, solidarity from individuals like Ben provides hope. His final words capture his resolve: “Even if the international giants don’t care about us, we’ll continue our fight, knowing there are people out there who do.”

New Bloom is an online magazine and community space covering activism and youth politics in Taiwan and the Asia Pacific, founded in Taiwan in 2014 in the wake of the Sunflower Movement. They welcomed the host of Insight Myanmar for a talk at their Taipei center.

The conversation delves into the revolutionary potential of blockchain technology in Myanmar's post-coup landscape. An anonymous researcher discusses how it can offer an escape from junta-controlled banks by facilitating pseudonymous transactions while ensuring privacy. The financial crisis and rapid depreciation of the kyat add urgency to exploring cryptocurrencies as a stable alternative. Additionally, innovative uses like establishing digital identities for marginalized communities illustrate blockchain's transformative potential amidst ongoing repression.

Episode #362: 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.

Episode #361: “I am Burmese. I feel like it is my duty and responsibility to speak about it.” With these words, Myet opens a conversation that explores Myanmar’s past and present, weaving together personal history, political critique, and spiritual insight. Raised under military rule, Myet witnessed the silencing of dissent and the trauma that shaped her parents’ generation after the 1988 uprising. After resettling in the West, she was struck by how little people knew about Myanmar’s history and suffering. “We do not exist in the imagination of the world as a place of suffering,” she says, highlighting the disparity in global attention, where some crises are prioritized for their geopolitical weight, while others, such as Myanmar's, remain largely unacknowledged. Myet critiques Myanmar’s 2010–2020 “transition” as a façade that never disrupted military power. She praises the post-coup resistance as more decentralized and inclusive, led by youth, women, queer activists, and ethnic minorities. Here, she urges deeper forms of solidarity, calling on the international community to abandon simplistic narratives and instead “care” in meaningful ways. “For me, the opposite of violence is not just peace. It’s care.” Spirituality grounds Myet’s resilience. A daily meditator, she draws on both the Burmese monk U Jotika and the Western teacher Eckhart Tolle to cultivate presence and self-understanding. Rather than aiming for perfection, her practice is about “being,” not “achieving.” She also speaks to the burden of survivor guilt: “Sometimes I feel guilty, just to be secure.” Yet she refuses to give in to despair. Her closing message is direct and urgent: “The world needs to care before it’s too late.”

Episode #360: “To have my daughter summarily decide that I was complicit in genocide, I really had to think through again my logic for taking the position that we should stay. It sent me on a lot of soul searching,” confesses Ellen Goldstein, a former World Bank Country Director for Myanmar. This revelation, a central theme to her book “Damned If You Do”, encapsulates the dilemmas she faced during Myanmar's tumultuous democratic transition and the Rohingya crisis.Goldstein's decades-long career, dedicated to poverty reduction, led her to Myanmar in 2017. Initially, the World Bank’s aid program brought economic reforms and growth. Yet, she quickly recognized that this prosperity masked deeper systemic issues, not reaching ethnic minorities in remote regions facing “exclusion, discrimination and abuse of civil liberties and human rights.” This exposed a fundamental flaw in the traditional development model, which often overlooked the political and systemic dimensions of poverty. A critical juncture arrived in 2017 when the military's atrocities against the Rohingya escalated. Despite a pre-approved $200 million grant to the civilian government, Goldstein faced an agonizing moral choice: disburse the funds and risk complicity, or withhold them. She chose the latter. This controversial decision, though ultimately costing her job, became a catalyst for change. And so instead of withdrawing, as some advocated for at the time, the World Bank “stayed engaged but focused on other things, such as social inclusion in conflict areas, specifically for deprived ethnic minorities.”This strategic pivot influenced a new World Bank approach for fragile states: “to never disengage but to try to engage in ways that could drive forward the right values.” Considering this shift, Goldstein advocates for moving beyond state-centric foreign aid and supporting non-state and resistance actors in Myanmar, showing how dedicated individuals can continue to create new pathways for justice and human well-being amidst tragedy.

Episode #359: “The real motivating force is people, it is those human relations.” Duncan McArthur, a backpacker turned decades-long humanitarian leader, found his truth not in textbooks, but in the raw, unfiltered experiences along the Thai-Burma border. His journey began as an English teacher in a Karen refugee camp, where he was inspired by the resilience and humility of the communities he worked with in the face of unimaginable suffering.  Motivated to stay on the border and continue working there, McArthur soon joined The Border Consortium in 2003, a charity organization that exposed him to the complexities and frustrations of the humanitarian aid architecture. He has observed how the transition-era ‘peace industry,’ as he calls it, often prioritized formal ceasefire agreements over addressing the root causes of conflict, leading to an influx of international aid workers who at times seemed more interested in career advancement than genuine impact. He also challenges the traditional notion of neutrality, advocating for Hugo Slim’s practice of “humanitarian resistance” where, in certain contexts, “choosing sides is actually essential in order to reduce suffering.” In Myanmar, this might mean working with ethnic armed organizations and civil society in Myanmar to reach the most vulnerable, who live beyond the military’s reach. McArthur also acknowledges the shortcomings of the UN's presence in Myanmar, which he sees as a lack of political leadership and a reluctance to directly confront the military junta. While appreciating the institution's aspirational goals, he urges a more proactive stance, including exploring satellite offices or parallel systems in neighboring countries to support sub-national authorities. McArthur's perspective is one of grounded idealism: recognizing the inherent self-interests of all actors, but seeking to align them with the greater good. “The challenge is as much as it is for negotiating access and delivering aid,” he reflects, “but also about how to strengthen the platforms that raise the voices of the oppressed and the marginalized to a meaningful level.”