A resilience forged by adversity

RFA met dozens of people in eastern Myanmar trying to cope after four years of war.



alt-text.jpg
Daw Ngay Khu church, seen in Demoso, Kayah state, on Oct. 31, 2024, was burned down by Myanmar government troops. (Gemunu Amarasinghe/RFA)

Feb. 26, 2025


By Jim Snyder and Gemunu Amarasinghe for RFA

Part of a three-story series on the fight for and rebuilding of Myanmar’s Kayah state following the 2021 coup. Read Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.

DEMOSO, Myanmar

Getting to Demoso in the heart of Myanmar’s Kayah state isn’t easy. Paved roads remain disputed, leaving hilly, rutted dirt strips originally built to carry timber to market as the only options for travel. Going even short distances can take hours.

We made the bumpy trek late last year to continue RFA’s coverage of Myanmar’s civil war. Of all the stories we heard in our three weeks of reporting, Victorio’s is likely to be one of the hardest to forget. A fighter with the rebel KNDF, he was wounded in an airstrike that killed two members of his battalion. It took more than a month before his comrades were able to bring him to a hospital for treatment.

Five days after an operation that removed portions of both feet, Victorio was up and smiling, patiently answering our questions through an interpreter. The resilience he showed was evident in many other people we spoke to who in various ways were trying to adjust to life under difficult circumstances in the hopes of a freer future.


In Myanmar, rebels battle the military, and rough roads

Traveling even short distances on hilly, rutted strips of dirt originally built to carry timber to market can take hours.




Portraits of war

Fighting has touched nearly everyone in Myanmar’s Kayah state.

1 / 12
2 / 12
3 / 12
4 / 12
5 / 12
6 / 12
7 / 12
8 / 12
9 / 12
10 / 12
11 / 12
12 / 12
Caption Text

Victorio’s story: A rebel joins a growing list of amputees in Myanmar

Landmines and airstrikes are having a devastating effect on the people of Kayah.