War and music: A commander with the Karenni Nationalities Defense Force, an umbrella organisation for bands of armed youth, playing guitar and singing with fellow resistance members near Demoso in Karenni State. — Photos: © 2024 The New York Times Company
FROM around the blaze, music radiated. Fingers strummed a guitar. Voices layered lyrics about love, democracy and, most of all, revolution. Moths courted the flame, sparking when they veered too close, then swooning to their deaths.
For months now, these hills of Karenni state in eastern Myanmar have been severed from modern communications. The military junta that seized power in a coup three years ago, plunging the country into civil war, has cut off the populations most opposed to its brutal rule. In these resistance strongholds, where people from around the nation have congregated, there is almost no internet, cell service or even electricity.
Win a prize this Mother's Day by subscribing to our annual plan now! T&C applies.
Unconnected world
A house used by young members of the resistance opposed to the military junta that seized power in a coup three years ago.
A house used by young members of the resistance opposed to the military junta that seized power in a coup three years ago that plunged the country into civil war, in the village of Hose Myo Thet in Karenni State in eastern Myanmar, Jan. 28, 2024. (Adam Fer
A resistance soldier taking advantage of internet connectivity at an outpost in Loikah in January.
A resistance soldier takes advantage of internet connectivity at an outpost in Loikah in Karenni State in eastern Myanmar, Jan. 31, 2024. (Adam Ferguson/The New York Times)
Soldiers with the Karenni Nationalities Defense Force taking a break from the war with music. Even through the Myanmar military junta’s communications blackout, residents of a conflict zone find moments of grace, and occasional connectivity, away from the battlefield.
Soldiers with the Karenni Nationalities Defense Force, an umbrella organization for bands of armed youth, sing and dance at a prewedding party in Demoso in Karenni State, in eastern Myanmar, Feb. 1, 2024. (Adam Ferguson/The New York Times)
New housing for displaced people in the hills near Demoso in Karenni State. — Photos: © 2024 The New York Times Company
New housing for displaced people in the hills near Demoso in Karenni State, in eastern Myanmar, Feb. 1, 2024. (Adam Ferguson/The New York Times)
