Internet access a matter of life or death for Myanmar’s bastions of resistance

A man tries to access the Internet on his mobile phone in Monywa District in the rebel stronghold of Saigang region, Myanmar. — Thomson Reuters Foundation

For Zaw Myint Thein, a farmer in northwestern Myanmar, having no Internet in the area for more than a year causes many inconveniences – his son is unable to study, he can no longer sell his watermelon crops online, and he feels cut off.

“It’s like my eyes and ears are closed,” the 45-year-old said by phone from the Sagaing region.