HHtet Htet Eaindra Aung used to be a news anchor at 7-Day TV in Myanmar’s largest city Yangon, but the military ousted the democratically elected government and shut down news organizations like hers. Now, she’s among a group of young journalists who are on the run and trying to help to restore democracy by working remotely for online outlets dedicated to challenging the regime’s propaganda.
Now in Kayah state, Htet Htet Eaindra Aung spent several weeks on the run with refugees fleeing an offensive by the military in the Lay Kay Kaw region — an area in adjacent Kayin state under the control of the armed wing of the ethnic Karen National Union.
Each day, she records a news segment in front of a greenscreen for the online-only news outlets of PVTV and Delta News. At night, she sleeps in a crowded tent in the jungle. She said she misses being able to work at her own pace and her former carefree lifestyle when “there was nothing to worry about.”
But after the coup, Htet Htet Eaindra Aung said she constantly felt anxious and insecure because she had spoken out against the military, making it impossible for her to work or risk staying in her own home.
Speaking with RFA’s Myanmar Service from the jungle - with only a backpack full of her personal belongings - she said “I can’t stand the weather here. It's very cold … There are days when you wake up in the morning without having a good night's sleep.”
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