Ma Nay Chi Phyo, a freelance journalist and one of the participants of How She Did it’s Zin Yaw Women Rising program in 2025, describes the experience as a turning point that transformed not only her digital skills, but also her confidence, self-esteem, and understanding of her own potential. Before joining the program, Nay Chi mainly contributed articles through more traditional forms of journalism and writing. Although she had already been actively producing stories and inf

Some left to survive. Others stayed to witness. Together, they ensure the story is still told. For journalists from Myanmar, this is no longer a choice between profession and safety, it is a daily negotiation between survival and responsibility. As the world marks World Press Freedom Day, the meaning of “press freedom” feels increasingly fragile. Since the political crisis intensified, journalists have faced arrests, surveillance, and the systematic dismantling of independent

What you see in the frame is a woman holding a camera in a war zone. What you don’t see is everything beyond it, the sound of aircraft overhead, the fear of a second strike, and people running for safety. While others fled, Myat Moe Thu, a recipient of Exile Hub’s Critical Voices Fellowship 2026, moved toward the scene. A journalist reporting from the border areas between Shan and Kayah (Karenni) States, she documents the realities of war as they unfold. On the day this image

Some stories are not told loudly. Some stories are spoken in a moment of pause, in a lowered voice, when someone finally feels safe enough to speak. Along the Thailand–Myanmar border, many people carry unspoken burdens; stories of conflict, displacement, loss, and lives interrupted. Often, the first step toward healing is not advice, it is being heard. Exile Hub’s Wellbeing Coordinator, Carol, holds space for these moments every day. She listens to journalists forced to fle