MYANMAR

adminDicembre 2025Giacomo De StefanoPerimetro Myanmar

Fotografie di Giacomo De Stefano

Il Myanmar è teatro di una delle guerre civili più ignorate al mondo. Dopo l’indipendenza del 1948 e decenni di dittatura militare, il colpo di stato del 1° febbraio 2021 ha riportato il paese nel caos: leader eletti arrestati, proteste represse nel sangue, migliaia di civili uccisi. Da allora è in corso una guerra civile che ha unito, per la prima volta, molte delle oltre 135 etnie del paese contro la giunta di Naypyidaw.

Nel gennaio 2025 sono entrato in Myanmar come fotografo indipendente, vivendo una settimana con il KNLA, l’esercito dell’Unione Nazionale Karen. Ho seguito due colonne della Brigata 6, attive sul fronte di Kawkareik, area strategica lungo la Asia Highway 1. Questa brigata è centrale nella cooperazione con il Governo di Unità Nazionale e con le Forze di Difesa Popolare (PDF), composte in gran parte da studenti e civili fuggiti dalle città.

Il documentario racconta combattenti di ogni provenienza, l’uso di droni e tattiche di guerriglia, il ruolo di attivisti e giornalisti in esilio a Chiang Mai e le storie personali di chi ha scelto la resistenza armata con un unico obiettivo: un Myanmar democratico e federale.

PDF Drone unit jungle base. The essence of this asymmetric conflict in Myanmar.
Black Panther column soldier with the traditional Thanaka on her face.
Drop bombs made from fire extinguishers, spray cans, plastic pipes, and custom fin mounts.
The People's Defence Forces (PDF) formed in response to the 2021 military coup in Myanmar. The PDF unites people from diverse backgrounds in their fight against the military junta.
U Maung Ko is a 68-year-old revolutionary. He began his revolutionary journey as a student during the 1988 revolution. “In 1988, I showed my will as a student and ended up in the jungle and received military training. As an engineering student, I was responsible for the production of weapons related to engineering. At that time, I never thought that I would have to use my skills in 2021,” said U Maung Ko. U Maung Ko was also involved in the 2015 student movement and was imprisoned for about 1.5 years. Although he has a wife and two daughters, he said that he was unable to support his family because he was focused on revolutionary issues all his life. “Our family did not suffer because my wife was able to run a business and take care of my daughters. For this, I will always be grateful to my wife as my inspiration,” said U Maung Ko. U Maung Ko arrived in Mae Sot, Thailand, in June 2021 and worked to collect materials needed for weapons production. He arrived in Karen State in January 2022 and is still working as a weapons production supervisor for the Golden Eagle unit, a drone unit under the Cobra column. “My daily duties are to help with the production of ammunition, the production of drop bombs, and the re-equipment of drones. Sometimes I also provide training to new members,” said U Maung Ko. He explained that he is old and cannot go to the front lines, but he helps the revolution by producing all the weapons and drop bombs needed from the back. “Although I am old and cannot go to the front lines, I will continue to do what I can in the production of weapons and training. I have decided to serve the revolution until I die,” he said.
Nom de guerre: Mango. in her words, “before the seizure of power, I worked in a fashion company named Springfield as a sales employee. Then due to covid-19, I quit my job and started an online shop. At the time of the coup, I protested peacefully. They secretly bombed the places of the military council in Yangon We call it Underground (UG), an urban guerilla system. One day, 20 soldiers came to my house to arrest me, but I didn't get caught, so I ran away from home and left my family behind. After that, I had to hide in the forest, I became a revolutionary soldier, I took military courses, and I am carrying out the duties. My wish is simple, I want to have democracy, my dream is to become a designer, but I haven't been allowed to do anything yet. If the revolution is over, I will do it.“
Hello Kitty decorated Glock
Alongside Guevara, Buddha, and Gandhi, Aung San is a recurring symbol tattooed on the bodies of revolutionaries
Funeral in the jungle of a young Black Panther soldier who died on 15/01/2025, my second day. He had just married 7 months earlier to a young woman fighting in the same column.
Carrying the coffin seen here, Kyaw Thet Linn a former presenter of MRTV, Myanmar's state television. Is now a frontline KNLA Soldier.
Same funeral
Black Panther soldier
Unit near the Asia Highway 1, they have been fighting for months to control it. This highway is a crucial connection between Thailand, Myanmar, and India.
Black Panther jungle kitchen, all ingredients hanging in bags away from bugs
Black panther soldiers
Black panther soldier resting
Cobra column soldier
A Burmese woman at an informal border market between Myanmar and Thailand.
“Young soldiers of the Cobra Column, wearing flip-flops.” “‘It’s like the Vietnam War, but with iPhones,’ a foreign volunteer said.”
Mae Ka Nae Baptist Church April 2024 500 pound Bomb airstrike .