Journalist Esther is reporting from one of the most dangerous conflict sites in the world. Photo from Exile Hub. Used with permission.

Exile Hub is one of Global Voices’ partners in Southeast Asia, emerging in response to the 2021 coup in Myanmar, focusing on empowering journalists and human rights defenders. This edited article is republished under a content partnership agreement.

Most people spend their lives running away from danger. Esther ran toward it.

After finding refuge in Australia under UNHCR protection, she made the bold decision to return to the Thailand–Myanmar border in 2023 to continue her journalism. Now, in 2025, she reports from one of Myanmar’s most dangerous conflict zones often under fire, often uncertain of tomorrow. Yet she remains unshaken.

In a world where silence is safe, Esther chooses the frontline. Her weapon is truth, and she wields it for those who cannot.

A journey against the current

Born in Mon State in 1993, Esther has always been someone who could not ignore injustice.

“I have never been able to lie to myself or live in misery. If something doesn’t sit right with me, I have to face it head-on,” she reflects.

Like many young people in Myanmar, Esther initially wandered through different jobs, unsure of her calling. She translated movies, worked as a travel and tour sales representative, and later became a public relations officer at a Korean company. But none of these roles felt right.

“I couldn’t stay where I felt trapped or compromised,” she shares.

Her turning point came in 2018 when she attended a basic journalism course. “That’s when I realized writing and sharing opinions was what I had always loved. It felt like home.” After the course ended, she landed her first journalism job at an ethnic media house.

When the coup changed everything

By 2021, Esther was working with a major media house. When the coup hit, her newsroom relocated to Karenni State, and Esther went with them, continuing to report under dangerous conditions. But even after escaping to Australia for safety, the pull of truth was stronger than comfort. In 2023, she made the decision to return.

A few months after she arrived in Thailand, the military made a desperate announcement. In February 2024, the military reactivated its conscription law, mandating that men aged 18 to 35 and women aged 18 to 27 serve in the army. Evading service or helping someone evade could lead to five years in prison.

“As the number of these conscription stories grew, so did my determination to report them,” Esther recalls. But working as an exiled independent journalist came with its own struggles. With no regular income and the constant need for resources, continuing her work was a challenge. That’s when she applied for Exile Hub’s Critical Voices Fellowship 2024 and received it.

Bearing witness on the frontlines

Esther began collecting stories from those most affected. She spoke with young men who had fled their villages, fearful of being conscripted. She also interviewed women who had watched brothers and husbands taken by the army, leaving families uncertain and anxious about their loved ones’ fate.

In September 2024, she published “I Don’t Want Others to Face What I Faced: Stories of Forced Military Conscription,” giving a voice to those the regime wanted silenced.

Later, she followed with another hard-hitting piece, “Snatched from Their Beds, Taken on the Streets — The Young Men in Myanmar Forced to Fight the Junta’s Losing War.”

Today, Esther works deep inside one of Myanmar’s most volatile conflict zones, a place where the sound of gunfire and the threat of airstrikes are constant. Despite the risks, she is satisfied with witnessing the truth with her eyes and documenting and reporting on it.

Esther is more than a journalist. She is a lifeline for those whose cries would otherwise vanish in the dark. And no matter the risk, she will keep writing and keep reporting, because for her, silence is never an option.

Esther has published stories about the junta's conscription law. Photo from Exile Hub. Used with permission.