Thirst Amidst Turmoil, a documentary by Myanmar journalist Eimama Mon, shines a spotlight on Myanmar’s central dry zone, where people struggle to get water amid a chronic drought and other natural disasters.

With the 2021 military coup turning the area into a war zone, access to water – a necessity for human survival – has been blocked by random fights between the military and armed anti-coup groups. Many villagers have been forced to risk their lives by walking a long distance to fetch water.    

“The dry zone is a region where the water shortage is like a plague. The standard of living is also low. When the war broke out in these areas, people became a new generation of refugees,” said Mon.

“I would like to show how difficult it has been to get water during the war, let alone humanitarian aid.”

Her film demonstrates the intersection between conflict and the environment.

As the ongoing war prevents efforts to improve people’s access to water, it also leaves impoverished villagers to deal with climate-induced natural disasters ― including Cyclone Mocha, which hit Myanmar in May last year and destroyed people’s houses in the central dry zone. 

“Many people may be aware that those in the dry zone have been going through a lot of hardships during the war. But not many realize that they are also suffering the consequences of the environmental risks,” Mon added.

She shot the film after the middle of last year and experienced challenges in accessing local communities due to the war. But she managed to make it with support from citizen journalists.

Watch her film in the link below.

Our Mekong, Our Say is a one-year project run by the Internews’ Earth Journalism Network. It supported more than 25 professional and citizen journalists in the lower Mekong region to produce films and stories that reflect the environmental challenges and people’s resilience in protecting natural resources.