Control of Sittaung River basin in hands of resistance, Karen fighters

We rode down from the Karen Hills, which rise over 1,000 feet, on a motorbike and arrived at the open plains. Dust billowed around us as we traveled along a dirt road running through broad bean fields.

At the outset of our journey, we hadn’t anticipated going beyond the Sittaung River—but we eventually found ourselves crossing to its western bank. As we stepped onto the other side, it struck me that I was finally returning to my homeland, Bago Region, after more than three years away.

I left my hometown in eastern Bago Region on April 9, 2021, after the fall of the Magatit barricade built by anti-coup protesters—uncertain of when I would set foot in my native land again.