Local Governance, Federal Dreams, and the Limits of Unity

The Algorithm of Uprising

မြန်မာနိုင်ငံမှာ မြေမြှုပ်မိုင်းများနှင့် စစ်ကျန်လက်နက်ပစ္စည်းများကြောင့်ကြောင့် ဒဏ်ရာရသူတွေ အမှန်တကယ် ဘယ်လောက်ရှိသည်ကို တိကျစွာ မသိနိုင်သေးသည့်အပြင် ကျေးလက်ဒေသတွင် နေထိုင်သည့် လူများသည် ပိတ်ဆို့မှုမျ...

Beyond the last note: A monk’s pursuit of the silence within

The Fragile Republic of What Comes Next 

A Deep Dive into the Border Factories of Fraud

We’re honored to share A Thousand Mothers as part of our ongoing effort to support monks, nuns, and vulnerable communities across Sagaing Region. This special screening has been made possible through the generous permission of filmmaker Kim Shelton, who kindly allowed Better Burma to use her work for humanitarian fundraising. We extend our heartfelt gratitude for her support and solidarity. The proceeds from this screening help us deliver essential aid to monastic communities and nunneries deeply affected by conflict and displacement from food and medicine to protective shelter and basic necessities. Your engagement with this film directly amplifies their stories and strengthens our relief work on the ground. Support the Work Make a donation: https://www.betterburma.org/donate Explore all our projects: https://linktr.ee/BetterBurma Thank you for standing with us and helping sustain these communities in their time of need.

The Scalpel and the Sword: A Combat Medic’s Tale

How a broken state, blocked banks, and border crackdowns force Myanmar’s migrants to invent lifelines that keep whole communities from collapse.

Nothing Is Just a Message Anymore

A Pistol On The Table: The Weight Of The Trigger

The Silence of the Envoys

Local Governance, Federal Dreams, and the Limits of Unity

The study of Buddhist Sanskrit texts uncovers textual gaps, interpretive puzzles, and enduring cultural insight.

Professor Lahra Smith, a political science professor specializing in East Africa at Georgetown University, argues that Myanmar’s current struggles must be seen within a global framework of colonial legacies, using Sudan as a comparative case. While acknowledging contextual differences, Smith shows how both countries were shaped by British colonial rule that hardened ethnic divisions, created infrastructure disparities, and entrenched political inequalities. Sudan lies within within Africa’s so-called "coup belt," illustrating a broader dissatisfaction with post-colonial governance and foreign interference. Like Myanmar, Sudan has suffered from military coups that initially promised reform but quickly descended into new forms of repression. Smith discusses how colonial policies divided Sudanese society along racial and religious lines, just as British colonialism in Myanmar entrenched ethnic and religious hierarchies that still drive conflict today. Colonialism’s infrastructural and missionary legacies further marginalized Sudan’s peripheries, fostering grievances that exploded into civil wars and the eventual, troubled independence of South Sudan. Similarly, Myanmar’s marginalized ethnic regions remain flashpoints for conflict. Smith stresses the need to move beyond thinking in terms of static land borders and recognize the deeper regional and cultural continuities that colonial boundaries disrupted. Ultimately, Smith emphasizes that identities and nations are constantly evolving, and that just drawing new lines on maps to replace the old, artificial, colonial ones will not solve the problems caused by the colonial experience. She stresses that genuine understanding requires recognizing this fluidity.

Limited access creates major challenges for survivors of landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERW) across the country, preventing many people especially in rural areas from receiving care.

Learning Stillness in a Moving World

Beyond the last note: A monk’s pursuit of the silence within

Five experts trace Myanmar’s collapse and resilience—revealing how food, energy, education, and truth endure under tyranny. 

A Deep Dive into the Border Factories of Fraud

Smoke Signals from a Sealed Nation