The exhibition, titled "INDIVISIBLE," delves into the pivotal role played by medical teams within an armed revolution, shedding light on their inseparable connection to providing healthcare for both civilians and combatants amidst the chaos of a war-torn zone."
The exhibition prominently features captivating photographs taken by ethnographer and documentary photographer Khin Sandar Nyunt. Over the course of more than two years, she accompanied a group of medical students who fled Yangon, Myanmar's commercial capital, for the mountains of Karenni near the Thai border following the military coup in February 2021. The documentation of their experiences authentically portrays their arduous journey and the challenges they faced.
In May 2021, a group of medical students arrived in Karenni state, a highly volatile region during the Myanmar Spring Revolution. Initially, consisting of just eight students and two doctors, they established a clinic and provided healthcare to internally displaced persons (IDPs) and the public despite limited resources. Within two years, they assumed a critical role in healthcare in the East Demoso region, one of Karenni's strategically significant war zones.
By 2023, they had covertly established a fully functional hospital, tragically targeted by the Junta’s airstrikes on May 20, 2023. Medical units and hospitals in Karenni are frequently targeted, disrupting access for both combatants and civilians, affecting thousands of lives. The students are now working diligently to rebuild the clinic and urgently require substantial assistance. This documentation aims not only to raise awareness about what is happening in Myanmar but also to raise funds to rebuild the clinic pivotal to people in Karenni areas.
This online exhibition is organized by A New Burma and curated by Timothy Tint, in collaboration with Anagat, Butter Burma, Nway Oo Kyan Mar- Spring Health Clinic, and exile creative families.
Outpatient Department (OPD) during the COVID-19 pandemic in October 2021. The clinic was located in a CDM school building near the area where IDPs were housed in the East Demoso region. It was one of the clinics in the region providing basic healthcare services to both the villagers and IDPs. During this period, there were only three clinics serving the region, catering to the needs of over 30,000 local residents and IDPs.(Until January of 2022,Nway OO Kyan Mar was not established as a structured clinic.)
Symmetrical position of school chair and patient bed reflecting the break-down of existing infrastructures and chaotic re-emergences during the Myanmar Spring Revolution.
The abandoned labor room of a public hospital, located in Daw Ta Ma Gyi Village Track, was photographed on October 3, 2021.
The General Secretary of Daw Ta Ma Gyi village passed away due to a car accident during the displacement of IDPs on October 11, 2021.
A makeshift outpatient Department (OPD)at a school during the covid-19 pandemic in a war zone.
A lady named Se` Myar from Htee Pwint Kan village in East Demoso township stepped on a landmine on the midnight of August 23, 2022, while returning to her village to bring rice supplies from her storage. The villagers were grappling with a shortage of funds for their daily needs, having endured a year-long displacement due to the offensive actions of the Junta. The local people's defense forces had declared that returning to the village was prohibited due to the extensive presence of landmines. However, despite these warnings, villagers secretly ventured back to collect their rice stocks for sustenance.
As a tragic result of the incident, Se` Myar lost her right leg and sustained severe injuries throughout her body.
The leader of Nway Oo Kyan Mar clinic, Ko Htoo, is seen carrying his personal belongings during the displacement of his medical team. They had been stationed in a particular location for six months until their temporary hospital station, situated in a village in East Demoso, was attacked by cannon fire from the Junta on January 3, 2023.
On October 21, 2021, medical students conducted medical training for the medic units of KNDF. This marked the first medic training session for the defense forces, as they prepared for the upcoming war in the forthcoming season.
Nway Oo Kyan Mar team performs a surgery in a makeshift operation room.
The Spring Health team celebrated the 23rd birthday of one of their team members, a CDM midwife, in 2021. During the revolution, young people had to live apart from their families, with some severing their social connections and ties to avoid repercussions for their resistance against their own families. Birthdays always held a special significance for young revolutionaries, as they brought back a sense of family.
A medical student assisted in the childbirth of an IDP woman with the guidance of an experienced CDM midwife. Although the operation was intended to be conducted under aseptic conditions, the delivery had to be carried out in an emergency situation, with bare hands used to hold the baby. This labor room had been established in a CDM school in East Demoso in early October 2021.
The team held movie nights on some days and conducted medical teaching and sharing sessions on other days. These activities were essential for fostering team cohesion and for enhancing the medical knowledge and skills of the medical students who had discontinued their formal university education. Normally, before starting these activities, they played energizing songs to gather all the team members.
Local health volunteers during the Covid-19 pandemic playing football after their service in a compound of Nway Oo Kyan Mar clinic, 25 October, 2021.
Nway Oo Kyan Mar clinic was subjected to an airstrike by the Junta on May 20, 2023. Two patient wards were entirely destroyed. The hospital cannot be utilized during this period of wartime because its location has been compromised and targeted.
KNDF soldiers and civilians with wounds were temporarily relocated to a rock cave following an early morning airstrike on April 24, 2023. The Junta deployed heavy airstrike bombardments strategically targeting hospitals to disrupt healthcare access for both resistance fighters and civilians. Since the airstrike on May 20, the region, home to over 30,000 residents, has been without a hospital to provide essential daily healthcare and emergency medical services.
In this insightful video, we take you to get a closer look at the reality on the ground. Join us for an exclusive interview with the artist and the head medic featured in our exhibition, INDIVISIBLE.
While this video does not contain any graphic visual footage, please be aware that the subjects discuss deeply impactful and potentially traumatic issues. Viewer discretion is advised.
A team comprising medical students from Yangon, CDM doctors, CDM nurses from Karenni, and volunteers from the Kayah Li Phu Youth organization gathered for a group photo during the COVID-19 pandemic on October 12, 2021. In the subsequent months, in early January, they established an organization named `"Nway Oo Kyan Mar - Spring Health`" and initiated healthcare services that extended extensively across the East Demoso and Phuruso regions in Karenni.
Profile of Khin Sandar Nyunt/ KSN
Her creative journey is firmly rooted in establishing personal connections and engaging in profound reflections, elements that she seamlessly incorporates into the very essence of her work. Sandaar effectively merges the practices of ethnographic research and writing within her visual storytelling projects.
Through her work "INDIVISIBLE", she illuminates the interconnectedness of the revolutionary actors, the stark realities on the ground, and raises a critical question regarding support for the Myanmar Spring Revolution from the international community: How can support for the Myanmar Spring Revolution be provided in the most effective and efficient way?