By Hugh Phillips and Genevieve Blandin de Chalain
Four years ago on February 1, 2021, Myanmar, formerly Burma, experienced the fourth coup d’état in its 77-year history.
For those who have fled particularly in Asia, a valid Myanmar passport is a necessity to maintain a visa that allows them to avoid persecution and conflict back home.
But today the country remains in a state of violent civil war; meaning for many the expiry date of their passport has become an issue with wide-ranging repercussions for their future and their safety.
Options for refugees, some of them dissidents, include risking arrest, deportation and conscription to fight against friends or family by renewing their passport at Junta-controlled embassies, or statelessness by losing their rights as citizens.
In this Central News podcast, we look at the situation for displaced Burmese and ask what the Australian government is doing.
CLICK BELOW to listen to the full podcast.
Main image of dissident journalist Armand. Photo by Hugh Phillips.
UTS journalism students travelled to Thailand as part of The Foreign Correspondent Study Tour, a University of Technology Sydney programme supported by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s New Colombo Plan, and working with Chiang Mai University strategic communications students in association with Chiang Mai University.
