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In this episode, we bring together three guests who share stories of resilience, artistry, and the transformative power of creative expression when faced with the challenges of displacement and conflict.
"We built a safe space for the people to come,” says Elisabeth Win. “We want the people to have sustainable teaching and, because if the people can share, we are welcoming them, and we arrange a time for those who want to volunteer at Joy House."
Elisabeth Win is the Outreach Coordinator for Joy House, a community center in the Thai border town of Mae Sot, designed to help Burmese refugees. She speaks passionately about her work helping refugees, who often live in precarious conditions and with limited access to healthcare and education due to their undocumented status. Many face hardships such as lack of legal status, restricted work rights, and the inability to access essential services, which contributes to insecurity and depression.
Joy House provides a safe and supportive environment where refugees can learn practical skills like music, handicrafts and cooking. The idea is that such skills provide a therapeutic outlet to process trauma without needing to verbally share their experiences, and help to regain a sense of purpose and community. Similarly, Joy House integrates music and arts into its programs to raise awareness about the situation in Myanmar, using performances and exhibitions to highlight refugee stories. Besides this psychosocial support, they also focus on two additional goals: offering an informal education, and fostering positive relationships between the Burmese refugees and the Thai host community.
This latter initiative is especially critical, as tensions have arisen between Burmese migrants and some local Thai residents, particularly with more affluent Burmese entering Thailand and starting businesses. Historically, Thailand has hosted various waves of migration from Myanmar, including those fleeing the Saffron Revolution in 2007, and various ethnic conflicts in border regions. Each wave of migration presented new challenges for integration and acceptance within Thai society. The recent influx has been more diverse, including laborers as well as professionals and entrepreneurs, causing friction in some localities. To further address these challenges, Joy House provides free music lessons and language classes in Thai schools, to promote cultural exchange and reduce interethnic tensions.
Joy House hosts over 1,000 students annually in its music programs over four sessions, though they face a shortage of musical instruments and volunteer teachers. The ongoing call for more instruments and volunteers underscores the resource challenges faced by grassroots organizations like Joy House, particularly in refugee settings. Despite these challenges, Joy House remains committed to providing educational opportunities.
Elisabeth's message emphasizes the importance of community solidarity and the impactful role that individuals can play in improving the lives of people displaced by conflict. "Music is a universal language,” she says. “We can interact and communicate through music. Music can bring peace and music can bring joy."
"I bring my violin here, because I believe that I can use my violin as a weapon to send a message and to make our voices hard. We are now making more art, and it is blooming even in the war zone. We are now trying to send beauty even to the war zone!"
Phoe San is a violinist and composer who has played a significant role in the growing popularity of the violin in Myanmar. However, after the military coup of February 2021, he was forced to flee, eventually finding refuge in Thailand, where he continues his work as a music educator and advocate for the Myanmar revolution. His use of music as, in his words, a “weapon” or “soft power” for resistance underlines his dedication to both his craft and the movement, showing how deeply intertwined his art is with his activism.
Reflecting on his early passion for the violin, Phoe San shares that he was inspired by literary characters such as Sherlock Holmes, who played violin as an emotional outlet. This inspired him to see the violin as a deeply expressive instrument, even capable of being played to mimic animal sounds, for example. As the years passed, Phoe San turned his passion into action. He opened a violin school, where he taught over 450 students, helping to build a strong foundation for the instrument's growing popularity. During the COVID-19 epidemic, his school had to temporarily close down, and although teaching an instrument as nuanced as the violin online poses many challenges, he was able to manage it successfully.
In the weeks following the 2021 coup, Phoe San organized a group of over 100 violinists to create a “violin movement” as a form of protest. The movement highlighted the power of art as a peaceful protest tool, with violinists performing pieces that blended Myanmar’s traditional melodies with Western compositions, showcasing the resilience and solidarity of the people. He also performed as a personal tribute to a murdered protester at the site where he had been killed, bridging personal grief with a larger social message. "I wanted to say ‘goodbye’ with my music," he said, emphasizing the emotional need he felt to use his art to honor his fallen comrade, and resist oppression in the process. He describes lost comrades like his friend as “falling stars,” a metaphor that captures both the beauty and tragedy of their fleeting lives and sacrifices who devoted to greater ideals. Phoe San’s musical performance was recorded and shared online, and the video spread widely on social media platforms, drawing attention to his bravery and the emotive power of his music as a form of protest. This viral spread elevated his actions from a local act of defiance to a broader symbol of artistic resistance. Unfortunately, it also attracted the military's attention, leading to a raid on his apartment, and Poe San fleeing to Thailand.
Upon arriving in Thailand, Phoe San faced significant challenges as an undocumented migrant, and struggled to make ends meet. But he was able to reach draw from the well of his adaptability and creative skill, and began offering online violin classes as he had during the COVID pandemic. He initially offered video lessons that allowed students to learn at their own pace, and gradually transitioned to live sessions on platforms like Zoom, enabling more direct feedback and interaction.
Phoe San also began working at Joy House. Many of the people who come there do so not only to learn an instrument or other forms of creative expression, but to find some form of peace and healing through the emotive power of the arts. This is a crucial part of the recovery process for those experiencing the trauma of displacement and violence. IDPs, especially children, need outlets for their trauma, and providing opportunities for creative activities offers them a semblance of normalcy and a chance to heal. This perspective aligns with broader research on trauma recovery, which underscores the vital role of creative expression in mitigating the effects of trauma.
Phoe San’s dedicated work at Joy House is driven by his own trauma—his forced displacement and the violence he witnessed. Teaching there has been healing for him as it has for his grateful students, allowing him to reclaim his own identity and contribute to something larger.
Phoe San's message centers on resilience through creativity. His dedication to art as a form of resistance and his determination to use music as a healing tool for his community illustrate a profound commitment to both his craft and his people. This is the portrait of an artist who refuses to be silenced, using the universal language of music to bring hope and healing amidst conflict and chaos. His efforts and resilience underscore the risks artists take to stand up for justice.
"I bring my violin here, and I did many, many concerns, because I feel and I believe that this is I can use this, my violin as a weapon, weapon to send message and to make our voice, voices hard."
“In 2019, I had a dream. I’d always wanted to create a free music school,” says Daniel Saw. “We want to include music in every school... but the military coup happened. So, one day I'm going to make a free music school in Myanmar, and every school will have music subjects."
Daniel Saw shares his journey from a promising career in music to the challenges of living as a refugee in Thailand. While growing up, he learned how to play guitar and piano before transitioning into music production, which marked his rise as a recognized figure in his country’s entertainment industry. He was known for his work on soundtracks for popular TV series and films, one of which won an Asian Academy Creative Award. However, like so many, his life and work were upended by the military coup in 2021, fundamentally altering the course of his career and personal life.
The military takeover created an environment of fear and uncertainty and led to widespread protests, violent crackdowns, and the detention of numerous political leaders and activists. Artists and intellectuals, including Daniel, were targeted as part of the junta’s efforts to suppress dissent and control cultural expression. The coup ended Daniel’s successful projects, including a TV series he had been working on about a principled police officer standing up against injustice. Eventually the situation became too dangerous and he was forced to flee his homeland.
With the help of an organization, he embarked on a perilous journey with his family to the border and into Thailand. They had to navigate dangerous terrain, which was made even more challenging due to his father's health issues. At one point, overcome by exhaustion because of a heart condition, his father asked to be left behind; Daniel refused and looked after him until he was able to walk again. They moved very slowly but finally they made it to the border. Though border guards needed to be bribed, they finally they made it across!
Once in Thailand, Daniel began the challenging task of rebuilding his life. He chose to do it through music, determined not to let his passion fade. He is again a music teacher, teaching piano both online and in person, instrumental skills and music theory, and continues to produce music while performing in local venues. Daniel is also dedicated to using music as a tool for healing and education, calling it "art for the heart." He finds that this approach resonates deeply with Burmese refugees, many of whom are coping with severe trauma from violence and displacement.
Daniel’s mission is to one day bring music and music education to all the children of Myanmar, hoping to found a free music school to serve as a beacon of opportunity for young Burmese. Myanmar’s educational system has historically been heavily centralized and underfunded, with minimal emphasis on arts education. Recognizing that gap, Daniel sees music as a medium that can empower the younger generation, and guide them to return to their communities as teachers after the conflict, ensuring the continued spread of musical knowledge and cultural resilience.
Daniel explains how he sees musical instruments not merely as tools for artistic expression, but also symbols of cultural heritage, particularly in Myanmar, where traditional music is integral to community rituals and social gatherings. Towards this end, he has been working towards the goal of acquiring 100 such traditional instruments to distribute to schools and IDP camps.
In addition to his musical initiatives, Daniel emphasizes the importance of cultural integration and mutual understanding. He highlights the tensions between Burmese refugees and local Thai communities in border towns like Mae Sot, a major crossing point between Myanmar and Thailand that has faced a major influx of refugees since the coup. Often arriving with limited resources, they face difficulties integrating into Thai society, which has limited capacity and infrastructure to support large numbers of displaced people. All this causes cultural misunderstandings, economic strain, and the refugees' struggles with displacement and trauma. These tensions are further exacerbated by economic competition, as well as linguistic and cultural differences. It is for all these reasons that Daniel has worked to foster understanding with Thai communities through his efforts in music education and cultural exchange, in particular his work with Thai children.
Reflecting on the impact of the coup, Daniel laments the destruction of lives, homes, and aspirations, which he believes are critical to the spirit of the Burmese people. His work underscores the importance of art in restoring hope and fostering resilience among those affected by Myanmar’s ongoing crisis. Art, in this context, serves as a form of resistance against the erasure of cultural identity by the military regime. For Daniel, music is more than comfort; it is a powerful force for rebuilding lives, restoring communities, and sustaining cultural identity.