The Long Road to Freedom
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"The mass amount of unity across the country is still surprising to me every day. And it's a big reason to be hopeful, because in the midst of Min Aung Hlaing's oppression, the Myanmar people have said, 'No, we're going to fight for democracy and human rights!'"
John Quinley, a Director at Fortify Rights, shares his journey to becoming deeply involved in Myanmar, beginning from his high school years as he was growing up in Thailand, a few years before the transition period. His curiosity about the region led him to visit Myanmar when he was just 16—on his first humanitarian mission—working with local communities in Shan State to provide resources, such as food, medicine, and other vital supplies, aimed at supporting vulnerable populations in the region. Shan State was largely under the control of the Shan State Army (SSA), an Ethnic Armed Organization that has long sought greater autonomy from the central authorities. As there was much political and social repression in Myanmar at that time, Quinley connected deeply with the people and their stories; it was a formative experience planted the seeds for a lifelong commitment to Myanmar's people and their fight for human rights and justice.
On a subsequent trip to Myanmar, also pre-transition, Quinley traveled with a Lonely Planet guidebook that contained basic information about the country’s military dictatorship. One of his Burmese tour guides asked to keep the book at the end of their journey, as information was so scarce that he was desperate for anything that could help him understand what was really happening in his own country beyond tightly controlled, government propaganda. This encounter deeply affected Quinley, and showed him the immense hunger that the people of Myanmar had for knowledge and truth.
Fortify Rights, the organization he joined nearly a decade ago, is an independent, nonprofit organization based in Southeast Asia. It is focused on investigating human rights abuses, engaging with authorities, and empowering human rights defenders and affected communities. Quinley emphasizes that Fortify Rights operates largely in the background, ensuring that Myanmar's people lead their own struggle towards freedom. Their operational methodology includes participatory training to build a knowledge of human rights, helping communities document abuses, and making connections with international legal mechanisms like the International Criminal Court (ICC). The ICC, established by the Rome Statute in 2002, prosecutes individuals for crimes such as genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity, making it a vital mechanism for justice in the context of Myanmar's abuses.
The coup of 2021 changed everything. Myanmar had been undergoing a tenuous transition towards democracy since 2011, following decades of military dictatorship. During this period, the National League for Democracy (NLD), led by Aung San Suu Kyi, took a leading role in the government, though the military retained significant power, controlling key ministries and maintaining a veto over constitutional changes. As it was for so many, the coup was a seismic event that upended the work that Fortify Rights and other human rights organizations had been doing.
Suddenly, Fortify Rights’ efforts to amend restrictive laws and improve civil liberties had to be put aside as Myanmar descended into violence. Quinley and his team swiftly adapted to support those most at risk, providing emergency support grants, helping activists find safehouses, and documenting abuses as the military crackdown on peaceful protests escalated. He details the horrors inflicted by the junta, including the use of snipers against peaceful protesters—young people who Quinley stressed were simply advocating for their basic rights and a future free from dictatorship.
Another task that Fortify Rights began implementing after the coup was to submit evidence to the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM), aiming to preserve documentation for future prosecutions and international accountability. This work underscores the importance of preserving evidence for a time when accountability becomes possible. They have also continued to petition ICC member states to make an Article 14 referral to bypass the United Nations Security Council, where vetoes from China and Russia have obstructed accountability efforts. Quinley and his colleagues even traveled to East Timor and engaged with other ASEAN member states, seeking to build a coalition that could refer Myanmar’s situation to the ICC. They have also pushed for local governance bodies, like the Arakan Army (AA), to grant Rohingya people freedom of movement and dismantle internment camps as part of the broader liberation effort in Rakhine State.
These actions are part of a larger struggle that highlights a central theme throughout Quinley's talk: the resilience of Myanmar's people. He expresses admiration for the courage of those resisting the junta, despite great personal cost. This includes ethnic armed groups and the National Unity Government (NUG), which was formed by elected lawmakers, ethnic representatives, and civil society leaders, positioning itself as the democratic alternative to the military regime.
Quinley underlines how these resistance movements have sought to build a more inclusive, democratic future, one in stark contrast to the policies of discrimination and exclusion perpetuated by the military regime and even, to some extent, the previous government led by Aung San Suu Kyi. Now, he stresses, “It’s not about ethnicity. It’s not about religion. It’s not about sexual orientation. It’s about a fight for democracy and human rights.” He notes how the NUG has even appointed Rohingya representatives to positions of leadership—an unprecedented step in Myanmar's history and a stark departure from the NLD's earlier silence on the plight of the Rohingya.
Quinley also describes the mental toll that decades of oppression have taken on the Rohingya people. He mentions Fortify Rights' recent work documenting the widespread trauma among Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, which has revealed the lingering impact of the atrocities committed against them. Such trauma has both physical and mental dimensions. Since 2017, nearly a million Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh, where they live in overcrowded camps like Cox's Bazar, the largest refugee settlement in the world. Conditions in these camps are dire, with limited access to education, healthcare, and livelihood opportunities.
Quinley urges for more mental health and psychosocial support for Myanmar's displaced communities, advocating for funding that respects local contexts and cultures. Fortify Rights collaborated with researchers to survey 495 refugees in Cox’s Bazar, and their research revealed that PTSD and daily stressors among Rohingya refugees are significantly higher than average, pointing to generational trauma that continues to affect the community profoundly.
Related to that community's trauma, Quinley speaks about the challenges of regulating his own mental health while documenting human rights abuses and supporting victims—a kind of second-hand trauma that is very real. He emphasizes the need to maintain a balance between emotional involvement and professional detachment. "You want to experience joy with people, but you also want to experience sorrow with people. So you have to be clinical, but you don’t want to be devoid of empathy."
Despite the grim realities, Quinley conveys a sense of hope, rooted in the unity and determination he has seen across Myanmar. "Even in the midst of oppression," he says, "the Myanmar people are saying, 'We will still build a future, we will still fight for our rights, and we will still hold onto hope.'" He highlights the efforts of local governance bodies and ethnic armed organizations, such as the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP), that are establishing parallel governance structures, forming new institutions, administering liberated areas independently from the military, and providing essential services.
Quinley describes Myanmar's struggle as a broader fight for human dignity and justice, one that deserves much more international attention and support than it currently receives.
He acknowledges the work of the Milk Tea Alliance, a transnational, pro-democracy movement that originated in response to authoritarianism across Asia and has become a symbol of solidarity in Hong Kong, Thailand, and Taiwan. Drawn by the solidarity of Myanmar's youth and the cooperation across ethnic lines, many young activists from neighboring countries have lent their support.
In Quinley's eyes, the Burmese people are crafting their own path to freedom, one marked by both extraordinary resilience and profound suffering. He concludes by saying, “The Myanmar people have said, 'Actually, we're going to still create our own institutions, we're going to still create our own government structures, we're going to still be journalists, we're going to still be doctors, we're going to still be teachers, we're going to create alternative systems that are outside the junta system, and that are able to meet the needs of our own people.’"
To explore past episodes that touch upon similar themes, we suggest the following from our archive:
· Nicholas Koumjian goes into how his work as head of the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM) involves collecting evidence of ongoing international crimes, emphasizing the importance of documentation for future prosecutions. He underscores the urgency of preserving evidence amidst ongoing atrocities, highlighting how accountability efforts are not just about addressing past crimes but also about preventing future ones by creating a foundation for justice.
· Sujauddin Karimuddin’s activism focuses on advocating for Rohingya rights and the safe resettlement of refugees, and ties these efforts into a long history of systemic discrimination and exclusion in Myanmar. He reflects on how deeply- rooted political and social prejudices have shaped the Rohingya experience, connecting to broader themes of injustice, the erasure of identity, and the critical need for advocacy.
· Isabel Todd talks about her role with the Special Advisory Council for Myanmar (SAC-M), which revolves around international advocacy and the pursuit of accountability for grave crimes committed by Myanmar's military. She discusses the challenges of navigating international mechanisms, highlighting the importance of sustained pressure and the role of evidence in bringing perpetrators of systemic violence to justice.
· Jeff Vogt speaks about his work with the International Labour Organization (ILO), which documents labor rights violations and forced labor under Myanmar’s military rule. He sheds light on how the dismantling of trade unions and labor protections reflects the broader suppression of civil society, connecting these dynamics to the pervasive oppression.
· Patrick Burgess describes his decades-long journey in human rights advocacy, from working in East Timor and Rwanda to his current involvement in Burma, all of which reflect the universal human struggle for justice and dignity. He emphasizes the resilience of ordinary people forced into extraordinary circumstances, showcasing their courage and creativity in resisting oppressive regimes, and draws parallels between various global conflicts. His work with Asia Justice and Rights (AJAR) highlights the importance of centering victims in advocacy, promoting accountability, and using creative tools like music and art to empower communities, making justice efforts both impactful and deeply human.
· Han Gyi’s work on reparations for victims of human rights violations focuses on both immediate advocacy and the long-term pursuit of transitional justice mechanisms. He highlights the social, emotional and economic impacts of such violations, tying the need for reparations to broader themes of justice, acknowledgment, and the prevention of further harm in the cycle of conflict.