Until We Die

In Myitkyina, the capital city of the Kachin state (Myanmar), there is no family that hasn’t been hit by the comsumption of opioids. “Until we die” is a project about the opioid battle currently eroding the Kachin society and that has been killing the youth, their future and their claims for autonomy. With the project, I want to share the stories of the people impacted by the drug issue. Also, I aim to give a different perspective on the conflict between the Kachin Independant Army (KIA) and the Myanmar Army (Tatmadaw), and reflect on how the drug consumption and its trade have been turned into a key element to silent the regional claims for autonomy while also being a lever to fund the KIA.

The name of the project is a quote from a discussion I had with one young man who was consuming heroin and said “Heroin will continue to circulate in Kachin, until we die”. The statement struck me by how little hope seemed to be left from the local youth to see the situation improve or to contemplate a better future.