"Since the 2021 military coup, independent reporting inside Myanmar has become severely restricted. As many professional journalists were forced into exile, citizen reporters have remained on the ground, documenting events from areas where international media cannot operate. In this short documentary, Drop of Karenni Water, a citizen journalist whose identity is withheld for safety, takes viewers to a remote area of Kayah State in eastern Myanmar. There, families displaced by war struggle to survive in settlements far from their original homes. Some footage in this film is not high-resolution, as it was recorded on mobile phones and basic equipment. The priority is to document and share stories from restricted areas, even if the visual quality is limited. The film follows villagers through forests, into temporary shelters, and across small farms, where conflict, environmental change, and daily survival are closely intertwined. One of the biggest challenges facing displaced families is access to water. Many must buy water and carefully ration daily use. Some households limit bathing to once a week to make supplies last. The shortage is linked to forest loss. Trees that once protected water sources have been damaged by illegal logging, timber smuggling, and slash-and-burn farming, much of it left unregulated since the coup. As more people flee conflict and settle in fragile areas, land is cleared for agriculture to support new arrivals. Many conservation projects aimed at protecting forests and restoring water sources have been suspended as fighting escalated and international aid groups withdrew. “In Myanmar’s deeply conflicted landscape, reporting is severely restricted. This has created a desperate need for skilled citizen journalists,” said Min Thu Win Htut, founder of CJ Platform. “Citizen journalists work under significant risk inside Myanmar. They often travel to remote border areas or places with Starlink connectivity just to transmit their reports. The footage for Drop of Karenni Water, for example, was carried across the border into Thailand so it could be delivered to me securely.” Watch the documentary here: