The Irrawaddy River, nearly 1300 miles in length, has been likened to the “lifeblood” of Burma and flows through some of the most coveted and untouched land in the world.
While Burma is in a rapid state of modernization and has gained praise from the international community for its political reform, the country remains in turmoil. Contested lands throughout the region remain rife with displacement, environmental disasters, religious unrest, and shady economic expansion.
However, along the banks of the Irrawaddy River, a pure and beautiful way of life can still be seen. On the Irrawaddy aims to explore the Burma that will slowly cease to exist as the country forges on.
This project uses the river as a guide that begins at the rivers confluence in Myitkyina, Kachin State and travels through the region to the Irrawaddy Delta. It starts at the destructive and controversial Myitsone Dam Project in Kachin, and follows the turns of the river through major ports, oil mines, and religious ceremonies until it breaks into small channels serving as irrigation to the small rice paddy farms in Pathein.
This ongoing body of work will continue to explore what is truly at the heart of a nation that is shrouded by the promise of development.
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A young girl dances with her boyfriend during a concert at the main stage in downtown Yangon near Sule Pagoda on April 13, 2015. Thingyan is a four day water festival leading up to the Myanmar New Year. During these four days, many businesses are closed and Myanmar people flood the streets pouring water down each others backs and spraying each other with hoses as a purification ritual, aiming to bring you good luck in the new year. Teenagers use this time to party and dress like pop starts. Photo by Lauren DeCicca
Rakhine Buddhists collect water in the Satroja IDP camp on November 3, 2017 in Sittwe, Myanmar. A segment of the Rakhine Buddhist population was effected during the 2012 violence against the Rohingya population and has been living in IDP camps since. The camps have become a permanent village and Rakhine Buddhists have no hope of returing to their land. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel laureate who leads Myanmar’s civilian government, visited conflict-battered northern Rakhine state for the first time on Thursday since the outbreak of violence in late August. Based on reports, hundreds of Rohingya Muslims have been killed by the military when the atrocities began while Hindus and Buddhist have also fled the violence in Rakhine state and moved to Buddhist-majority areas, fearing to face the violence again. Burmese immigration officials have since begun reissuing citizenship identification cards to Hindu and Buddhist citizens who fled their homes without carrying their identification cards while the Hindu and Buddhist communities continue to seek safety in Sittwe until the crisis is over. Over 600,000 Rohingya Muslims have crossed over into Bangladesh as international rights groups laid out evidence of an ethnic cleansing campaign across the northern part of Rakhine state. (Photo by Lauren DeCicca/Getty Images)
Mandalay, BURMA - MAY 31: Monks exit their classes at the end of the day at the Masoeyein Monastery, home of Wirathu, the head of the nationalist Buddhist group in Myanmar on May 31, 2017 in Mandalay, Burma. Buddhist hardliners like Ashin Wirathu are pushing the idea that Buddhism and the essence of Myanmar provides a reason for inciting violence against the minority Muslim population in Myanmar. Branded the "Face of Buddhist Terror" by Time magazine, Wirathu recently claimed the one million Rohingya Muslims in his country "don't exist" as clashes between ultranationalist Buddhists and minority Muslims rose in Yangon last month. Myanmar's religious authorities increased its crackdown on hard-line Buddhist monks, including the Ma Ba Tha movement, an ultra nationalist Buddhist organization, while authorities banned the network which has been accused of stoking Islamophobia. The headquarters of Ma Ba Tha, located in Mandalay, has been spreading anti Muslim sentiment across the country for years from its unassuming base as the rapidly modernizing city remains home to a diverse community including Muslim, Christian and Hindu populations. (Photo by Lauren DeCicca/Getty Images)
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A young buddhist boy plays chinlone, a traditional Myanmar sport, on November 5, 2017 in Yangon, Myanmar. The Sin Ma Kaw village is one of the self-declared 'Muslim-free' villages that have risen during the tension between the Rohingya Muslims and Myanmar Buddhists. Hundreds of Rohingya Muslims have been killed by the military since late August when an outbreak of violence started in Rakhine state, causing over 600,000 Rohingya to flee into Bangladesh. Burma Human Rights Networks estimates at least 21 villages are 'Muslim-free', as these villages started appearing in Myanmar after the riots in Rakhine state back in 2012. (Photo by Lauren DeCicca/Getty Images)
Young myanmar migrant workers wait at the Thai immigration office in Maesot on their way to fish industry factories in Bangkok, Thailand
Photo by Lauren DeCicca
Daw Myint Myint, 62, and U Aung Bwe, 72, sit in their home in Lay Kay Kaw, a housing project set up by the Government and the Karen Rebel Army after the National Ceasefire Agreement. The couple had previously lived in refugee camps on the Thai border for nearly fifteen years before being resettled in Myanmar.
A dog breaks in to the main stage area before Aung Sun Suu Kyi's campaign speech in Kaw Hmu, Myanmar on September 21, 2015. Daw Aung Sun Suu Kyi, leader of the National League for Democracy party in Myanmar, campaigns in her constituency, Kaw Hmu, on September 21, 2015. Kaw Hmu, located two hours Southwest of Yangon, is one of the more impoverished townships in the region. Since becoming their Parliamentary representative, Suu Kyi has improved roads and built a hospitality training center to provide service jobs to the younger generations in the township. CREDIT: Lauren DeCicca for The Wall Street Journal SLUG: SUUKYI
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