Vilhelm Stokstad

Photographer

Myanmar's Lost Generations

Follow Hire

Location: Stockholm

Nationality: Swedish

Biography: My main interest lies in documentary photography. In 2013 i started working on the project Voluntourism , investigating the phenomenon of mixing volunteer work with vacation. As the larger NGOs and more established volunteer agencies,... MORE

Nhkum Hkawn Lung, 27, two day old baby girl, her third child.

Nhkum Hkawn Lung, 27, breastfee...grenade to land here, she says.

Nhkum Hkawn Lung, 27, breastfeeding her two day old baby girl, her third child. â€“ When i was pregnant i was scared of a grenade to land here, she says.

Nurses attend to a newborn baby... Laiza hospital Maternity Ward.

Nurses attend to a newborn baby at the Laiza hospital Maternity Ward.

Gun Htang Hkawn Nan and Lahtaw ... Civil Hospital Maternity Ward.

Gun Htang Hkawn Nan and Lahtaw Naw Ja with their newborn second son, Lahtaw Seng Naw Sut, at the Laiza Civil Hospital Maternity Ward.

A woman watching over her newbo... Civil Hospital Maternity Ward.

A woman watching over her newborn in an incubator at the Laiza Civil Hospital Maternity Ward.

Mothers and fathers with their ... Civil Hospital Maternity Ward.

Mothers and fathers with their newborns taking in the sun out the back of the Laiza Civil Hospital Maternity Ward.

Children with toy guns play in the schoolyard at Je Yang IDP camp.

Children play in the schoolyard at Maga Yang IDP camp.

A group of children passes a K....n Laiza, Kachin state, Myanmar.

A group of children passes a K.I.A. rebell truck on their way to school in Laiza, Kachin state, Myanmar.

Bawk Ja, 15, and her baby cousi...Je Yang IDP Camp outside Laiza.

Bawk Ja, 15, and her baby cousin watching tv before school, in the Je Yang IDP Camp outside Laiza.

Marip Hkawn Bu, 35, is helping ...Je Yang IDP Camp outside Laiza.

Marip Hkawn Bu, 35, is helping her son Myu Lat Awng get ready for school in the Je Yang IDP Camp outside Laiza.

Arviato, an NGO, are giving pai...nder when it will happen again.

Arviato, an NGO, are giving painting classes for IDP children to help cope with memories and trauma. Here they are painting bunkers or "holes" with people in them. Tu Shan, 14 years old (boy in the back), says; I don't know why i chose these colors, it just looked good. I have seen these holes myself, they are used to hide from bullets and bombs, it is a scary place. N Dan Seng Nan, 16 years (girl in the front), have been in the painting class for three years. â€“ In 2014 i had to help build bunkers when the army helicopters came. I saw the helicopter myself, it's my friends and family in the hole, and it's a scary place. I still feel worried around that hole and i wonder when it will happen again.

Nu Mai and Bawk Ja, 15, put on ... during the school lunch break.

Nu Mai and Bawk Ja, 15, put on some extra Thanaka, a cosmetic paste made from ground bark, during the school lunch break.

Seng Mai, 16, dropped out of sc...ll go back to school next year.

Seng Mai, 16, dropped out of school last year, and is now helping her mother more around the house in Je Yang IDP camp. She says she will go back to school next year.

A woman working her piece of fa...ang in Kachin State in Myanmar.

A woman working her piece of farmland. She lives in a camp for internally displaced refugees near Mai Ja Yang in Kachin State in Myanmar.

Children practicing Karate after school in Je Yang IDP camp.

Recruits of the KIA National Se...rters in Kachin State, Myanmar.

Recruits of the KIA National Service during daily morning exercise in Laiza, the KIA headquarters in Kachin State, Myanmar.

Aung Lun and Naw San, Kachin In...e dog is inspecting the rifles.

Aung Lun and Naw San, Kachin Independence Army Soldiers, reenforcing their positions with sandbags at a frontline outpost just 1 km from the Burma Armys nearest outpost. Manji the dog is inspecting the rifles.

A KIA soldier watching the oute...the closest Burma Army outpost.

A KIA soldier watching the outer defences of one of the KIA Mobile Brigade outposts, just 1 km away form the closest Burma Army outpost.

Byuwa Yaw Han, Aung Lun, Naw Sa...he Burma Armys nearest outpost.

Byuwa Yaw Han, Aung Lun, Naw San and Aung Lat, of the Kachin Independence Army, saying grace before breakfast at a frontline outpost just 1 km from the Burma Armys nearest outpost.

Corporal Labang Lum Mai, 31, wa...Mai is rolled out from surgery.

Corporal Labang Lum Mai, 31, was hit by shrapnel on December 18. The metal hit his leg and broke the bone during clashes with the Burma Army. His mother Mahka Roi Tawng, 57, is visiting at the Mai Ja Yang hospital as Lum Mai is rolled out from surgery.

KIA Private Labya Tu San, 23, w...hrapnel hit the privates spine.

KIA Private Labya Tu San, 23, was hit in his back on December 20 in clashes with the Burma Army. A RPG or 84 mm grenade hit just behind him as he was reloading his rifle. He says he could talk, didn't feel any pain, but couldn't move. â€“ It is a permanent injury, the doctor says, showing on x-rays where shrapnel hit the privates spine.

PLAY

STOP

GRID

FULL

LOVE

Thumbnail of Nhkum Hkawn Lung, 27, two day old baby girl, her third child.

Thumbnail of Nhkum Hkawn Lung, 27, breastfeed_ grenade to land here, she says.

Thumbnail of Nurses attend to a newborn baby _e Laiza hospital Maternity Ward.

Thumbnail of Gun Htang Hkawn Nan and Lahtaw N_a Civil Hospital Maternity Ward.

Thumbnail of A woman watching over her newbor_a Civil Hospital Maternity Ward.

Thumbnail of Mothers and fathers with their n_a Civil Hospital Maternity Ward.

Thumbnail of Children with toy guns play in the schoolyard at Je Yang IDP camp.

Thumbnail of Children play in the schoolyard at Maga Yang IDP camp.

Thumbnail of A group of children passes a K.I_in Laiza, Kachin state, Myanmar.

Thumbnail of Bawk Ja, 15, and her baby cousin_ Je Yang IDP Camp outside Laiza.

Thumbnail of Marip Hkawn Bu, 35, is helping h_ Je Yang IDP Camp outside Laiza.

Thumbnail of Arviato, an NGO, are giving pain_onder when it will happen again.

Thumbnail of Nu Mai and Bawk Ja, 15, put on s_, during the school lunch break.

Thumbnail of Seng Mai, 16, dropped out of sch_ill go back to school next year.

Thumbnail of A woman working her piece of far_Yang in Kachin State in Myanmar.

Thumbnail of Children practicing Karate after school in Je Yang IDP camp.

Thumbnail of Recruits of the KIA National Ser_arters in Kachin State, Myanmar.

Thumbnail of Aung Lun and Naw San, Kachin Ind_he dog is inspecting the rifles.

Thumbnail of A KIA soldier watching the outer_ the closest Burma Army outpost.

Thumbnail of Byuwa Yaw Han, Aung Lun, Naw San_the Burma Armys nearest outpost.

Thumbnail of Corporal Labang Lum Mai, 31, was_ Mai is rolled out from surgery.

Thumbnail of KIA Private Labya Tu San, 23, wa_shrapnel hit the privates spine.

Private Story

Myanmar's Lost Generations

Copyright Vilhelm Stokstad 2024

Date of Work Jan 2018 - Feb 2018

Updated Apr 2018

Location Kachin State, Myanmar

Topics Documentary, Photography, Photojournalism

Myanmar's Lost Generations
Kachin Youth Locked in Protracted Conflict

For the young generations in Myanmar's conflict-ridden north, war controls everything. Ongoing since the early 1960's, the conflict limits access to education, livelihoods and life itself.

Kachin state is a perfect example of a "protracted crisis", where insecurity and refugeehood has become norm rather than exception, as local and international relief organizations struggle to provide help.

Vilhelm Stokstad / Yangon, Myanmar

Sep 17, 2016 - Sep 19, 2016

Sign-up for
For more access