Exiled Activists from Myanmar: Predicaments and Possibilities of Human Rights Activism from Abroad

Abstract In this article, we put forward the concept of the ‘exiled activist’ to highlight the predicaments and the possibilities that practicing human rights activism from abroad bring with it. Human rights activists from Myanmar struggle to continue their work after the military regime forced them to flee their home country over four and a half years ago. Since the attempted military coup on 1 February 2021, 30,074 citizens have been imprisoned and 7,517 killed (as of December 2025). Although exiled activism has a long tradition in Myanmar, the current situation is unprecedented. Not only have many activists left the country, but those who are still in Myanmar have been forced into hiding or have joined the armed resistance. This brain drain has impacted NGO work as well as different education sectors, including the formal education sector and online education formats in which many human rights activists were previously employed. This article takes account of these dramatic changes and focuses on the actual work that exiled activists from Myanmar currently carry out, as well as on the psychosocial predicaments they face.