An infrastructure for self-organising
An attempt to bridge something in the in-betweeness
Latitude of Longing: Writing Myanmar through Virtual Maps
The earthquake hit hardest in the Mandalay–Sagaing region: Mandalay, a city under military control, had already been hollowed out by mass youth flight after the junta enforced a brutal conscription law in early 2024. With most able-bodied young people gone, there was almost no one left to carry out rescue efforts. In neighboring Sagaing, a region that has seen years of fierce fighting between the military and resistance forces, junta’s bombing never ceased—even after the earthquake. As survivors fled their crumbling homes and spilled into the streets, they found themselves exposed to new danger: military drones, continuing their relentless bombardments, now targeted the crowds.
For Burmese exiles scattered across the world since the 2021 coup, the earthquake was a cruel reminder of the cost of being exiled. They should have been there—on the ground—rescuing, documenting, bearing witness to this disaster. Instead, they could only watch helplessly from afar, trapped in a desperate longing to return.
For those who have never set foot in Myanmar, names like "Mandalay" and "Sagaing" are entering public consciousness for the first time through fragments of news: fallen Buddha statues, the ruins of colonial-era bridges—isolated images tied to unfamiliar signifiers. But where exactly are these places? What kinds of cityscapes, rugged hills and flowing streams surround them?
This is why we invite you to join this collective writing workshop. Together, we will open satellite maps and street views, and embark on a virtual journey through Myanmar. Search for the places—names, images—that pierced your heart during this disaster. Find their coordinates. Trace the outlines of these unreachable places. And before you can physically arrive there—if that day ever comes—begin to fill these signifiers with meaning, memory, and embodied imagination.