reported taking a motorbike or boat to get there. Both stated that it is “risky” to travel from one place to another which is why they do so only for “urgent matters”. Kyaw Moe Thu paints a vivid picture of what people must do, and the risk and effort it takes, to simply get around the government’s internet shutdown: “You have to suffer a lot when you really need to use the internet. In some places, you can get internet access…We have to use Mytel SIM card. And we have to use the places close to the military compound. I don’t want to use that much. But when I really must use the internet, I have to go outside the town and try to get access near the military compound. Sometimes, it rains so hard. It is really a pain when you have to stand up beside the highway while holding an umbrella all the time, to use the internet.”154 The interviews also revealed a distinct gendered impact, which hinders women from accessing information more so than their male counterparts. Women interviewees like Cho Cho May, Asmahra, Patricia, and Thu Htet San highlighted some of the additional risks. For instance, some interviewees reported that the connection is stronger at night, but as women, they’re unable to safely go out at that time. “There are some small hills within Buthidaung Township where one can get internet access. One time my father and I went there to use the internet because of an urgent family matter. But I didn’t feel safe. It is worse at dusk hours. I saw many people using internet at that place.”155 “We use internet with Mytel SIM card near the prison in Buthidaung. But it is difficult to go and use the internet there. Many men are there. To be frank, I’m afraid. And it is not easy to go outside the town with a tricycle to use the internet.”156 Communication with Loved Ones Even before we began our interviews, we knew anecdotally from engagement with ethnic minority IDPs and the Rohingya refugees that interrupted communication with loved ones was a major consequence of the internet shutdowns, leading to considerable distress in these communities. Four of the ten people we spoke with in Myanmar raised the issue during their interviews; in Bangladesh, it was five out of six. Given the trials this population has been through in recent decades, it is very much a diaspora community, and our interviewees mentioned relatives not only in Myanmar and Bangladesh but as far away as Saudi Arabia and the United States. 154 Myanmar interview 7. Name changed. 155 Myanmar interview 9. 156 Myanmar interview 8. 35