2019, and surpassing the total number of child casualties in 2018).147 Cho Cho May from Buthidaung Township believes that the internet was cut off because people were dying and the government “don’t want the media and the public to know about this information… they want to prevent the public from knowing about the news on war.” Other interviewees believe that the internet shutdown is aimed at keeping affected communities from assisting AA with their activities and sharing information. Interviewees like Kyaw Kyaw Naing in Buthidaung Township, said that the government shut down the internet as a means of keeping Rakhine people from contacting members of the Arakan Army.148 Asmahra adds that, “I think it is the Government’s policy. What I heard from other people is that there are AA insurgents among the locals. Internet was cut off to stop them from sending information to each other.”149 As of March 2020, AA, like ARSA before it, has been designated a terrorist organization in Myanmar.150 According to the Myanmar government, AA has, “caused serious losses of public security, lives and property, important infrastructures of the public and private sector, state-owned buildings, vehicles, equipment and materials.”151 Contrary to government propaganda framing AA as terrorist organization, interviewees in Rakhine State push back on such narratives stating: “Not everyone who live in Rakhine State is a terrorist. There are many people who are leading honest lives. Everyone knows who is the real terrorist. Not everyone who follows Islam is a terrorist and not everyone who follows Buddhism is a terrorist. The groups which the government is accusing as terrorists are fighting for their rights. But the government is saying they are terrorists.”152 As the internet shutdown in Rakhine and Chin state enters its second year, interviewees desperate for information pertaining to both the conflict and COVID-19 have had to find ways to gain internet access. Some reported travelling long distances, across multiple checkpoints, just to get to Maungdaw where internet services has been restored. Thu Htet San153 resorted to buying new phones and SIM cards that can pick up a signal when attached to the end of a long pole on top of a hill. However, this “solution” cost her money and is unsafe, especially during active conflict. Maung Maung and Muhammad Shor Biar, on the other hand, have found that while their villages in Buthidaung and Rathedaung Townships have no internet, neighboring villages do. They 147 “Myanmar: ‘Shocking’ killing of children allegedly used as human shields,” UN News, October 14, 2020, https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/10/1075362. 148 Myanmar interview 1. Name changed. 149 Myanmar interview 9. 150 “Myanmar officially brands Rakhine rebels a terrorist group,” Associated Press, March 24, 2020, https://apnews.com/article/0d4de21a7d7e03dc1c1e0476c8a1a417 151 Ibid. 152 Myanmar interview 7. Name changed. 153 Myanmar interview 2. 34