Sacca has been created to represent a collective of photographers documenting the reality of life under Myanmar’s military dictatorship.
In the ancient Pali language ‘Sacca’ means ‘Truth’. Driven by a belief in the power of photography to inspire change, Sacca’s storytellers work with passion and integrity to ensure that the truth of their country is not lost, and the stories of its people not forgotten.
Sacca was created in the aftermath of the military coup that took place in Myanmar on 1st February 2021. That coup deposed the democratically elected government and shattered a decade of political and social development overnight. In the first two months of the new dictatorship hundreds of peaceful protestors were murdered, thousands were imprisoned, and virtually every town and city in the country was subjected to a brutal campaign of terror by state security forces.
In a move to suppress reporting on the ongoing massacre of their own people the military set about criminalising journalism – revoking media licenses, ransacking newsrooms and beating, arresting and imprisoning editors, reporters and staff.
But Myanmar photographers continued to take to the streets, to attend the funerals, to enter the homes of the bereaved and bear witness to the destruction of their country. As communications infrastructure was gradually dismantled and financial services suspended many of these photographers continued to work despite there being no immediate outlet for their images or financial incentive – simply to fulfil their responsibility to document the situation in their country in order to preserve and honour its history.
Sacca now represents them and they represent Myanmar so that the people they meet, the places they document and the actions they record can never be lost, forgotten, misunderstood or misrepresented.
Sacca’s photographers were working for various publications and media outlets across Myanmar when the coup happened. They documented the immediate aftermath, and then the protests as they grew into a nationwide uprising.
As the military’s crackdown on this uprising became more and more brutal the junta issued orders for media outlets to censor their coverage. Some of our photographers were working for outlets which refused, and saw their media licenses revoked, their offices ransacked and their editors arrested. Some worked for media outlets who gave in to the junta’s demands, and walked out on their jobs in moral objection.
Many journalists, photographers and filmmakers are included in the more than 5000 people arrested by the military junta since 1st February. In order to protect the safety and security of our photographers it is not possible for us to release information on their experiences and accomplishments for fear that they could be identified, but amongst them they have decades of experience covering political and social issues throughout the country. Until it is safe to do otherwise, all of our photographers are contracted and published using aliases.