On May 23, 2023, while much of the world had begun moving on from the devastation caused by Cyclone Mocha in Myanmar, photojournalist Sai Zaw Thaike headed into the field in Rakhine state to carry out a routine assignment, to document the disaster's impact and gather stories of people who had lost homes, families and livelihoods.

That day became the turning point that changed his life when Myanmar’s military junta detained him in Sittwe.