Rare earth elements are indispensable to the green energy transition—powering electric vehicles, wind turbines, and advanced electronics. Yet the rush to extract them is fueling an environmental and human catastrophe across Southeast Asia, where unregulated mining is poisoning rivers, destroying ecosystems, and endangering communities downstream
In 2021, Myanmar’s coup plunged the country into armed conflict and lawlessness, creating a vacuum exploited by Chinese-backed mining companies. With no environmental oversight, rare earth operations proliferated in contested borderlands, using toxic chemicals that leach into watersheds flowing into Thailand.
Global demand for rare earth elements is fueling an environmental disaster. Our Rivers Flow Tears is a short documentary about Myanmar’s expanding rare earth operations, connecting the military junta to the unchecked pillaging of resources in conflict affected areas.
The video documents a Peace Walk along the Kok River in northern Thailand led by Buddhist monks and joined by villagers and environmental defenders protesting the toxic contamination caused by mining in downstream rivers in Thailand.
Produced by Kirana Productions https://www.kiranaproductions.org/
September 2026
Jeanne Hallacy is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and freelance producer based in Bangkok and San Francisco who covers human rights issues in Southeast Asia through Kirana Productions, alongside Gregg Butensky and Sai Kyaw Khaing.