yangon/bangkok many ways wa lone kyaw soe oo two reuters journalists arrest myanmar symbolize country emergence decades isolation modest provincial background work hard pursue career would impossible junta era bear follow profile two journalists arrest dec. 12 hold since without contact families lawyer accuse breach country official secrets act wa lone 31 grow kin pyit village 100 households shwe bo district north mandalay myanmar dry central plain mighty irrawaddy chindwin rivers one five children parent rice farmers little money mother die cancer young good student accord friends family take keen interest news early age one brothers thura aung remember wa lone age around 10 watch bulletin share tv village sometimes would play anchor say thura aung 26. always say want reporter future finish school 16 enrol student government technical university leave couple semesters family could afford tuition around 2004 go mawlamyine myanmar fourth big city live buddhist monastery uncle monk exchange place stay would get a.m. clean prepare food monks go work photo service business wa lone show talent design photography soon set small photo service shop run thura aung december 2010 save little money brothers move back yangon wa lone could pursue boyhood dream live north okklapa township near city airport re-established photo service business wa lone also enrol media train school late begin take english class mindy walker american teacher meet 2012 recall skinny kid village little interaction foreigners nervous flee english class first time call answer question still joke moment tell every new student class story feel confident say walker email heart huge always encourage others succeed within five six months wa lone land first job journalism weekly people age yangon editor pe myint myanmar minister information 2014 join english-language daily myanmar time cover historic 2015 general election sweep nobel peace prize laureate aung san suu kyi power soon meet wa lone know hire say paper former editor thomas kean thoughtful articulate clearly care deeply journalism well provide platform excel journalist two years spend myanmar time significant period wa lone life meet wife pan ei mon work paper sales market department couple marry april last year despite long hours chase stories study wa lone still find time write children book gardener story burmese english environmental message draw rural root co-founded third story project charitable foundation produce distribute stories aim promote tolerance myanmar different ethnic group involve project work orphan many weekend spend visit poor rural villages much like one grow bring story book third story give children say pan ei mon read paint competitions sing children wa lone join reuters july 2016 quickly make mark in-depth stories sensitive subject include land grab powerful military murder prominent politician ko ni well uncover evidence kill soldier northeast report crisis erupt northwestern rakhine state october 2016 joint honorable mention society publishers asia annual award return rakhine year attack rohingya muslim militants security force august trigger crackdown army cover subject easy country transition decades junta rule prove painful bravery past year particularly since aug. 25 incredible hard describe tide ill-feeling towards journalists question military-government narrative rakhine say kean former editor soon one colleagues say hear wa lone know arrest report undoubtedly make target heartbreaking infuriate completely unsurprising family friends kyaw soe oo say always love write compose poetry become journalist min min founder root investigative agency kyaw soe oo work start report career online rakhine development news describe 27-year-old joyful person many friends first meet 2013 poet journalist interest journalism yet say min min ethnic rakhine buddhist kyaw soe oe grow state capital sittwe one five siblings good elder brother say sister nyo nyo aye add brother always stand crowd always book go book store second-hand booksellers spend money buy books. childhood friend zaw myo thu say avoid become catch communal tensions rakhine buddhists rohingya muslims seethe city since upheavals 2012. write poems love read say never fight anyone conflict draw journalism cover rakhine issue reuters since september report army crackdown aftermath militant attack security force aug. 25. journalist cover news think fairly discriminate race say sister nyo nyo aye realise human reuters kyaw soe oo work investigative story myanmar plan harvest crop rohingya farmers flee bangladesh report buddhists enforce local-level segregation central rakhine tell work never ask say wife chit thu win three-year-old daughter believe right thing follow passion want writer arrest myanmar reporters two book lovers dedicate craft