As a cyclone rolled over the Bay of Bengal on 24 May, American journalist Danny Fenster, 37, contemplated the brooding skies near a terminal window at Yangon international airport.

For a while, the threat of foreigners being seized at the airport by Myanmar’s military was real, but after watching international reporters exit the country safely in April, the Michigan native was more worried about turbulence.

He had arrived in Myanmar two years before, when the country was filled with hope for its fledgling democracy. He was leaving at a time of violence and dread induced by a military coup. But Fenster, who kept a low profile editing stories for Frontier Myanmar, was excited to reach Chicago and surprise his parents, while continuing his role as the managing editor of the celebrated outlet.