Scenes of devastation confront aid workers following the deadly quake. photo provided
On March 28, the Sagaing region of Myanmar was hit by a 7.7-magnitude earthquake whose shockwaves were felt in Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and the neighboring Chinese region of Yunnan. The epicenter was close to the country’s second-largest city, Mandalay. The authorities say that more than 3,600 people have died, and the death toll continues to rise.
In a country already suffering the effects of a brutal civil war, the earthquake has triggered a new humanitarian catastrophe. According to United Nations estimates, almost 20 million people, including 6.3 million children, were in urgent need of aid even before the quake struck.
Thousands without food and drinking water
In large areas of Sagaing survivors are sleeping in the open. There is an urgent need for food, water, shelter, and medicine for the thousands of injured.
“The earthquake has increased the tears and wounds of our people. Thousands of people have no food. Thousands have no drinking water,” the Archbishop of Yangon, Cardinal Charles Maung Bo, told the Catholic news agency Fides. “Fear makes them sleep on the streets, where they are exposed to the scorching sun during the day and merciless heat at night. People are in a state of physical and mental exhaustion.”
“The central part of Myanmar is completely devastated. Nearly 20 percent of our population is on the streets, still frightened and traumatized by what geologists call the largest earthquake of the century,” the Cardinal added.
Heavy rain and strong winds affecting the region have added to the misery of those forced to sleep in tents on the streets, according to news reports.
“Among the homeless, who need drinking water and food, there is now a risk of diarrhea, respiratory, and skin diseases due to poor hygienic conditions,” Fides quoted a Catholic aid worker as saying.
Emergency aid, sustainable support
In response to the quake, Christian Solidarity International (CSI) has begun providing emergency aid to survivors through well-connected partners on the ground. Working with local groups CSI’s partners are able to reach even remote regions of Sagaing and provide essential items to families in need who might otherwise be overlooked in the distribution of aid.
But the relief teams face severe logistical challenges. And continued fighting is hampering their work. Despite the announcement of ceasefires in the aftermath of the quake, our partners report that the military has carried out air strikes in affected areas.
CSI’s first priority following the quake is emergency aid, including medical care for the injured, safe temporary accommodation and food and clean drinking water. Longer term, CSI’s partners will engage in the reconstruction of homes and provide support to individuals to secure their livelihoods.
“The hard-hit people in very remote areas need our solidarity. Your donation makes it possible to give hope, save lives and help with reconstruction,” said CSI-Switzerland CEO Simon Brechbühl, as the organization made an appeal for funds.
Conflict and displacement
CSI has a mandate to stand in solidarity with persecuted and suffering Christians, and has been active in Myanmar since 2020. Violence against Christian communities in Myanmar has increased massively since the end of the civilian government. Since the 2021 military coup, the ruling junta has resumed all-out war against the county’s ethnic and religious minorities and its pro-democracy movement.
Myanmar’s ruling military has traditionally tried to impose national unity based on the supremacy of Burmese ethnicity and Buddhism over the 30 percent of the population that belongs to ethnic minorities. These include the Karen, the Chin, and the Kachin, who are largely Christian. They, like the Muslim Rohingya, are subjected to acts of ethnic cleansing. This pushes them into the bush or into refugee camps and settlements in neighboring Thailand, Bangladesh and India. There they lack food, health services and educational and employment possibilities.
CSI’s projects in Myanmar focus on the Christian Karen minority and include the distribution of aid to internally displaced persons and support for a boarding school for refugee children in Thailand.
