General Situations in Myanmar and Our Plan to Respond to the Humanitarian Crisis
TOC:
- History
- Coup d’état in 2021
- Intensified conflict
- Humanitarian Situation
- Our Response to the Humanitarian Crisis
History
Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, also called Burma,is a country in Southeast Asia. The British East India Company seized control of the administration of Myanmar after three Anglo-Burmese Wars in the 19th century, and the country became a British colony. After a brief Japanese occupation, Myanmar was reconquered by the Allies and gained independence in 1948. Following a coup d’état in 1962, it became a military dictatorship under the Burma Socialist Programme Party.
For most of its independent years, the country has been struggling with ethnic conflicts and its myriad ethnic groups have been involved in one of the world’s longest-running ongoing civil wars. In 2011, the military junta was officially dissolved following a 2010 general election, and a nominally civilian government was installed. Along with the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and political prisoners, another successful elections was held in 2015 in which National League for Democracy won the majority of votes. Following the 2020 Myanmar general election, in which Aung San Suu Kyi‘s party won a clear majority in both houses for the second consecutive term, the Burmese military (Tatmadaw) again seized power in a coup d’état.
Coup d’état in 2021
Before the military staged the coup on the 1st of February 2021, Myanmar was heading for a better country. The transportation was getting better, the mobile banking system was running well, and the majority of the citizens were happy with the performances of the government. The pandemic was under control and most of the government employees had been vaccinated for once and the vaccines ordered from India for the citizens were about to arrive. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party was about to take power for the consecutive second term and everyone was in a positive mood and hoped for a brighter future. Just when everything was heading for a change for the better, the military staged the coup and reversed all the positive changes.
Two weeks after the coup, the people took to the streets to protest against the takeover of power and demanded to return the power to the democratically-elected government. As the protest gained momentum, the military could not control it but still refused to submit to the demand of the people. They, then, started to shoot to kill and tortured some to death in order terrorize the public and bring the protest to an end. However, the people refused to succumb to their threat and continued to protest in different ways and forms.
Intensified conflict
As the military terrorists became crueler in their killings and arbitrary arresting and as there was no sign of their giving in to the demand of the people, the young people decided to take up arms and fight back. Therefore, a number of them fled to the jungle and took military training under the well-known Ethnic Armed Organizations. While some young men were undergoing military training, others started to make their own guns using tutorials provided on YouTube or using their own intuition.
Starting from April 2021, young people began to form themselves into People Defense Force to protect and defend the lives, properties, and livelihoods of the people. Eventually, these young people, using their homemade guns and traditional hunting guns, fought back the military and the fighting soon spread to the whole country. As time wore on, these young people are able to buy assault rifles and other heavy weapons to combat the junta forces.
Many young people and Ethnic Armed Organizations are now joining forces to bring down the dictatorship by weapons while democratically-elected Members of Parliament have formed a government, namely, National Unity Government and is now seeking diplomatic recognition from international communities.
Humanitarian Situation
As a result of the fast spreading of civil war, the civilians had to flee for safety either to the jungle or to other villages or towns where they considered safer. In the conflict zones, the military forces would shoot anyone found in the streets and arrest anyone caught delivering food supplies to the refugees. On many occasions, the soldiers would break into the civilian’s houses and loot the valuable properties and they would purposely destroy the properties or furniture which they cannot take with them. After looting the properties, the military would then torch the houses and in other cases, they would burn the whole village down.
According to the latest figures, there are now more than one million internally displaced people countrywide. Some have been refugees for a year now while others have recently fled from their homes due to escalating fighting and armedconflicts. These refugees are now taking shelter either in the forest or in remote villages where the junta forces cannot reach or in the more peaceful neighboring states and regions. As the number of refugees continues to rise, humanitarian assistance is becoming more and more dire.
Our Response to the Humanitarian Crisis
With the donation received from our own Province and from the friends of the Friars, we, Myanmar Dominicans, have been able to respond to the humanitarian crisis under the following categories.
1. Humanitarian Response
Since March 2021, Fr. Paul Aung Myint Win, OP, has been delivering food and other relief aids to poor families or to the families who lost their loved ones due to the cruelty of the military in the region of Yangon. Since May 2021, the Friars in Loikow, led by Fr. Moses Dereh, OP, not only have been providing food and shelter to those who came to take shelter in the convent; they have also been delivering food and other relief supplies to the refugees who are displaced in various parts of the Kayah State.
In order to respond to the humanitarian crises effectively, we have formed an Emergency Response Team composed of Fr. Paul Aung Myint Win, OP, Fr. Abraham Ning Ki Gei, OP and Sr. Rosa Mu Mu Lin, OP. Some lay people will be added to this team. This team will be responsible for buying relief supplies and distributing them to the neediest people in the locally displaced camps.
2. Health Care
In addition to suffering from the consequences of political turmoil, the people of Myanmar had to weather the viruses of Covid 19. As medical staff walked out of their jobs after the military seized power on 1 February, Myanmar Healthcare system shattered. As COVID-19 infections peaked, hospitals could not accommodate the patients, and as a result, countless individuals died in their homes.
In those difficult times, Fr. Paul, OP, personally went to give medicines and food to the families who contracted the virus and bedridden in their homes. In Loikaw, with the help of a retired nurse, Fr. Moses, OP set up a small clinic for the displaced people. Besides, he also bought medicines and delivered them to the displaced camps.
To respond to the needs of healthcare, we have formed a Medical Response Team which consists of Fr. Mariano Kai, OP, Sr. Benedetta, OP, Sr. Elizabeth Byama, OP, a volunteer doctor and other volunteers. This team will be in charge of buying medical supplies and delivering them to the places in need. If the situation permits, we may set up a mini clinic for the displaced people.
3. Education
Schools have been closed since 2020 due to the spreading of Covid 19. After seizing the power, the military junta tried to open schools in 2021 but was not successful because most of the teachers refused to collaborate with them and students didn’t enroll for classes. This year too, though the military government opened the schools, many students refuse to attend and teachers refuse to collaborate. At this moment, home-schooling and online classes are available for those who can afford, and have facilities, and for those who are living in safe zones. However, for those who have been displaced, opportunities for education are limited. Temporary tents have to be set up and makeshift classrooms divided. There are no specific teachers for these camps. Volunteer teachers are from among the refugees. In the past year, we provided stationeries for the children and Dominican Sisters gave classes in English to the displaced people.
We have formed an Educational Team composed of Fr. Paul Thu Reh, OP, Fr. Marko Thoe Reh, OP, Fr. Joseph Pakhu, OP and Sr. Francesca Polo OP. Some teachers and volunteers will be added to this team. Our immediate plans are the following:
- Providing stationery and textbooks and other facilities for the students living in at least 6 camps in the East of Loikaw, Kayah State.
- Giving nutritious food to the children from time to time.
- Giving some financial assistance to our volunteer teachers.
- Gathering high school students from these six displaced camps, bringing them to a safer place and with the help of experienced teachers, giving them classes.
- Granting scholarships to those who have finished their high school education in their search for vocational training courses.
4. Rebuilding Up
Since the military staged the coup, over 20,000 houses have been reported burned down by the military troops and still many others have been destroyed or damaged by the shelling of artillery. As of 24 of June 2022, 2021 civilians have been confirmed killed by the military forces and a total of (11201) people are currently under detention. So many people are still missing. For those who have lost their houses and properties, it will take them a long time to be able to rebuild their lives and for those who have lost their bread earners, it will be more difficult to earn their living.
To assist the people who need financial help in rebuilding up their lives, we formed a team called a “Rebuilding Team. This team will be responsible for (1) giving financial assistance to the families who lost their homes, and to the families who lost their bread earners, (2) giving assistance to those who have lost their limbs because of landmines.
5. Spiritual Nourishment and Faith Formation Team
As most of the displaced people are Catholics, pastoral care is also urgently needed. The 2000 Catholics who are directly under our Dominican care are also displaced at this moment. In the past months, Fr. Moses Dereh, OP, Fr. John Sui, OP and Fr. Mariano Kai, OP have all been giving some pastoral care to our parishioners.
To respond to spiritual needs of the Catholics who are displaced, a Psycho-spiritual Assistance Team has been formed. This team is composed with Fr. John Maung Sui, OP, Sr. Judith Mujar, OP and Sr. Lucia Baw Myar, OP and some catechists will be added to this team. This team will be responsible to respond to the spiritual needs of our parishioners and to give faith formation to the children in the camps. Besides, the members of this team will also offer a kind of psychotherapy to those who have been traumatized because of war, of losing home or because of losing their loved ones.
To sum up, we, Dominicans in Myanmar, have formed five assistance giving teams to effectively respond to the humanitarian crisis. However, in order to do the above mentioned humanitarian works, we will need financial support from the international community. Therefore, we would like to make a formal appeal to the members of the International Dominican Family to help us in whatever way you can.
