Myanmar quake: 'I feel guilty - our people need us the most now' - Voice of Asia

Soe Ko Ko Naing last saw his great-uncle in July while at his home along the Irrawaddy River. Naing, a supporter of Myanmar's resistance to the military junta, was about to flee the country. He lived in Minkun, a small town in the Sagaing region, a military stronghold area, and he dared not trust anyone except his beloved great-uncle (known as "Oo Oo" in Burmese) with his plans.

"I told him I was going to Thailand. He thought it was a good plan. He wished me good health and a safe journey," recalled Naing, a 35-year-old labor rights activist. Almost a year has passed, and Naing is safe in Thailand. But his great-uncle was killed in the powerful earthquake that struck Sagaing region near Mandalay last Friday, an earthquake that claimed the lives of at least 2,000 people.

"I can't sleep at night. I'm still in pain," Naing said. "I don't regret leaving the country because I had to. But I feel guilty because our people need us the most right now. I feel helpless." Naing is one of millions of Myanmar expatriates who are anxiously watching from afar as their country faces a crisis after its worst earthquake in a century. Like him, many are experiencing survivor's guilt and helplessness.

For some, these feelings are compounded by the fact that they cannot easily return to help with relief efforts or visit relatives because they may face political persecution. Thailand has the largest community of Myanmar expatriates in the world, with approximately 4.3 million Myanmar nationals, but this number could be much higher if undocumented migrants are included. As a wealthier neighbor, Thailand has long attracted people from Myanmar, who make up a large part of its migrant workforce. The 2021 military coup and subsequent civil war have only expanded their ranks.

Some toil in the construction industry—many of the 400 workers believed to be in a Bangkok skyscraper that collapsed due to the earthquake were from Myanmar—while others work in Thailand's agriculture and seafood industries. In Samut Sakhon, a fishing port near Bangkok, men wearing traditional Burmese longyis and women with thanaka paste on their cheeks crowded the alleys of a street market on a drizzly Monday morning.

Banners advertising SIM cards for making cheap calls to Myanmar plastered buildings, while shops displayed signs in both Thai and Burmese. "We saw videos online of buildings collapsing and people trapped under the rubble. We feel very sad that we can't do anything," said Yin Yin, a 30-year-old factory worker who, like many in the crowd, was worried about the situation back home. Dan Thet Zin, a 28-year-old shopkeeper from a town in Sagaing region unaffected by the earthquake, mourned the collapse of centuries-old pagodas and temples in his area. "What a huge disaster! I feel so bad... We've never experienced such severe destruction before."

On the other side of town, Naing sat in his office, checking for updates on his family in Myanmar. At least 150 of his relatives live in and around Sagaing region and Mandalay. Friday's earthquake was so powerful that it could be felt in Thailand, India, and China. That day, as Naing lay in bed in Samut Sakhon, hundreds of kilometers from the epicenter, he said he felt the room shake for about 30 seconds.

He immediately logged onto social media and discovered that the earthquake had occurred near Minkun. Then he saw a photo of the Ava Bridge in Sagaing region—a local landmark—lying twisted in the Irrawaddy River. "I was shocked and devastated; I have many relatives in that area. I thought, 'This must be fake news.' But it was true." With communications in Myanmar slow in the aftermath of the earthquake, Naing did not receive news from his relatives until Saturday. He was told that almost everyone was safe, except for a distant great-aunt who died in Mandalay—and his great-uncle.

A week earlier, Minkun and the surrounding areas had been shelled by the military targeting People's Defense Force resistance groups. Almost all of Naing's family in the town had fled to Sagaing city or military-controlled areas of Mandalay. The great-uncle refused to relocate and instead took refuge in the village monastery, knowing that the military would not attack Buddhist sites. But on Friday, when the earthquake struck, the monastery completely collapsed. His body was found in the rubble on Monday.

Naing remembered his great-uncle as an open-minded, outspoken 60-year-old man. In an area controlled by the military, the two bonded over their shared support for the resistance movement, especially after the coup. In the summer, the two would spend afternoons by the river, eating lunch together and talking about the news. His great-uncle did not have a mobile phone or social media, and Naing would help him check for updates on the civil war. "I was his personal news agency," he joked. The great-uncle had been forced to retire from his work as a boatman after suffering a stroke that left him partially paralyzed. Nevertheless, every morning, he would hobble to his family's tea shop to fry youtiao.

"He was a source of inspiration for me, especially in difficult times... He was the only person I could talk to. My resilience comes from him," Naing said. Naing had to draw on that resilience when he dangerously fled Myanmar with his wife and five-year-old son. He was wanted by the military, who had issued an arrest warrant for his participation in peaceful protests. His family traveled to the border, where they illegally crossed into Thailand. As the family ran past Thai border police in the dark, they tripped over a large pipe and fell to the ground. His son fell backward onto his head. Naing feared the worst.

But to his relief, his son let out a loud cry. Naing covered his child's mouth, picked him up, and rushed toward a human trafficker who was waiting for them on a motorcycle. They first traveled to the Thai town of Mae Sot, then eventually to Samut Sakhon, where they obtained the right to reside in Thailand. Although he is now safe and has a good job, Naing said, "Honestly, I'm very depressed right now."

"First, there was the pandemic, then the coup, and then the military has been killing people who oppose them. People are displaced." "Then the earthquake compounded the suffering. Even after the earthquake, the military is still bombing areas." "I keep thinking that it would be great if we could go there, if we could do something... It's depressing to live here and see the news about my country." He is working with Myanmar expatriates to collect donations and provide humanitarian aid to earthquake victims back home. They are also helping Myanmar construction workers affected by the building collapse in Bangkok.

"If we are always depressed, no one will help our people... It's a good thing we are still alive. We can still do something." "We must decide how to rebuild, how to move forward."