Episode #71: Keeping the Faith
The minute that the military took over on February 1st, Hassan was under no illusions as to what was in store. “I never believed we could win without non-violence, because I know [the military],” he said. “They have no mercy. They were just waiting. In February, they were learning how to attack people.” Hassan’s answer was interrupted by a cough. He recently contracted COVID, and was only beginning to recover at the time of this interview.
But while much of the population had no way to escape the oppression and terror that awaited them, Hassan did. He had grown up wealthy and with a privilege few other Burmese enjoyed. He spent years in the Middle East, returning to Myanmar before the 2010s, and at the time of the coup was operating a string of successful businesses. In Hassan’s words, it is a simple proposition: “if you have money, you can build a good relationship between you and military.” This was certainly true for his family, who developed close ties with senior military leaders from years back.
It might come as a surprise that Hassan’s family—being Kaman Muslim, a branch of Burmese Muslims distinct from the Rohingya—could be on good terms with the Burmese military, by now globally famous for its Islamophobia and Rohingya atrocities. However, for Hassan, there is nothing strange here. “The military, they have no religion! Trust me, they have only money and power.” He references a story in which senior officers advised his family to travel abroad ahead of a planned crackdown on Muslims.
But in spite of his wealth, privilege and connections, and self-admittedly non-political prior to the coup, Myanmar’s crisis turned Hassan into a full time activist, as he shares during the conversation. When asked why he would place himself in such grave personal risk, his powerful response is worth sharing in full:
“How can a good, normal person, how can he be happy while people are suffering like in this situation? No, I cannot be happy. This is why am I fighting. Not because I cannot get an opportunity in military times… No, not at all! I can get a very good opportunity. I know the person who knows Min Aung Hlaing very well. But I will fight to the end. I cannot see myself and the next generation, and my kids, I cannot see that. It's very terrible.”
With this determination in his heart, Hassan has liquidated most of his business, and has been helping people throughout the country, venturing into the deepest slums as well as the remote countryside. He has used his own personal funds to support thousands of CDM workers as well as PDF fighters, and begun to fundraise from foreign friends abroad to expand his work. For safety, he works alone, which often makes even the travel to those remote areas challenging enough, besides the dangers inherent in his work. Through his travels he has encountered everything from snakes to crocodiles, endured motorbike breakdowns and been stranded and lost, and even had to hide from gunfire.
But in spite of these trials and tribulations, Hassan has not stopped his religious duty of praying five times daily. He feels that his steadfast prayer has kept his safe during this time, and has become more meaningful to him than ever before. “I was praying to Almighty God to not let me leave these people. I want to help people until I die. This is my purpose of living in this life. It's helping people.”
But while Hassan notes that his Muslim faith has played an outsized role in the work he’s taken on, he sees his mission as even larger than that. “This is our freedom, our future. This is not a religious thing. I never look at a person with religion, and I can guarantee that I give non-Muslims more than Muslims. A lot of people suffering are non-Muslims, right in front of me. I can say 98% are non-Muslims.” His religious faith also guides his wish that much of his good works stay secret, known only to his God, and that (along with safety concerns) is why he has avoided any interview up until now. He never inquires about the religious background of the recipients of his charity, only their needs and, if they are CDM, their department and role.
This is the path that Hassan has chosen, and even though with his family connections he could still leave the country at any time, he has opted instead to make the biggest sacrifice for the people and stay until he has done his part to secure freedom. In his mind, however, the only way the people can win is by an influx of foreign support, including arms and military training. But he acknowledges the likelihood of this is low. And without it, the Burmese people have only their determination and endurance, and as long as they can maintain it, a sense of unity. In a country that has long been divided by ethnicity, region, and religion, Hassan now feels “there is no separation.” Still, he mentions that military informants pose a particular threat, making life more tense for local communities and often requiring a lethal response.
Through all this, Hassan continues his singular effort, with few knowing of his good works. “Even to my family, it's not necessary to mention that I did what I did. I can say that after our victory. But not now. I believe that. So I can do a lot of things, alone. This is what I think, and why I'm hiding.”
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