Episode #326: Fault Lines
“Every country could face disaster, but every country also has plans to respond to those kind of like devastating events. But our country is not like others! We don't have the manpower, we don't have the techniques, we don't have the preparation and equipment. So usually, what we most rely on is volunteers and the unity of the whole country,” says Kyaw Kyaw. “But now this time, it is not happening, since all the volunteers and the technicians and the experts, they are in prison or in the other countries.”
In a deeply sobering interview, Kyaw Kyaw, a former military pediatrician and CDM defector, paints a harrowing picture of the aftermath of the recent 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Myanmar, which struck between the Mandalay and Sagaing regions. While the junta’s official death toll stands at 1,700, Kyaw Kyaw says this figure “barely scratches the surface.” Local witness accounts and volunteer interviews point to at least 10,000 dead in both Mandalay and Sagaing alone, with widespread destruction extending into Magway, Myingyan, and other towns.
Kyaw Kyaw describes this as the worst natural disaster in Myanmar since Cyclone Nargis in 2008. Entire cities are nearly annihilated, and the humanitarian situation is worsening by the hour. In the absence of a coordinated state response, overwhelmed local charity groups and volunteers have scrambled to take the lead in rescue operations. However, most lack proper training, tools, or even the manpower needed to safely extract people from collapsed buildings. Rescue efforts are painfully slow, often requiring one or two days to recover a single trapped person. Some rescue attempts inadvertently cause further collapses. Survivors have been left to endure agonizing waits under rubble while the cries of those buried nearby gradually fade to silence.
But the emergency has expanded beyond rescue. With dead bodies trapped under debris and decomposing in the streets, entire towns are becoming hazardous to public health. Survivors are forced to live beside the stench of the dead, often with no shelter, and exposed to the risk of infection. Kyaw Kyaw says that local people are now begging, not for rescue of the living, but for removal of the dead. Even that has proven impossible for many areas due to a lack of backhoes, crematoriums, or even sufficient burial space.
The situation is exacerbated by the military’s approach. Instead of mobilizing its vast machinery and personnel for humanitarian relief, Kyaw Kyaw says the junta has prioritized protecting its own assets in Naypyidaw, where military headquarters and top brass residences were swiftly cleared and repaired. International rescue teams from China and India were first taken to Naypyidaw before being selectively deployed elsewhere. Aid has been largely blocked from entering Sagaing—the most devastated area—under the guise of security. Checkpoints, curfews, and restricted movement have prevented urgent help from reaching victims. Foreign journalists have been barred from entering the country, and domestic internet restrictions remain in place.
Despite these constraints, local civil society groups, youth volunteers, and ethnic resistance organizations have offered to help across enemy lines. Several EAOs and PDFs declared a unilateral ceasefire, offering to assist rescue efforts even in junta-controlled zones. The military has refused to acknowledge or accept these offers. Instead, they continue to enforce curfews and, disturbingly, have reportedly conscripted young people from Mandalay for military service even in the midst of the catastrophe. Kyaw Kyaw says there are even unconfirmed reports of volunteers being forced into conscription at checkpoints.
Adding to the tragedy, the military has not paused its war campaign. At least three airstrikes were reported in earthquake-affected regions, as the military apparently feared a potential offensive by resistance groups. In some areas, people mistook the quake for a bombing and ran into buildings for cover—where they were then crushed.
The international response has been limited and heavily filtered through the junta. Though foreign rescue teams are present, their access is controlled. Myanmar’s people are being left to save themselves, with minimal external support. Hospitals are overwhelmed. Medical staff are forced to triage patients outside their compounds. Many rescued survivors are dying from treatable injuries due to the lack of equipment, personnel, and facilities.
Kyaw Kyaw concludes with a plea for international help—but warns that foreign aid must be channeled carefully. The military has a well-documented history of siphoning humanitarian assistance. He urges donors to ensure their support reaches grassroots efforts and independent networks that are already working to save lives.
“Our people, they can’t really do much,” Kyaw Kyaw concludes sadly. “They just find some crowbars and some hammers and they are doing just what they can. It would increase the death toll in the cities. The rescue program is not going well. About the food and water, the ‘government’ is doing nothing about it, as far I know the emergency food and water came from donation and the charity, and it's not enough.”