Myanmar earthquake: ‘I feel guilty

The last time he saw his eldest uncle Soy Koning in July, at his home on the beaches of the Irawadi River.

Koning, a supporter of Myanmar’s resistance against military rule, was about to flee the country. In the city of Min Kun, a small town in the Smart Military Castle, Koning did not trust anyone to tell him his plan – except for his girlfriend (‘by’ in Burma).

“I told him to go to Thailand. He thought it was a good plan. I wished him good health and safety,” he said.

About a year ago, Koning is safe in Thailand. But OO OO was killed and at least 2,000 people were killed in a strong earthquake near Mandala on Friday.

“I have an insomnia. I still suffer,” said Koning.

“I don’t regret leaving the country because I was forced. But I feel guilty, because our people now need us the most. I feel powerless.

Koning is one of Millions of Myanmar’s diaspora, who is at odds with remote anxiety as their country struggles after its largest earthquake in a century.

Many of them have been survived like him and a feeling of powerlessness. For some people, these feelings become more complicated with the fact that they cannot easily return to help the rescue or examination of their relatives, because they face political persecution.

Thailand hosts Myanmar’s largest Diaspora community with nearly 4.3 million, although it is thought to be much higher if it includes undoubted migrants.

As a richer neighbor, he has long attracted the Myanmar people, who are a large part of his immigrant workforce. The 2021 military coup and the civil war later swollen their ranks.

Some of the difficulties in the construction sector – Many of the 400 workers in the sky of the earthquake that collapsed by the earthquake believed they were from Myanmar – while others operating in Thailand’s agricultural industry and seafood.

On Monday morning in Samut Sakhon, a fishing port near Bangkok, where many Myanmar workers are home to the traditional Longgi Burma, and Tanaka women hit the streets on the street market.

Banners SIM cards were advertised at a cheap price for contacting Myanmar across the buildings, while shops showed signs in both Thai and Burma.

“We have seen online videos that collapse the buildings and people are trapped under the rubble. We feel sad that we cannot do anything,” said Yinne, 30, who is worried about the situation at home.

The 28-year-old shop owner, Tant Zen, is a resident of a town that was not affected by the earthquake. “What a tragedy! I have a very bad feeling… we haven’t experienced this extent before.

He sat down in his office in front of the town of Koning, examining his family in Myanmar. At least 150 of his relatives live in Sagang and Mandala or around him.

Friday’s earthquake was so large that it was felt in Thailand, India and China. That day, when Koning is hundreds of kilometers from the center on the bed, he said he felt the trembling of the room for about 30 seconds.

He immediately went to social media and found that the quake struck near the mine. It then survived a picture of the Sagaing Bridge – a local symbol – lying on the Irawadi River with a ruined ruin. “I’m shocked and destroyed, I have a lot of relatives in the area.

With raw relationships in Myanmar after the earthquake, Koning had only heard from his family on Saturday. Almost everyone was safe and counted, he was told, except for a large farmer who died in Mandala – and his OO.

A week earlier, the mines and its surroundings were militarily shelled by the resistance of the people’s defense forces. Almost all the Koning families fled the town to Sagaing or to a military area in Mandala.

OO OO had refused to leave and instead hid in the village monastery, he knew that the soldiers would not attack Buddhism.

But on Friday the monastery collapsed completely when the earthquake occurred. His body was found on the rubble on Monday.

He remembers Koning OO OO as a 60-year-old young man who was forgotten and frank. In an area dominated by soldiers, the two men joined the resistance for their support, especially after the coup.

In the summer, the two spent the afternoon at the river, they ate lunch and caught the news. His eldest uncle had no mobile phone, no social media, and Koning helped him examine the innovations of the civil war. “I was his personal news agency,” he joked.

Oo, Oo, he had to retire as a boat when he had a stroke, which was part of paralyzed. Every morning, he would move by mixing his family café and red, Dogstx.

“He was my source of inspiration, especially in difficult times… he was the only person I could talk to.

That resistance was something that Koning had to whispered when he made his dangerous escape with his wife and five-year-old son in Myanmar. He was wanted by the military, who issued arrest warrants for participating in peaceful demonstrations.

His family traveled to the border illegally crossed to Thailand. As we passed through a police station in the dark, the family fell over a large pipe and fell to the ground. His son fell back on his head. Koning was afraid of the worst.

But comfortably, his son shouted high screams. Koning grabbed the child’s mouth and picked it up and quickly went to a smuggler who was waiting for a motorcycle. They initially headed for the town of Thailand May Sot before they finally traveled to Samut Sakhon, where they secured the right to stay in Thailand.

Although he is safe and has a good job now, Koning said, “To be honest, I’m very depressed right now.

“At first the epidemic, then the coup, then the soldiers kill people who are against them. People were displaced.

“The earthquake then increased the pain. Even after the earthquake, the military continues to bombard the areas.

“I keep thinking that it’s fine if we can be there, if we can do something… that’s depression here, seeing news about my country.

He works with the Myanmar diaspora to collect donations and send humanitarian aid to the victims of the earthquake at home. They also help Myanmar construction workers who are affected by the collapse of the Bangkok building.

“If we always feel depressed, no one will help our people… Well, we are alive. We can still do something.

“We must decide how to rebuild it, how can we move forward?”