In the aftermath of the devastating earthquake in Myanmar on March 28, conditions in the country have hampered relief efforts as the extent of the destruction becomes clearer. As of Monday, the official death toll was more than 3,600 but local newspapers, compiling from their own sources, put the figure are as high as 5,330 dead with 7,108 injured.
The 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck near Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city, along the Sagaing Fault. The earthquake affected cities and towns throughout the country, one of the world’s poorest. The damage to roads and bridges has prevented or slowed aid from reaching the worst struck areas.
Over the weekend, significant rain and winds struck Myanmar while temperatures also climbed as high as 37 degrees Celsius (98.6 degrees Fahrenheit). That has exacerbated the danger of diseases such as cholera spreading among survivors, many of whom have been forced to live in tents or out in the open on the streets. Thousands of buildings have been destroyed as well as bridges and highways. Approximately 80 percent of the buildings in Sagaing, which borders Mandalay and was at the epicenter of the earthquake, have been damaged.
In Bangkok, Thailand, 36 people have been confirmed dead. Most were killed when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Another 58 people remain missing at this site. Other cities and towns across the country were also affected, including in Chiang Mai. Hundreds of houses, schools, hospitals, and other buildings have been damaged. Tremors were felt as far away as Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam where one person died during the evacuation of a building.
Many isolated areas in Myanmar have been cut off as regions have lost power and communications. The number of deaths and damage to infrastructure may not be known for some time, but estimates from the US Geological Survey indicate more than 10,000 people may have been killed.
Survivors and rescue workers have described terrible scenes. Bodies of the dead are being buried in mass graves. Ko Zeyar, a social worker from the city of Sagaing, told CNN, “The smell of the dead bodies has overwhelmed the town.” Citing aftershocks and the fear of further building collapses, he continued: “Almost the entire town lives and sleeps on the road, a platform or football pitch, including myself because it is scary.”
Several countries have deployed rescue teams to Myanmar, including China, Russia, India, and Thailand. However, the fascist Trump regime in the United States has done next to nothing. At present, Washington has pledged a paltry $US9 million in aid, a drop in the bucket compared to the vast amounts spent on the US military for instance.
Furthermore, the Trump government has dismantled the US Agency for International Development (USAID), including sending layoff notices to employees organizing relief efforts shortly after the earthquake struck. Three USAID workers received their termination notices as they were working in Myanmar.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio dismissed criticism last Friday, stating that Washington has “other needs” and “other priorities.” He stated, “We’re not going to fund these global NGOs all over the world that are living off of [US money]. We’re not doing it… We will be there, and we will be helpful [but] there are a lot of other rich countries, they should also pitch in and help.”
The Trump government’s position is not a departure from supposedly “humanitarian” administrations of the past. Agencies like USAID have always been tools for Washington to project its influence around the world through the use of “soft power.” However, US imperialism is now dispensing with the fig leaf of humanitarian assistance provided by agencies like USAID. The Trump government’s dismantling of the organization demonstrates its disdain for such methods, instead relying on threats, economic warfare and military force alone.
The Myanmar government has also failed to mobilize any meaningful disaster response. Those who have been digging in the rubble to find survivors have been civilians while the military has not been deployed to take part in the rescue operations. Instead, people have complained that soldiers and police officers that have been present have contributed little, with some doing nothing more than using their phones.
Myanmar is ruled by a highly unpopular military junta that came to power in a February 2021 coup. It has also waged a bloody civil war over the last four years against the National Unity Government (NUG), a coalition of forces connected to the ousted government and which controls large sections of the Sagaing region. The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights reported last week that the junta was preventing aid from reaching areas that are not under its control.
The war is an intensification of decades of conflict in the country. Before the earthquake, more than 3.5 million people had been displaced while 19.9 million people out of a country of 54 million were in need of aid.
The war has also made it difficult to find rescue workers as many young people have fled. Aye Moe, a 20-year-old resident of Sagaing, told the Guardian, “At the main hospital, there are both patients and corpses, and it’s becoming unmanageable. There’s no manpower, and there are almost no young people—some have fled to the forest, others have left the country.” Many of those who fled believe they will be in danger if they return to provide any assistance.
This includes the serious concern that young people will be arrested and press ganged into the military. Phoe Thar, a volunteer rescue worker in Mandalay, stated, “We want to help more, but fear is holding us back,” he told the New York Times.
The junta’s State Administration Council announced a 20-day ceasefire last Wednesday. However, attacks have continued with both the military and opposition groups accusing the other of carrying out offensives. The military also bombed targets in the states of Karenni and Shan on Thursday and Friday.
The junta’s primary concern is maintaining its fragile grip on power and no doubt fears that an easing of its military campaign against the opposition and its supporters will adversely affect its control of the country. At the same time, anger is growing towards the junta. The scale of the disaster and the inability of the government to respond could lead to an explosion of social anger.