Myanmar earthquake: The man mourning 170 loved ones

As the call to prayer rang out in Region next Friday, thousands of Muslims hurried to the five mosque in northern Myanmar.

They were willing to keep their last Friday blessings for Ramadan, only days away from the festive time of Eid that may mark the end of the divine quarter.

Then, at 12: 51 local time ( 06: 21 GMT ), a deadly earthquake struck. Three temples collapsed, including the biggest one, Myoma, killing nearly all in.

Hundreds of kilometres apart, the original imam of Myoma dome, Soe Nay Oo, felt the collapse in the Thai border village of Mae Sot.

In the next time, he found out that around 170 of his family, friends and associates of his former community had died, mostly in the temples. Some were leading characters in the state’s close-knit Muslim community.

” I think about all the people who lost their lives, and the survivors ‘ children- some of them are fresh children”, he told the BBC. ” I didn’t hold up my tears when I talk about this”.

More than 2, 700 people have died in the collapse which happened near Sagaing and Mandalay, Myanmar’s following area. The dying toll is expected to rise as firefighters continue to pull out body from dust.

While the region was known for its historic Buddhist temples, the settlements were even home to a major Muslim community.

An estimated 500 Muslims died while praying in their temples, according to statistics given by the government’s leader, Min Aung Hlaing, on Monday.

Witness in Sagaing have told the BBC that the path where the temples were, Myoma Street, was the worst hit in the area. Several other houses on the street have even collapsed.

Hundreds of people have sought sanctuary by the side of the road, either because they are then poor, or are too afraid to go back to their houses in case there are waves. Food items are reported to remain limited.

In Myoma alone, more than 60 individuals were said to be crushed in the decline, while values more died in the Myodaw and Moekya temples. More systems were still being pulled out on Tuesday.

There are signs that the devotees had tried to escape, according to Soe Nay Oo, who has received many reports from surviving members of his society.

He currently lives in the Thai city of Mae Sot with his wife and daughter, after escaping from Myanmar soon after a coup that took place in 2021.

There were bodies found outside of the major prayer hall, he said, in the area where believers wash themselves. Some were even found clutching another people’s hands, in what looked like attempts to pull them away from the crumbling building.

Among the many loved people Soe Nay Oo lost was one of his wife’s nephews. Her death, he said, was” the most distressing thing that I have endured” in his 13 times as an sheikh.

” She was the one who showed her passion to us the most”, said Soe Nay Oo. ” Everyone in the community loved her. The damage is terrible for us”.

Another of his wife’s relatives, a well-respected businessman who had performed the Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, even died.

” He always called me Nyi Lay ] ‘ little brother’ in Burmese ]… When I married my wife, he said we are family now and he always treated me like his own little brother”, said Soe Nay Oo.

” He was always there for us whenever we needed him. I have lost those whom I love like boys like him”.

Some of the close companions who died include Soe Nay Oo’s former assistant sheikh, whom he remembered for his strong work ethic and extraordinary skill in reciting the Quran.

The director of the local public school, who was also the single female director of the Myoma shrine, likewise died. She was remembered by Soe Nay Oo as a good spirit who would usually pay for mosque programs out of her own bag.

He said every time he hears of yet another man from the group who died, he experiences a fresh wave of pain. ” I feel devastated … it always comes to my mind, the memories I cherish of them.

” Even though they were never close friends, they were the ones who often welcomed me, followed my prayers, and who prayed up.”

The fact that they died during Ramadan is never lost on him”. All the departed have returned to Allah’s house, I would suggest. They will be remembered as martyrs correctly, “he said.

Like other pieces of Myanmar affected by the quake, the group is struggling to deal with the large number of bodies.

It has been complicated by continuous fighting between the military dictatorship and opposition parties. The Muslim cemetery in Sagaing is close to an area controlled by the rebel People’s Defence Forces ( PDF), and has been closed to the public for several years. The government has continued to bomb some components of the wider Region location following the aftershock.

Sagaing state’s Muslim society has had to move the body of their dead to Mandalay, crossing the Irrawaddy River using the only bridge connecting the two locations, according to Soe Nay Oo.

Their systems are being left at Mandalay’s biggest dome for burial. Some have not been buried within 24 hours of their dying per Islamic history.

” For Muslims, it is the saddest issue, that we cannot destroy our families by ourselves at the end of their trip, “he said.

The victims have been trying to help in the rescue, yet as they deal with the trauma”. Some from my society told me to pray for them. To be honest, they don’t actually explain their decline in words when I speak to them.”

It is hard for Soe Nay Oo to be far from his former congregation. Like many other people from Myanmar who have migrated abroad, he feels survivor’s guilt.

” If I were the imam however, at the time of the collapse, I may have gone with them– that I may take calmly. If not, at least I could be on the floor to do anything that I may.

” Then I can’t go back. It’s terrible to think about it.

Soe Nay Oo began to sob”. This unhappy and frustrated experience I have right then, I have always felt this way before in my life. I am the kind of guy who had scarcely scream.

He adds that he has never been able to sleep for days. His fear has been magnified by the point he has yet to learn from some family members, including his own sisters who were in Mandalay.

Soe Nay Oo has paused his job for a human rights team in Thailand and is now helping to organize recovery efforts in Region- sharing any information he can get from his contacts in the city.

At least 1, 000 Muslims in the area have been affected who still need assistance, he estimates.

” I feel relief only whenever somebody on the ground asks for help, and I can help them”.